The house at 703 Thatcher in River Forest was built in 1937, and less than 100 years later, the home was showing its age. The brown brick home was built in the French Eclectic style, and old-world influences showed through in the wood-paneled library and some of the original tile that remained.
When the house was listed for sale in early 2023, the old-style charm was hidden beneath maintenance issues. There was a hole in the kitchen ceiling and some of the walls were missing plaster and drywall. Enter River Forest duo Dan Halperin, broker with @properties, and John Murphy, a contractor. The pair had previously partnered to buy and rehab local homes, then sell them for a profit.
They saw a diamond in the rough in the corner house, which was filled with light, and which had an en suite bathroom for each bedroom. The house was listed for $700,000 in early 2023, and Halperin and Murphy bought the house for $625,000. Over six months, they turned the house from one that needed some love to one that would suit the needs of a 21st Century family.
Very little about the original home was salvageable. Halperin said that the house had solid bones, which they retained. He pointed out an interesting construction point they uncovered during demolition.
“The majority of brick houses are wood framed,” he said. “This is brick throughout.”
Murphy kept the original wrought iron stair rail on the front staircase and rehabbed the original front door. Halperin said that it was far more costly to fix the arched glass door than to buy a new one, but said the old door added a charm to the front façade that was worth keeping.
The inside of the house got a complete makeover. A rear staircase was removed to create a spacious kitchen and dining room. In the kitchen, a reeded detail in the custom range hood is picked up in the detail on the side of the island. One side of the island offers an eat-in area for bar stools. A hidden walk-in pantry offers plenty of storage.
New wood flooring and a sleek fireplace opened the living area. The windows in the living room had been boarded up on the bottom. Murphy put in new windows that run from the floor upwards, which allows in more light.
Partway up the stairs to the second floor, a family room with an original fireplace and a window seat in a bay window make for a cozy playroom or a work-from-home space.
Halperin said he and Murphy worked to make the primary suit feel special. They took unused attic space to raise the ceiling in the bedroom to create a cathedral ceiling. The primary bathroom includes heated flooring, a soaking tub, a steam shower and a double-sink, floating vanity. A walk-in closet with professional organization rounds out the room.
Three more bedrooms on this floor each have private bathrooms. A second-floor laundry area boasts colorful wallpaper and easy access from the hall.
The third floor had been roughly finished, and also received a complete makeover to make more livable space. There is a full bathroom, and room for another bedroom or a separate office, as well as a storage room.
The previously partially finished basement was completed with another bedroom, a full bathroom, a media room and dog washing station. Murphy dug out three egress windows in the basement that face south so that the space doesn’t feel underground.
“There’s no scary basement in this house,” Halperin said.
A mudroom leads into the house from the attached garage. Halperin said they believe the home might have originally built by the Buurma Brothers, who built many significant homes in the village.
The house got a new exterior makeover too, with white paint and a new fence for the yard. On the interior, all of the major systems were replaced.
“Every pipe, every wire, insulation, plumbing, electricity, even the floors are new,” Halperin.
The house went under contract while Murphy and his crew were still finishing up their work, and the sale recently closed for $1.85 million.
Halperin, who said this is the seventh project he has worked on with Murphy, said that they have an eighth starting soon in Riverside. He said he is not surprised that it sold before the rehab was finished.
“River Forest inventory changes day-to-day,” he said.
He added that a typical number of active listings for single-family homes would be 15 to 18, a number far off what has been on the market in early spring of this year.
