When Berkeley and Harvard-trained architect Steven Huang came to Oak Park looking for a home to renovate and sell, he was drawn to the village’s historic architecture. Originally from China, Huang teaches at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and in his spare time enjoys exploring historic places.
With a small renovation under his belt in Berwyn, he turned to Oak Park and found a great candidate for his first major makeover in a Queen Anne style home at 237 S. East Ave. The oldest home on the block, it had been loved by its previous owner for over 60 years, but the home was in need of maintenance and interior and exterior updates.
The walls might have been crumbling, but Huang saw the potential to honor the home’s past while bringing a more modern feel to the interior. Huang, who had work experience at firms like SOM (Skidmore, Owens & Merrill,) knew local architect Frank Heitzman. Heitzman, a former Historic Preservation Commission chair, reviewed Huang’s plans for the home.
Huang kept the front of the house very true to the original plan. He retained the original porch railings, front door and front staircase. He maintained the placement of the original fireplace in the living room but updated it with marble sourced from Turkey. He also maintained the original window sizes but installed new windows throughout the home.
“When touring other homes in the area, I saw a lot of built-ins,” said Huang. He worked with his IIT architecture students to design built-ins in the living room and dining room of the home.
Over the years, the original millwork had been removed from the house, so in the front rooms, Huang installed millwork that was appropriate to the home’s 1886 build date.
At the back of the house, Huang put on an addition and used more modern trim to delineate the old and new spaces in the home. The original kitchen was quite small, but with Huang’s addition, it now houses an 11-foot island and three new windows at the back that frame the flowering fruit tree in the back yard.
The addition continues on the second floor of the home. What was the original primary bedroom at the front of the house joins two other bedrooms that share a hall bathroom.
The new primary suite at the rear of the house is part of Huang’s addition and features an organic, swooping ceiling. Huang said, “I wanted the room to be filled with light.”
Echoing the three windows in the kitchen, there is a bank of three windows overlooking the backyard’s fruit tree. With very intentional design, Huang planned for skylights in the new primary bathroom to fill that room with light. The soaking tub is tucked beneath a picture window and the bathroom’s marble echoes the marble in the living room fireplace.
What was once unfinished attic space was converted into a spacious work-from-home office or a fifth bedroom with another full bathroom. The unfinished basement was also remodeled and houses a large laundry room and family room.
Throughout the house, Huang used his expertise to create a feeling of light and space. His attention to detail extends to the backyard where he created a pea gravel patio in the shape of the shadow of the house. Along with all new mechanicals, water line and a garage, the house is well suited to last another 140 years.
The house was listed for sale with Heidi Rogers of Baird and Warner for $1,200,000 and sold for $1,204,375 in May.
Huang said that prior to beginning the project, he spoke with the former owner, who was only the second owner of the home. A librarian, she had lived in the house 60 years and raised four children there. While she wasn’t able to come to see the home post-renovation, he hopes she would appreciate seeing her house brought back to glory. When he chose a color for the paint on the exterior, he kept it a pale shade of blue, similar to what was there when he bought the house.