Architect Jerome Cerny's New Orleans-Inspired Family Home Sold

LAKE FOREST, IL — The family home of prominent local architect Jerome Cerny sold this week for $1.2 million, about a half-million dollars more than the sellers paid for it nearly two decades ago.

Located on a 0.5 acre property across Green Bay Road from Cherokee School, the two-story brick and cedar home faces south and includes four bedrooms and more than 3,000 square feet of living space.

Cerny designed the home for himself in 1936. According to its listing, its sloping roof was inspired by the architecture of Monterey, California, while its original ironwork evokes New Orleans' Absinthe House, one of the city's oldest buildings.

Cerny was born in Chicago to Czech parents in 1901, later changing his first name from Jaroslav to Jerome. He studied at the Armour Institute of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago following World War I, according to a chronology of his career prepared by a former Lake Forest College archivist.

After working as an associate in the office of Stanley Anderson in the 1920s, Cerny returned from studying in Europe and joined David Adler's architectural firm before setting up his own Lake Forest office in 1929, shortly before his Cherokee Road home was built, according to the chronology.

The New Orleans-style iron work on the home's second-story porch would become one of Cerny's signature design elements.

The home has been restored significantly since the sellers purchased it in 2002, but remains in close to original condition, according to listing broker Marina Carney.

Renovations include a new HVAC system, a remodeled kitchen, bathrooms and the enclosure of its back porch.

Carney noted the "spectacular" bowed bay windows in the front of the house, as well as several signature features of Cerny's eclectic style, including Dutch doors, Chinese cinnabar knobs and French locks.

"It's the understated elegance, as complemented by spaces for today's lifestyle," Carney told Patch.

The front door opens to a reception hall with a curved staircase.

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"It is a beautifully gracious staircase in that house," Carney said. "It is what sold the house."

Past the staircase , and through an arched door, Cerny's design includes a bathroom and first-floor office that still includes its original hidden storage compartment.

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The rest of the ground floor includes a formal dining room, spacious kitchen and living room that opens onto a terrace and private gardens.

It also features a sunroom, family room and guest suite.

RELATED: Renovated Lake Forest Jerome Cerny Design Sells For $3.2 Million

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RELATED: Historic Jerome Cerny-Designed Lake Forest Home Sells For $2.45 Million

Upstairs, French doors from the master suite open onto the second-floor balcony. It also includes two bedrooms and one bathroom.

The home's partially finished lower level features a family room, fireplace, office space and laundry room.

Property records show the home was last purchased for $710,000 in May 2002 by a trust on behalf of Mark and Mary Hoffman.

The sellers accepted an offer even before the home was listed publicly, and so the property was already under contract when it appeared on the multiple listing service on March 29.

The $1.2 million sale closed Wednesday.

According to the Lake County Assessor's Office, the estimated market value of the home for taxing purposes was less than $579,000 last year, so the home's annual property tax bill is under $12,000 this year.

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• Address: 290 Cherokee Rd, Lake Forest, Illinois
• Built: 1937
• Square Feet: 2,538 aboveground
• Bedrooms: 4
• Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 half
• Last Sold: $710,000
• First Listed: $1.275 million on March 29
• Sale Closed: $1.2 million on April 28

Listing information originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.