When it comes to enviable professions, accounting is the proverbial widget. Boring! But Ernest Reckitt did quite well for himself crunching numbers. He cofounded Northwestern University’s School of Commerce and authored several books on his field. He also commissioned one of the finest homes in Evanston, an impressive Tudor pile designed by a fellow British immigrant, architect Ernest Alfred Mayo.

Mayo came to Chicago as an adviser for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and stayed on to design dozens of homes in Evanston until his death in 1946. The house he whipped up for Reckitt and his wife, Catherine — which sold recently for just under $2.5 million — sits at 1120 Forest Avenue, behind a broad lawn on a double lot a mere five blocks from Lake Michigan. A spacious brick terrace runs the length of the street-facing side, and a sunroom encased in French doors overlooks the backyard.

Built in 1912 and later owned by Henry Haven Windsor, founder of Popular Mechanics magazine, the 8,360-square-foot home is centered on an impressive 37-foot-long, 20-foot-high entry hall, complete with fireplace — one of five in the generously scaled seven-bedroom, six-bathroom residence. Hallmarks of the Tudor style — wood paneling, leaded windows, and ceilings spun with geometric plaster tracery — are everywhere. As are such old-school touches as a commodious coatroom just inside the front door. The primary bedroom suite includes a large walk-in closet and separate dressing room. A butler’s pantry, outfitted with a sink and an undercounter refrigerator, adjoins the updated kitchen. There’s a coach house, too: a two-bedroom apartment above the two-car garage. It all adds up to some nice digs.