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Mirror mirror on the wall, is this house the most retro of all?
In suburban Chicago, a 4,256-square-foot residence filled with mirrors on almost every surface — mostly in its highly reflective kitchen — has sold, The Post has learned.
Located at 4 Cambridge Drive in Oak Brook, this 1979-built spread — which took a decade to decorate and still exudes a well-maintained 1980s look — traded for $699,000, according to Realtor.com.
But despite its undeniable charm of decades past, the new buyer is reportedly intent on making some changes – unlike the hordes of interested owners who had nothing but love for its gleaming appeal.
“I’ve never had a listing where so many people contacted me who liked the decor and/or were interested in buying furniture and artwork,” the listing agent said. Kathy Di Valerio, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, at the Post. . “A [prospective] the buyer told me she wanted to buy the house and everything in it. She didn’t want to change anything!
The four- to five-bedroom home went on sale in March for $733,000 and, as described in its marketing, was an estate sale.
A brick exterior leads to a glazed interior. Kitchen listing pictures show mirrors covering the two-door refrigerator, full-size dishwasher, panels surrounding the microwave and oven, and cabinet doors. Elsewhere, mirrors fill the walls of the bedrooms — including in the bedroom whose bed has a mirrored frame, and another whose ceiling has been clad in wave-like rolls of fabric. There are even glass panels along the walls of a basement recreation room and those of the bathrooms, one of which has gold-colored mirrors.
“You don’t see much ’80s style anymore,” Di Valerio said. “And you certainly don’t see an entire house that looks like a time capsule for [decades]like this one was.
Other images show a staircase with decorative lucite and reflective gold ornaments, as well as other non-reflective walls painted white, an all-white living room with a fireplace, and even indoor palm trees.
The owners, identified as Frank and Gloria, had different hobbies. Frank loved cars – and the listing pictures also show a large garage – and Gloria loved dressing up her house. (She also seemed to have the master recipe for keeping mirrors scratch-free.)
“When Gloria felt like decorating, she would decide which room she wanted to remodel, she would choose a theme, she would call her interior designer, Irv Caplan, and they would go to the Merchandise Mart to make Gloria’s vision come to life,” Di added. Valerio: “If Gloria and Irv couldn’t find exactly what they wanted, they would have custom furniture and artwork made to complete the room.”
As for the other details of the house, it stands on a 0.57 acre lot with a porch. The hall reaches two floors, there is a laundry room, a raised dressing room in the master bedroom and a sunken bath in its bathroom, and fitted wardrobes throughout. Outside, the deep backyard is dotted with trees. Nearby is a patio with space to sit.
Although the house is now in new hands, the original owners have certainly left their mark.
“It took 10 years for this house to be completely built the way Gloria wanted it to be,” Di Valerio said.
