On July 26, the River Forest Historic Preservation Commission awarded two River Forest homes with the Laurel McMahon Restoration Award, recognizing outstanding achievement in returning the exterior of a structure to its original design and condition by repairing or replacing the original architectural details and materials.
Architect Tom Zurowski, chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission, notes that this is the first time that two homes won the award, which was recently renamed to honor the contributions of past commission member Laurel McMahon to historic preservation in the village.Â
“They’ve both done so much to improve the neighborhood around them,” Zurowski said of the two homes. “With both the house on Keystone and the house on Franklin, the homeowners have done an extraordinary job.”
Diamond in the rough
When 558 Franklin Ave. hit the market in 2015, Emily and Tim Ruby were looking for a larger home in River Forest for their family of five. At the time, the beauty of the Queen Anne Victorian was difficult to find underneath layers of changes made since it was built in 1903.
The exterior clapboards had been covered over in stucco and the wide front porch had been enclosed. Deep awnings covered the windows on the outside, and on the inside, layers of shades and curtains obscured the glass. Wallpaper and paint covered original finishes.Â
The house needed a complete restoration, which scared off some buyers. Emily knew the house had great bones and feared that a developer might see the double lot and worn out house as a perfect tear-down opportunity to build two new homes.
“The home had such good structure,” she said. “The staircase and the original doors were amazing. I grew up in an old house. We wrote the owners a letter saying we would love the house and would stay here forever.”
After the Rubys bought the house, it took a few months to take possession. An integral part of the planning process involved interviewing architects and general contractors who would help them restore the home in their tight time line.Â
Emily noted they renovated the entire home in just nine months and credited general contractor Brian Manola and architect Debra McQueen with helping them achieve the quick turnaround.
For Ruby, choosing an architect came down to finding someone who appreciated the house’s original style as much as she did.Â
“I asked each architect, ‘Do you like this house?’ she said. “I wanted to know how they felt about it. Debra had done a research project on Queen Anne Victorians. She really got it.”
Oak Park-based McQueen said that she had always had a love for the art-and-crafts period, and took a four-week course in England that covered the entire Victorian era.
“I learned that during that long era, there was a fluidity to the styles, including gothic, classical, arts and crafts and Queen Anne, and a looking back to Jacobean and Tudor styles,” McQueen said. “The English term for the Queen Anne style was ‘sweetness and light.’ It was all about bringing in more light than previous heavy and dark Victorian styles.”Â
Let there be light
The practice seemed particularly well-suited to the Franklin project, which was begging to have its original leaded glass windows showcased and rabbit warren of additions cleaned up.Â
“It was very covered up,” McQueen said. “You couldn’t see the sweetness and light.”
She worked with the Rubys to come up with a plan to open up the rooms at the rear of the house, to allow light to flow throughout the house. A former dining room at the rear of the house was reimagined as a family room.Â
That room was opened up to the formal dining room off the kitchen, which had been part of the double parlor space. Along the way, the new plan addressed many structural issues arising from previous, poorly supported additions. The framing insufficiencies had to be addressed on both the first and second floors at the rear of the house.
“The framing was bad, and on the second floor there were some strange, big rooms that weren’t necessarily bedrooms,” McQueen said. “Maybe they were maids’ quarters. They were covered with thin, particle-board siding. But, the space was there. Once the framing of the ceiling and correction of the exterior walls was fixed, it was a great space.”
Those second floor rooms were turned into a master suite, complete with coffered ceilings that conceal the necessary support beam running through the space. A hallway flanked with two walk-in closets leads to the luxurious master bath, which Emily Ruby says proved an exercise of patience for herself and her contractor.
She had ordered the soaking tub online, checking the measurements multiple times with her contractor to ensure it would fit. When the tub was dropped off on her driveway and carried upstairs, Ruby discovered that on all sides it was two inches larger than advertised, meaning her contractor had to widen the door and adjust the plumbing that was already in place. At the end of the day, it was worth it, said Ruby.Â
The company from which she purchased the tub reimbursed her contractor for the work, and now she calls the space, “an oasis.”
On the third floor, Emily worked with her sister to create a kids’ hangout space complete with built-in bunk beds for her children and their friends. The icing on the cake? She has her own office in the home’s turret
“This is why I bought the house,” Emily said of her turret office, “for the original windows, the staircase and this room.”
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Reclaiming history
McQueen said that working with the Rubys was a good match.Â
“They were terrific clients,” she said. “Emily had a lot of vision and energy. I think we both thought we brought the house back to a really nice place.”
For her part, Emily Ruby credits Manola and McQueen for their vision.Â
“Brian and Debra were great about preserving but not freeze-drying the house” she said. “They helped me stay true to the feel of the house without being stuck in the past.”
Emily also credits the River Forest Historic Preservation Commission.Â
“I wish that people viewed them as a resource, not an obstacle,” she said. “If I was stuck making a decision on siding or windows or even layout, I could call them. They want people to bring back and invest in these historic homes. They are looking at the art of it, which can be very helpful.”