The John Seaman House at 139 S. Grove in Oak Park is getting a new paint job, and it’s not the first time the Victorian-era mansion has been rehabbed by Thomas Restoration Painting.
The home was designed in 1894 by architect H. G. Fiddelke for John Seaman, a wealthy cooper who automated the barrel-making process. At the time, construction cost $17,000. Seaman purchased the entire block and built several homes, keeping 139 S. Grove for himself and decorating the interiors with seven different kinds of wood.
H.G. Fiddelke also designed the John I. Jones house across the street at 209 S. Grove. Thomas has worked on that home’s historic purple-toned paint scheme for multiple owners, as well.
In fact, over his more than 40 years in the business, Peter Thomas has painted all four architectural significant homes at the intersection of Grove and Pleasant, some of them multiple times for different owners.
Thomas grew up in Oak Park, the youngest of seven boys. His father was a village trustee, and his older brother Jim started the painting business in 1971. Peter joined in 1981 and has been restoring houses ever since.
Warren Stewart, helped save the house from dereliction when he bought it in 1986. The home went through a few more owners until the Blahnik family purchased the house in March 2024. Previous owners called Thomas to bring the house back to life.
“They renovated Avondale Bowl on North Milwaukee in the city,” Thomas said. “They won a national historic preservation award for that. I’m hoping we’ll win a local award for this one.”
Thomas’ right-hand man is Omar Morales, who has been working with him for fifteen years. On this job, they have had a team of seven, five painters and two carpenters, repairing the woodwork and repainting the home. At roughly 7,600 square feet, there’s a lot of house to cover.
Thomas said that some of the original details on the home were starting to deteriorate. He turned to Decorator’s Supply in Burr Ridge, which still has their catalogues of stock pieces from the 1880’s. Thomas believes it is likely where the original builder of the home would have purchased pieces during the construction of the home.
Portico of house at 139 S. Grove newly painted by Thomas Restoration Painting on Sept. 5, 2024. | Todd Bannor 
Detail of a dormer of the house at 139 S. Grove newly painted by Thomas Restoration Painting on Sept. 5, 2024. | Todd Bannor 
Dormers of the house at 139 S. Grove newly painted by Thomas Restoration Painting on Sept. 5, 2024. | Todd Bannor
The company was able to remake the swag design over the windows and the newel posts for the porch.
The middle dormer on the front of the house was added during a renovation at some point in the home’s past, and Thomas said it was missing the intricate details that set off the two original dormered windows on either side. They had the millwork recreated by Janik Millwork.
The Thomas Restoration team also had to replace dozens of porch spindles, which were in bad shape. They are rebuilding the stair rails to match the original. Morales and a co-worker teamed up to recreate the tongues on one of the sea serpents carvings over the front steps.
Thomas said that this kind of restoration is what takes his company beyond a typical painting company.
“We take all comers,” he said, noting that they can do partial paint jobs or full-blown restorations that include rebuilding porches and woodwork.
The company won an Historic Preservation Award for its work on the home of Seward Gunderson at 701 S. Elmwood Avenue, and Thomas said that’s one of his most famous jobs.
In the St. Edmunds parish area in the center of town, it’s hard to find a block that’s not dotted with homes that he has painted.
For a house on Wesley, he applied gold leaf to the bullseye detail. On the 200 and 100 south blocks of Grove, he’s painted more than a dozen homes.
A job like 139 S. Grove might be one of the more detailed examples of the work that Thomas Restoration Painting has done locally, but Peter Thomas said it’s all just part of the job. He estimated he painted thousands of homes in the Oak Park and River Forest area and said that contributing to the historic landscape of the town where he grew up makes for a rewarding career.