Ralph and Jackie Berman on Building a Southwest-Inspired Home in Chicagoland

By Melissa Borgerding
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Ralph Berman opens the door to what looks like an ordinary closet. “Here’s something you won’t see every day.”

Inside, he sweeps a few scraps of wood from his bench and sits down to survey the workshop he has built inside the walk-in closet. A pegboard behind the door holds his tool collection, while wrap-around shelves provide some extra storage space for his projects. Ralph doesn’t break out the power saws and sanders in this space— rather, it’s a quiet retreat when he wants to put the finishing touches on a project, or consider plans for a new one.

A skilled craftsman, Ralph was loath to part with the workshop inside his old house. Now, he has two shops. When he needs a little more elbow room, Ralph just heads down the hall to the Sedgebrook woodshop, one of the largest at any Erickson community and “a real thing of beauty,” according to Ralph.

Re-Creating the Southwest
When Ralph and wife Jackie moved to Sedgebrook from Arizona, they brought a piece of the Southwest with them. Their home is a landscape of soft earth tones, Native Americaninspired furniture, and lots of light.

“We’re very lucky,” says Jackie, standing in the sunroom where she and Ralph often eat breakfast. Through the patio door, the Bermans can see across the landscaped courtyard to the swimming pool. “I liked the fact that we’re on the ground floor.We can go directly outside through the patio door and up to the clubhouse, and we have a pretty view.”

Crafting a Home
Ralph built much of the furniture in their home. While his pieces tend to be on a large scale, the clean lines and hand-carved Native-American symbols give his tables, chairs, and chests the appearance of being at once sturdy and delicate.