Unusual home with secret bookcase door, starry theater asks $490K in Rogers Park

From the curb, this cottage in Rogers Park looks quite sweet with its Prairie School windows and enclosed front porch. However, the home offers several surprises including a dark-wooded English library, a twinkly movie theater, and a secret bookcase doorway. The three-bedroom, four-bathroom home is listed at $490,000.

Some of the library’s dramatic features include decorative dragon cornices, a sizable fireplace, a built-in chess board and, just above, a mythical creature’s head along with a sword mounted on the wall. Robes with Gryffindor colors hang just out of sight, so we could guess, the homeowners were attempting to recreate their own piece of Harry Potter’s wizard world.

Behind one of the library walls is a secret room, perhaps inspired by Harry’s hidden space underneath stairs? The wood-paneled room appears to be a guest room now decorated with knick knacks and furs, but could make a clever office as well.

The kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms are a bit more contemporary and much less dramatic. The home also has a pleasant, green outdoor space with a fountain as well as a partially enclosed porch off the kitchen with a tiny outdoor fireplace. In the basement, there’s a twilight movie theater complete with blue velvet curtains and a sparkly ceiling.