2732 Ezekiel Ave., Zion, IL 60099

If the three little pigs saw this house, there would be a bacon battle royal! Because who wants to live in a house of straw or sticks when you can make this brick beauty your new home? Not you, that's for sure. And this isn't just any plain old red brick, it's got character and a sturdy soul that would frustrate even the biggest, baddest wind-bag wolf. This home is not just solid, it's smart. Not in a funky high-tech "Alexi, can you turn down the heat and flip my grilled cheese sandwich" sort of way. Smart in the "here lives a savvy, humble, future rockstar" sort of way. From the row of neat evergreens standing like palace guards across the front face, the hip roof with sheltering soffits that wrap the home like the brim of a cowboy's dusty hat, the driveways with choices front OR back, to the lush backyard that stretches as far as the eye can see (assuming you were severely nearsighted), or 100' or more if you have normal eyesight. Outside it's got what your humble, shrewd inner self truly needs. Now, though the front door (which is territory the big, bad wolf would never see), and you'll feel this isn't such a modest home after all. Real oak hardwood floors (not the fake stuff found in the straw houses your friends live in) that run down the hallway in a continuous dark, brooding flow like the male model stretched across the cover of your latest issue of GQ magazine... stunning. Is it the way the light floods in from the big front windows and dances across the gleaming, bronzed floor that makes your knees weak? Or are you just wobbly picturing your big screen TV, overstuffed easy chair and a bowl of popcorn perched on your belly, snug in this expansive living room? Either way, stumble forward, there's more to see. The kitchen greets you like an old friend in a new suit. Not overstated, but neat, new, and tailored to perfection. Granite, hewn from a remote mountain using nothing but chisels, thundering hammers, and a gallon of sweat, delivered on a mysterious, rusty merchant ship allegedly registered out of Cameroon, but sailing from Colombia (your right... doesn't make sense, but the paperwork seemed legit) graces the countertops. OK, truthfully, we really have no idea where the granite came from, but it's real granite, a chisel could have been used, and the installers did sweat (we have pictures). The undermount sink clings to the underside of the stone like a magical tree frog and a classic brushed nickel pull-out faucet and the coolest offset subway tile backsplash finish this tour de force kitchen. Oh, and room for you and three of your closest compadres around your reclaimed barn-wood table right there next to your mystery granite. Imagine the conversations. Head down that hardwood hallway and stop, stunned as you gaze in the bathroom doorway. Ceramic tile with a border pattern that will make you weep with happiness every time you take a shower (but no one will know because you're in the shower and you're wet anyway, so it'll be our secret). Hey, all the fixtures match... of course they do, you wouldn't settle for less, would you? Three bedrooms as you'd expect to find in a three bedroom house. Notice the rich, expensive feel of the six panel doors. Every door has six panels - four big panels and two little ones - a small detail you can point out to visitors, letting them know you notice the little things in life (yes, they will be impressed). The basement is what you'd expect to find from a basement - raw, sturdy and ready. It's clean and it's a basement - probably not going to win any awards down there, but it's better than a slab. Look this place over carefully. There is a lot to consider. You might think you need something huge to impress your in-laws. But when the winds really blow, which house would you rather be in.... the sturdy little brick house or the big, dorky, stick built one? You've got better things to do than worry about huff and puff. This is a wise choice. The kind of choice you're known to make.