Take a walk through Batavia's historic gems

Let's face it. The rare Greek revival house that dates from 1852 can have lots of charm, a great lot in a fabulous neighborhood and even an updated kitchen. But some young families might balk at quirks in the floor plan.

They don't bother Shannon and Christopher Hermann.

Their house, which will be open as part of the Batavia House Walk on Sunday, Sept. 26, suits them very well, said Shannon Hermann, even though the couple currently sleeps in what was once the formal parlor while their two young sons have second-floor bedrooms.

"We like the arrangement," said Shannon, "and the house is very spacious. Some day I would like to make this room the parlor again, and we could move our bedroom upstairs, and the boys would share a room."

The Hermanns have owned the house three years, and are down the street from an Italianate built two years later that DeAnna and Glenn Miner have worked hard to modernize while keeping the original style.

"Our first house was down the street," said Shannon. "But Chris got a new job, and we moved to Oregon. I just missed this area so much. I'm from California, he's from the East Coast. After three years we moved back here. I bought this house without even seeing the inside. He had come to visit and filmed it for me."

One advantage is that Shannon and Christopher each have an office - a boon for the couple that works from home.

The first-floor rooms in the house offer a lot of personality. Take the family room right off the kitchen, for example. It is huge with a fireplace on one side, a large wood-trimmed arch into a area almost like a bay with windows and a brick floor, and through the screened porch it has access to an original flagstone walk and that fabulous yard.

The master bedroom/parlor on the front of the house has its own doorway where guests probably arrived, and French doors that open to the tiniest balconies. Was there originally a larger balcony or were these little outdoor spaces for gentlemen smokers or where courting couples could steal a kiss? Across from them, the fireplace that once burned coal is metal, painted to look like black granite.

Previous owners of the house have noteworthy histories, including Thomas Cleveland, who had the home built. He was a cousin of President Grover Cleveland, ran a general store in town and was a station agent for a railroad.

John Burnham, who is credited with bringing the windmill business to what would come to be known as The Windmill City, bought the house in 1863.

While the Hermanns love old things, Shannon also decorates the home with modern art. A stainless steel top on an old table base in the kitchen is an example of their eclectic taste.

Craig Bergmann designed the back yard when his parents owned the house; his landscape design and installation firm is in Lake Forest and Wadsworth.

With an antique-looking gazebo, it's still rather formal for a family with two little boys, but Christopher Hermann installed a firepit, and the family has a little soccer net.

The Miners have lived in their 1854 home for six years, but they bought it from Glenn's parents, who owned it for half a century, and warm mementos are throughout. For example, the glass panels framing the front door were installed by Elna and Bill Miner, Glenn's parents.

When Glenn Miner rebuilt and enlarged the front porch, he found the transom over the front door.

A handwritten play script popped out from between floors, and other treasures displayed in a tabletop case in the living room include bottles and tins discovered inside walls and between floors.

The mantel in the living room is original, as are the amazing double curtain rods, but most of the Victorian furniture is reproductions.

A large picture of Swedish opera star Jenny Lind that hung in the house for decades joins family photos.

The Miners remodeled the kitchen and added the adjacent family room on what had been a patio. The posts that divide the two rooms were originally on the front porch, and Glenn copied them when he rebuilt and expanded it.

DeAnna, a retired art teacher, painted Chinese symbols above the family room windows and scripted the translation on the window sills so she wouldn't forget the sayings such as "Like weather, one's fortune may change by the evening."

The flea market find of wooden pillars sets the tone for another entrance to the kitchen, as do the vintage oak buffet and sideboard facing each other.

The simple cherry cabinets are new, and DeAnna crafted the bright floral reverse glass painting behind the range and plastered the vent hood herself. Her father-in-law made the wooden "Miner's Diner" that decorates the hood.

She also painted the gold island cabinets, and Glenn did all the trim work in the kitchen.

While DeAnna likes the floral wallpaper in the dining room with its pretty bay window and the happy memories of family gatherings, she felt there was too much of it. So she papered part of the wall with an Anaglypta or old-fashioned raised design that she painted with gray green then brushed on gold and copper.

The back staircase had been closed off, but DeAnna and Glenn's sons and their cousins used to climb up inside as kids, and the Miners found their names written in there when they opened it up.

On the second floor, the rose wallpaper has been in the master bedroom at least 50 years, but the bathrooms have been remodeled.

Visitors will enjoy the vintage family wedding dresses displayed in one of the guest rooms, along with the trunk a Swedish immigrant brought with her. One of Glenn's ancestors, Amos Miner, was an early settler of Kane County.

"We wanted to modernize it but keep the feel of the old house," said DeAnna. "It has great memories for us."