Community Corner

For Sale: 'OMG' House With Wright Ties

Patch tours $2.7 million Riverwoods home designed by famed architect's youngest apprentice.

When it came to designing her home, Joyce Marcus knew exactly what she wanted, she also knew precisely who she wanted to build it. 

“You know how sometimes you meet someone and you’re symbiotic, that’s how it was with Dennis and I,” Marcus remembered of her first interaction with architect Arthur Dennis Stevens.

Stevens happened to be one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s youngest apprentices and lived with the noted architect for several years.

Find out what's happening in Deerfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Marcus first met her dream architect when she moved her business to an office building in Des Plaines. Stevens not only designed the facility but was working there at the time. So it didn’t take Marcus very long to introduce herself. 

“I walked in their office and I said, ‘This building is amazing,’ ” Marcus recalled. "I said, ‘Someday maybe you’ll build a house for me.’ ”

Find out what's happening in Deerfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Related: Bueller?...Bueller? Famous Home Goes Off the Market. 

Soon after that, Marcus purchased a piece of property in Riverwoods and immediately set out to hire Stevens. 

“I want it all glass and I don’t want any walls, and I want all natural material and I want it to be very dramatic,” Marcus told Stevens during their initial planning phases. “He says, ‘So you mean when you walk up the front steps and you open the door, people will walk in and they’ll go ‘Oh my God.’’ I said, ‘That’s the house.’ ”

Construction started in 1978 and Marcus moved into the house in 1980.

“His whole way of thinking, everything that he does, is to marry the land and the home with the way that you live,” Marcus said. “He knew what I wanted and he created something that I wanted.”

But after living in her “personal sanctuary” for more than 30 years, Marcus said she was ready for a change. She has put the 7 Timberline Rd. property on the market for about $2.67 million.

“I think that whoever buys this house will love it as much as I do,” she said. “I think that they will have a wonderful part of their life here.”

Patch went inside this Riverwoods home to check out all its features. Click on the video above to hear more from its owner and see if you think it’s “Oh My God” too.

Click here to like Deerfield Patch on Facebook.   


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here