Iconic Wright remodel hits the market

One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic designs in Oak Park actually was a Wright remodel. Now the home is changing hands for the first time in a quarter century. The Hills DeCaro House at 313 Forest Ave. has become associated with Wright due to the engulfing nature of his remodel of the home, but the home was actually built in 1883 as a Stick Style Victorian home.

The home’s long-time owners, Mark and Sallie Smylie, decided it was time for a new project after 25 years in the home and recently listed the home for sale for $2.295 million with Pamela Tilton Linn, Eudice Fogel and Jayme Slate of Compass Realty. The home was under contract in a matter of days for over list price.

During their quarter century in the home, the Smylies raised a family, restored the house and relished living in an architecturally significant home. While the couple quickly became stewards of the house, they didn’t set out to buy a significant home back in 2001. 

They were living with their family on Scoville Avenue in Oak Park. After looking without success for a slightly larger house, the couple embarked on a two-story addition. Shortly after finishing that expansion, a found out that 313 Forest Ave. was for sale and decided to take a look just for fun.

Mark recalls, “We spent over an hour talking to the DeCaros. Sallie and I walked out on the front porch after that visit and said, ‘Man, we have to give this a shot.’ We didn’t know much about Wright then, but we knew it was special.”

The home was purchased in 1900 by Nathan Moore, who lived in the Wright-designed home to the north on Forest Avenue. Moore hired Wright to remodel the house at 313 Forest for his daughter Mary and her husband Edward Hills. 

Wright’s drawings for the remodel in 1905 revealed a design heavily influenced by his recent trip to Kyoto, Japan. Wright rotated the house 90 degrees on the lot and added so much to the house that its original Victorian style was obliterated. 

Irene and Tom DeCaro purchased the home in 1975, and in 1976, a catastrophic fire destroyed all but the first floor of the home. The couple turned to Wright’s drawings to rebuild the home in a restoration that included two miles of wood trim and 136 leaded glass windows. They were awarded for their efforts with an official renaming of the house, which became known as the Hills DeCaro House.

When the Smylies purchased the house, one of their daughters asked, “If we live in this house, can we still have friends over?” 

Mark says, “That question went right to the heart of it. We knew that if we couldn’t say yes, we didn’t want the house. That stood out in our minds as the pivotal thing.”

The couple believed that the historic home, while significant, was not too precious for normal family life, complete with kids and dogs. “We knew we could raise a family and live in a piece of artwork. For us, that combination seemed to work beautifully,” Mark recalls. 

Over their years in the house, the Smylies tackled a number of renovation projects. On the exterior, they rebuilt the garden pavilion and a section of Wright’s pergola, added an architecturally appropriate garage, and restored an 1893 Columbian Exposition ticket booth in the side yard.

On the interior, they remodeled the kitchen and the second-floor bedrooms and bathrooms. In the basement they created a recreational space, complete with a family room, billiard room, wine cellar, kitchenette, and guest suite.

Throughout it all, Mark says the couple tried to continue the work of the DeCaros and be good stewards of the house. 

When asked what he will miss most about the house, Mark answers, “We’ll miss everything about it. It’s a great place to live, not just a great place to look at. We have big dogs and five grandchildren who come to visit, and it all works.”

The Smylies are moving to Asheville, North Carolina, where they are building a new home that will move them closer to children and Mark’s mother and siblings. While they are excited about the new adventure, there’s a lot they are sad to say goodbye to in Oak Park, the village they have called home for 40 years.

Mark says, “Forty years is a great run. Twenty-five years in a house is a great run. It just feels like it’s time.”