This Evanston Reno Is a Modern Dream

This foursquare’s modern makeover is all in the details: Michigan pine floors, a custom Italian range, and a seamless shower enclosure.
4241

3055 Cleinview Avenue

Photograph by Wow Photography

Fully intending to live in the finished home, current owner Chris Kuehl gutted it down to the studs. “I honestly wasn’t too excited about what I saw on the market,” Kuehl says. “I didn’t really want to get a flip because in many cases the work isn’t great. From the drywall to all the mechanics, everything is brand new—literally the entire home was redone.”

Photograph by Wow Photography

From the outside, the look is typical foursquare: a square with a triangle on top, two windows up, a window and a door down, a small front porch with raw wood beams and plank floors. But step inside, and nothing here is typical. The entire first floor has been opened up, with clear sightlines from the front door to the kitchen. The living room’s exposed brick fireplace adds warmth and texture to the white walls and black trim. The pine flooring installed on the first and second floors has a light Swedish-style stain, keeping the look consistent. Kuehl says this special 10-inch red pine is the hardest pine available and was specifically brought in from Michigan.

In the kitchen, a custom Italian range serves as a centerpiece, while sleek white cabinets keep the space crisp and clean. The island offers an eat-in area, dark stainless appliances pair well with the exposed brick, and a small window-height counter makes a great command center/landing area inside the back door.

Photograph by Wow Photography

Photograph by Wow Photography

Hand railings throughout the home are another detail that was thoughtfully planned. Custom made from 200-year-old salvaged wood removed from a building in OTR, the red cherry is a rare type that took a week to restore. On the third floor, the lofted master is a dream. “We had to open up the stair height to be able to fit the master glass shower into the third floor,” Kuehl adds. “These pieces of glass were so large and angled in such a way we had to expand the stairwell to get them up into the third floor.”

The third-level floors were salvaged but match closely to the rest of the home. With a seamless bathroom floor, the shower grates were laid into the tile so there is no-step entry into the shower, keeping the design unobstructed. The bath also includes a double vanity, a massive shower space, and a soaking tub. Down on the second floor, you’ll find three more bedrooms with the same aesthetic along with designer details like a chevron-tile pattern in a bathroom, sliding barn doors, and exposed ducts. The thing that makes the home so special to me is the feeling you get when you first walk in,” Kuehl says. “It feels so open and clean—rustic but also clean and modern.”

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