Downers Grove Living
By Wendy Foster
Home & Garden, Downers Grove Style – Glancer Magazine
I am just a little bit of a trendsetter. I qualify that with just a little bit, because frankly, I’ve worn my hair the same way for thirty years and big and curly hasn’t been fashionable for ages. But generally speaking, I’m a trendsetter bordering on fashionista. I wore tunic tops and skinny jeans way before they appeared in fashion magazines, designated the color bronze as the new black years ago and was the second person I know to have an iPad. Most impressive in my repertoire of being ahead of the times is the fact that I loved eclectic way before it was popular. Homogenous cookie cutter visuals bore me; whimsical and patchwork charm me. I love to mix and not quite match, variety and color. This is the reason that Downers Grove is the perfect hometown for me.
There is not one all encompassing description of the neighborhoods in Downers Grove other than eclectic. If you travel several blocks in any direction, the appearance and character o the home will change. Houses in Downers Grove run almost the full gamut in terms of styles size and age. We boast modest starter homes, enormous palatial dwellings and everything in between including apartments, condominiums and townhomes. Many of our neighborhoods are rich in historical significance and are treasured by the community. Over recent years, great expense and effort went into moving and preserving the Blodgett house, which dates back to the mid 1800’s and is known to have been a stop along the Underground Railroad. Downers Grove is also home to an abundance of Sears and catalog homes dating back to the early 1900’s. Not all housing however is vintage, as there are middle–aged subdivisions and newer construction integrated gracefully into existing neighborhoods. Small, large, historical, new, charming, and glamorous…there are bits of it all.
I have been delighted with what appears to be the perfect melding of all the characteristics that I cherish in our homes, evolving right in the heard of downtown. For a while, it seemed like Oakley Home Builders was going to tear down a cute but somewhat dilapidated home on Main Street that had most recently served as a tea room. The building, which is believed to have been built around 1940, and which I called a Cape Cod, reminded me of my Aunt Fritizi’s house from my childhood. As the requisite fencing was erected around the structure, demolition equipment moved in and permits were posted, it made me sad. I finally realized though, that the workers were gently deconstruction only part of the building, keeping the beautiful stonework in place. Gradually, they have been adding on to the structure, creating an eclectic building that will serve as Oakley Homes Builders’ home office and showcase. It combines a little bit of old, a lot of new and tons of character and charm. Just like Downers Grove itself, a perfect combination.
Eclectic is more than just about visual esthetics for me. What the great variety in Downers Grove neighborhoods translates to is the ability to attract diverse and vibrant population…. the residents of Downers Grove.
