Jun 26, 2008

On the Market

On The Market—Glenview’s Passage to India

Translucent, backlit onyx, a fluid wood and iron stairway, and a series of balconies can be seen here in Dennis' video of the 7,000-square-foot-house. Click here for a larger version.

The two-year-old house stands on one and a half acres, about two-thirds of which, neither landscaped nor planted with grass, stretches from the back of the house to the edge of a forest preserve.

The stairway twists elegantly from the living room up to the second floor and down to the enormous entertainment space in the basement.

List Price: $4,495,000
The Property: At this 14,000-square-foot house in Glenview, a pair of large, intricately carved front doors made of sagwan wood open into a granite-floored foyer illuminated by a crystal chandelier. While the chandelier is Austrian, the wood and the granite are from India, as are the home’s owners, Bal Singh and his wife, Mira Trivedi. The couple collaborated with their Indian architect in designing the six-bedroom house; in the case of one major feature, a grand spiral staircase, they also helped in the redesign.

The couple had already installed an ornate stone staircase when Singh saw a more delicate and fluid wood and iron stairway in another home. They had their original stairs ripped out and built what they have now, a stairway that twists elegantly from the living room up to the second floor and down to the enormous entertainment space in the basement. The stairs aren’t the house’s only curvaceous feature; there are numerous arched windows, curved walls, and, in the rear, turrets. “You have to look hard to find right angles here,” says Annika Valdiserri, the Prairie Shore Properties agent representing the house for Singh and Trivedi.

In the living room, a translucent, backlit onyx mantelpiece catches the eye (the same onyx is used again in the basement’s pub-style bar). The kitchen, open to the living room and a sun-filled breakfast room, has a big island topped with Brazilian granite, a sleek backsplash of stainless steel tiles, and a full complement of top-line appliances.

The second floor has a series of balconies that overlook the first-floor rooms, as well as three bedrooms, each with a coved ceiling and separate bathroom. The very large master suite, also on the second floor, has a big balcony, and the master bathroom holds an oversized two-person tub whose upright backrests and black interior make it look more like the cockpit of a spaceship.

The two-year-old house stands on one and a half acres, about two-thirds of which, neither landscaped nor planted with grass, stretches from the back of the house to the edge of a forest preserve. Singh says they intended to install a pool and tennis court out there for their two sons, but decided instead to sell the house. Singh owns a carpet store in West Rogers Park, some commercial real estate, and a Florida flea market. He and Trivedi say the house has turned out to be too big for their family of four.

Price Points: Only three houses in Glenview are on record as selling for over $3 million in the past three years, according to Midwest Real Estate Data. The most expensive of those, which sold for $3.7 million in May 2007, is less than a block from this one, and was built in a somewhat more traditional French style.

Listing Agent: Annika Valdiserri of Prairie Shore Properties, 312-504-5020

Posted at 08:47 AM in On the Market | Permalink

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