If you’ve found your way here, chances are you’re building, renovating, dreaming, or quietly collecting ideas for a home that feels more like yours . That’s exactly where Five Trails began. This isn’t a design site built around trends or quick transformations. It’s a record of building a home slowly, thoughtfully, and with real life in mind. But what can you expect to find along the way? Real Design Decisions (Not Just the Final Reveal) Most homes look beautiful once they’re

Five Trails began with a simple question: What should we do next?  With our three kids grown and beginning lives of their own, it was time to jump into our next act. A plan began to crystalize involving a move to Wisconsin and fed a need for wide open spaces. The search began.     Why We Chose to Build  Like many families, we started by looking for an existing home. We toured a few beautiful houses and a whole bunch of dilapidated farm properties. We were up for a huge challe

We're Mike and Molly, GenX empty nesters who have been married for nearly 30 years. We met in high school (long before the TV show with that stole our names) and started dating after college. At this point, we've been together far longer that not. As our three adult kids are busy spreading their wings, we had a decision to make. Do we stay in the far west Chicago suburbs and watch new young families move in and enjoy the neighborhood that helped raise our kids, or do we have