Meet Avondale Estates’s priciest home—a ‘Zen-filled retreat’ seeking $1.1M

The most expensive home listing in Avondale Estates at the moment is a spacious 1950 ranch that’s been reimagined and reconfigured as something drastically different: an Asian-influenced “Zen-filled retreat” with its own nickname, “Blessed.”

This custom five-bedroom with nearly 4,700 square feet and a meditation shelter in the backyard stands around the corner from the DeKalb County city’s eponymous lake.

It listed in mid-November with Origins Real Estate at $1.1 million, where it remains. The price obviously reflects the huge footprint—and holy-moly features such as towering 20-foot ceilings and a Tokonoma alcove.

Only a handful of Avondale Estates homes have sold for north of $800,000 in recent years, property records indicate.

Highlighted by wood beams, the soaring hallway off the entry immediately informs visitors they’re no longer in the Kansas of typical DeKalb ranches anymore. It serves to separate sleeping spaces from those made for living and dining—and to make an impression.

Elsewhere on the property is a three-car garage, dramatic roof additions over the entry (echoed in the back), a full downstairs gym area, and almost no risk of feeling claustrophobic.

But whether buyers will find this deal a blessed offering remains to be seen.

The kitchen includes a China hutch in the butler’s pantry and, like the backyard, built-in sound.