A Harry Weese–Designed Home With a Conversation Pit Asks $899K Outside Chicago

Situated on a 4.5-acre riverside lot in DeKalb, Illinois, the 1977 residence includes a full-height stone fireplace and a leaf-shaped pool.

A Harry Weese–Designed Home With a Conversation Pit Asks $899K Outside Chicago

Situated on a 4.5-acre riverside lot in DeKalb, Illinois, the 1977 residence includes a full-height stone fireplace and a leaf-shaped pool.

The sunken living room curves around a full-height stone fireplace.

Roughly 65 miles from downtown Chicago in DeKalb, Illinois, a 1977 home designed by celebrated architect Harry Weese sits on a 4.5-acre woodland lot on the banks of the Kishwaukee River.

Architect Harry Weese built the 1977 home at 9 Arrowhead Lane on a 4.5-acre woodland plot near the Kishwaukee River in DeKalb, Illinois.

Architect Harry Weese built the 1977 home on a 4.5-acre woodland lot near the Kishwaukee River in DeKalb, Illinois.

Photo by Andrew Miller Photography

Weese, an Illinois native who established his eponymous firm in Chicago in 1947, designed everything from single-family homes and residential buildings to the 30-floor Time-Life Building in Chicago, and—perhaps most famously—Washington, D.C.’s enormous Metro public transportation system. The architect, who was also known for his firm advocacy of historic preservation, was referred to in the Chicago Tribune as "the renowned architect who shaped Chicago’s skyline and the way the city thought about everything from the lakefront to its treasure trove of historical buildings" when he passed away in 1998.

teak and oak flooring, whitewashed walls, and soaring ceilings

The 5,801-square-foot residence features a full-height stone fireplace in a sunken lounge area, as well as teak and oak flooring, whitewashed walls, and soaring ceilings.

Photo by Andrew Miller Photography

"Walking in the front door, you are greeted by a massive stone fireplace that resembles one of Weese’s skyscrapers in Chicago," says the current owner, Molly Green, who has lived in the home for more than 20 years after she and her husband bought the property from the original residents who commissioned Weese to design it. "Every guest that has been here over the years has said that it truly is a one of kind," Green continues. 

"An original—and extremely unique—favorite piece of mine is the brutalist-style, 1970s chandelier with torch-cut copper metal in the main living area, as well as the matching copper wall art depicting wheat," says the current homeowner, Molly Green. "The original owner ran an agriculture business in DeKalb and the chandelier reminded him of husks of corn."  

Photo by Andrew Miller Photography

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