This 1899 home in Hinsdale was nearly lost to a devastating fire. A National Register landmark once nicknamed the American Beauty, after the roses the original owner grew on its grounds. Faced with a house most would have torn down and started over, the owners chose the harder path. They committed to bringing it back, not rebuilt, but truly restored to the grandeur it had before.

The team studied archival photographs to get the proportions exact, some of them turned up by neighbors who had lived on the street for decades. Along the way they uncovered original stained-glass transoms hidden inside the walls, with missing panels recreated by hand to match. Millwork was salvaged and rebuilt from the original samples, and paint colors were custom-mixed with Farrow & Ball to the period. The lost third floor, once designed as a ballroom, was rebuilt entirely. Downstairs, the original billiards room was brought back, joined by a new Irish pub that nods to the owner's heritage.

A landmark saved, with barely a seam to show for it.

Architecture by Michael Abraham Architecture. Interior design by Elizabeth Krueger Design. Built by Dave Knecht Homes. Photography by Mike Schwartz.

Featured in Chicago Magazine and The Hinsdalean.