Houzz TV: See What It’s Like to Live in a Glass House
Tour a couple’s midcentury modern Illinois home, where floor-to-ceiling views of nature are all around
Annie Thornton
January 6, 2019
Houzz Editorial Staff
Kim and Jeff Valles have called a glass house home for 10 years and wouldn’t have had it any other way. “A glass home was pretty frightening in the beginning,” Jeff says, but now it’s the homes with solid walls that feel foreign to him. “You sit in someone else’s living room and you hear something and you turn, expecting to see out the window, and you look into a wall,” he says.
The Valleses are the home’s second owners. They bought it from H.P. Davis Rockwell, who designed and built the home for his family in 1964. Rockwell studied under Mies van der Rohe, who designed Farnsworth House, the iconic glass house in Plano, Illinois. Philip Johnson’s Glass House also was influenced by van der Rohe.
The mostly glass-and-concrete home, about 30 miles south of Chicago, in Olympia Fields, sits on a bluff surrounded by trees and open ground. An 1,800-square-foot upper story greets approaching visitors, while a concealed 1,800-square-foot second story sits below.
Though the couple decided to move from this Chicago-area home back to the Pacific Northwest, where Kim is from and where Jeff had a new career opportunity, they took some time to speak with Houzz about what living in a glass house has meant to them.
Watch now: See more of this midcentury glass house on Houzz TV
The mostly glass-and-concrete home, about 30 miles south of Chicago, in Olympia Fields, sits on a bluff surrounded by trees and open ground. An 1,800-square-foot upper story greets approaching visitors, while a concealed 1,800-square-foot second story sits below.
Though the couple decided to move from this Chicago-area home back to the Pacific Northwest, where Kim is from and where Jeff had a new career opportunity, they took some time to speak with Houzz about what living in a glass house has meant to them.
Watch now: See more of this midcentury glass house on Houzz TV
Jeff and Kim have appreciated how well-thought-out the midcentury modern home’s floor plan is. The structure, though spectacular, was designed to be a functional home. “It lives beautifully,” Kim says. “We just move seamlessly from room to room.” Here we see the front hall leading into the home office; it then curves around into the living room and into the kitchen and dining room.
Terrazzo flooring, made with Eau Claire River gravel, covers the floors throughout the first floor, blurring the boundaries between rooms while maintaining a clean ground plane.
Find an architect near you in the Houzz pro directory
Terrazzo flooring, made with Eau Claire River gravel, covers the floors throughout the first floor, blurring the boundaries between rooms while maintaining a clean ground plane.
Find an architect near you in the Houzz pro directory
The living room takes up a corner of the house with 10-by-12-foot quarter-inch glass panels on all sides and the terrazzo flooring underfoot.
When the Valleses moved in, one of the first things they did was upgrade the home’s heating and cooling systems, which is the type of upgrade they’ve done with all the midcentury homes they’ve owned. “That’s made the homes much more livable,” Jeff says. They leave intact as much of the homes’ architect-envisioned shape, bones and finishes as possible.
The panoramic views allow the homeowners to enjoy each season in an immersive way. “When it gets around zero [degrees] and below, I cover up with my blanket and I read my book, and outside it’s all white and it’s snowing and I’m still warm and cozy,” Kim says. “It’s just an amazing experience.”
Watch now: Step inside this home on Houzz TV
Find a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning pro on Houzz
When the Valleses moved in, one of the first things they did was upgrade the home’s heating and cooling systems, which is the type of upgrade they’ve done with all the midcentury homes they’ve owned. “That’s made the homes much more livable,” Jeff says. They leave intact as much of the homes’ architect-envisioned shape, bones and finishes as possible.
The panoramic views allow the homeowners to enjoy each season in an immersive way. “When it gets around zero [degrees] and below, I cover up with my blanket and I read my book, and outside it’s all white and it’s snowing and I’m still warm and cozy,” Kim says. “It’s just an amazing experience.”
Watch now: Step inside this home on Houzz TV
Find a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning pro on Houzz
The kitchen and dining area, just around the corner from the living room, features many of its original details and finishes, with 21st-century upgrades that make the space more usable. A new double oven and cooktop have made cooking safer and more efficient, but the original teak butcher block countertop remains faithful to Rockwell’s design.
Though the painted-glass backsplash isn’t an original feature, it speaks to the essence of this home’s architecture. “This house is all about openness and simple,” making this a perfect fit, Jeff says.
Find kitchen appliances in the Houzz Shop
Though the painted-glass backsplash isn’t an original feature, it speaks to the essence of this home’s architecture. “This house is all about openness and simple,” making this a perfect fit, Jeff says.
Find kitchen appliances in the Houzz Shop
The master bedroom, on the southeast corner of the house, features glass walls on all sides and is separated from the rest of the house only by curtains the couple draws every night.
Extensive built-ins throughout the house make storage a breeze. The master bedroom, for example, features a double-sided closet and a built-in vanity table. “We had furniture that we literally had to get rid of,” Jeff says. “Every room had its own closets, had its own drawers; it’s all done.”
Extensive built-ins throughout the house make storage a breeze. The master bedroom, for example, features a double-sided closet and a built-in vanity table. “We had furniture that we literally had to get rid of,” Jeff says. “Every room had its own closets, had its own drawers; it’s all done.”
As the Valleses prepared to say goodbye to this house, they knew that they were leaving with an appreciation for nature and the world at large that comes from living in a house with glass walls. “It forces you be more aware of what’s going on around you,” Kim says. “You cannot close yourself off to the outside, or even to other people.”
More on Houzz
See the full tour of this midcentury glass house on Houzz TV
Find a pro for your home project
Shop for home products
More on Houzz
See the full tour of this midcentury glass house on Houzz TV
Find a pro for your home project
Shop for home products
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Nice one! Reminds us of Philip Johnson’s glass house
My husband Tony and I just watched this video for the first time. This is a beautiful home and very tastefully appointed by the Valles. Bravo to them as owners! And thank you to HOUZZ for showing this home. We live in Portland in a home designed by my father-in-law, Pietro Belluschi. Our home has also been the subject of a nice HOUZZ video several years ago and we still enjoy sharing it with people. We are wondering if the Valles are in Portland Oregon or Maine? If the former, we will hope to meet you one day!
How lovely! We were in Portland OR, but moved up to Seattle this year. We actually went on a Portland Modern tour a couple of years ago and Pietro's home was featured. It absolutely took our breath away, and I imagine your home is wonderful, as well.