Midcentury estate with stunning enclosed courtyard asks $2M

This midcentury mansion with an unusual architectural pedigree boasts a soaring central atrium with an indoor pond, leafy planters, and a peaked glass roof. Available for the first time in its five-decade history, it’s seeking just shy of $2 million.

The Lake Forest property is a rare work by late designer George Scott Hodgkins, who completed the project as his personal residence in 1965. The Yale-educated architect passed away just two years later at age 32. His widow Constance Goldsmith Addington, however, resided in the North Shore home until she passed in 2018.

“The house exists as Hodgkins designed it,” listing agent Marina Carney of Griffith Grant & Lackie Realty told Curbed Chicago. “Other than attaching the garage and a family room addition, it hasn’t much changed since 1965.”

Behind its somewhat austere exterior, the six-bedroom, six-bathroom structure has an abundance of natural light from its bright, fully enclosed courtyard. Rooms facing the sunny interior space are screened behind sliding metal fretwork for added shade and privacy.

Other standout details include terrazzo floors, various custom built-ins, a delightfully retro avocado-colored kitchen, a painting studio, and bathrooms clad in vintage 1960s wallpaper. Strategically placed floor-to-ceiling windows provide views of the property’s heavily wooded, private 1.1-acre lot.

Although some aspects of the home could benefit from a refresh, the unorthodox design still manages to look fresh and sophisticated after 54 years. It also begs the question: what else could have George Scott Hodgkins created had he lived past the age 32?

• 877 Woodbine Place, Lake Forest Illinois [Griffith Grant & Lackie Realty]
• Midcentury modern archives [Curbed Chicago]