Think “North Shore Developer,” and the name Janet Kohl probably does not spring to mind, which is fine with her, because what she really does reaches far beyond the realm of mere real estate.

Described as “Oprah meets Martha and they get real” this self-made entrepreneur has completed her dream project, total restoration of a circa 1914 mansion and is now aiming for bigger and better things.  She hopes to restore our spirits, just as she has painstakingly researched, salvaged and recreated the details of historic homes in Evanston and Chicago.

Subscribing to the principle “Do what you love and the money will follow,” Kohl didn’t plan her path.  A Glenview, IL native, she was always very visual and interested in creative pursuits and design.  Her first “old house epiphany” came in high school, at a friend’s grandmother’s Victorian home slated for demolition.  She fell in love with the period’s detail and fine craftsmanship.

After college, Kohl worked at various jobs in the film industry and realized she could run her own business after helping to restructure one of the production companies where she worked.  Not sure what type of business to start, Kohl decided to explore. She enjoyed travel, and so became a flight attendant.  She soon realized it wasn’t for her, but the upside was that she was able to study business books on long flights.  When she had a plan, she started a laundry and vending machine distributorship.  It wasn’t glamorous, but it was an opportunity to build and run a business.

Kohl was drawn into renovation and restoration by a love of Victoriana, and the inability to find an affordable house with the detail she craved.  She bought a decent but nondescript vintage house in an up-and-coming area of Chicago and decided to make it into what she wanted.  Kohl researched and learned, doing some of the work herself and acting as general contractor and project manager for the rest.  When a realtor friend saw the finished project and said, “Do you have any idea what you could sell this for?” she realized she was on to something.

Several projects followed, some gut rehabs, some renovations, some restorations.  When her “dream” appeared, it looked more like a nightmare to everyone else.  The house was uninhabitable, with antiquated plumbing and wiring, gaping holes through all three floors to the basement from years of unchecked water damage, and the decay for decades of neglect throughout the property. 

The house was up for auction.  Some bidders wanted to tear it down.  Another planned to do a gut rehab, saving just the shell.  Only Kohl, who claims she was “temporarily insane” at the time, wanted to do a complete restoration.  The plus side of the 60 years of extreme neglect was that all the original fixtures were still there.  Her research, hard work and attention to detail have paid off, as her “new” home has more than quadrupled in value, not that she ever wants to sell it.

It was around this time Kohl realized that true success is achieved when one can begin to give back.  She also found that her family and inner life needed the same attention and care that her projects received.  She began to recall the lessons and insights of the many books she read, groups she attended and conversations she had with different people in varying places of the journey.  She recognized the parallels of the steps and advice in the more masculine flavored success books and the more feminine self-help books.  In evaluating the depth of the inner journey Kohl realized that this work proves perhaps more challenging than the gut-rehab of a building, but the same principles apply.  These principles have become Restoration of Spirit, in the form of a book and other projects.