A home completed in 1925 for the heir of one of West Michigan’s beloved historic department store chains recently underwent a 15-month transformation by a pair of design aficionados and is now back on the market for $2.75 million.
Designer Sarah Sherman Samuel and her husband, Rupert Samuel, bought the 5,162-square-foot Daniel C. Steketee mansion near the western border of East Grand Rapids for $1.25 million in October 2023 and spent nearly a year-and-a-half renovating it from top to bottom.
“A lot of it was restoring character,” Sherman Samuel said, adding “we got lucky” that it still had so many original features like the Pewabic tile in the entryway, the grand curving wrought iron and oak staircase, original hardwood floors, arched doorways and windows, the butler’s pantry off the dining room, and beautiful plasterwork throughout.
The couple listed the home after spending about $1 million renovating the four-bedroom, six-bathroom Mediterranean-style residence, which included restructuring the main floor layout and infusing the home with her signature traditional-meets-contemporary design style…