Listed for $3 million, a Raleigh ‘dual-era’ dwelling lands on Zillow Gone Wild
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh home blends 1916 Georgian Revival with modern steel-clad expansion.
- Zillow Gone Wild post garners 12,000+ likes for home's contrasting design.
- Renovation by Tonic Design earned state architecture award in 2018.
A 110-year-old Georgian Revival home in Raleigh with an uber-modern addition is garnering online buzz.
The 5,682-square-foot, three-story home at 117 Hillcrest Road sits on a quarter-acre lot in Forest Park, one of Raleigh’s most coveted neighborhoods, blending “historic grandeur with modern aesthetics” — including a steel-clad two-story expansion by its current owner.
Originally built in 1916, the five-bedroom house is listed for $3 million.
In the words of Zillow Gone Wild, the popular Instagram account that features the strangest and most eccentric homes listed on the real estate marketplace, this home is “business in the front, paaaaarty in the back.” Posted on Sept. 12, it’s already received over 12,000 likes.
In 2015, William Holdsworth Moore purchased the home for $605,000, records show. According to the listing, he then commissioned Raleigh-based Tonic Design to fully renovate the home, adding a 1,500-square-foot extension wrapped in steel, wood and glass.
“The result is a seamless dialogue between past and present,” said listing agent Marianne Mansour, a Realtor with Compass in Raleigh.
The project won a N.C. American Institute of Architects award in 2018, according to Tonic’s website.
The original red-brick home maintains a formal layout, including a wide entry foyer, traditional staircase and formal rooms with 10-foot-high ceilings, woodwork, and hardwood floors.
In stark contrast, the addition offers an open plan with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a bamboo garden.
A two-story circulation hall links the two structures. Other highlights include a library, two kitchens, media room, gym and sauna.
It’s received mixed reviews online.
“Wow, that’s a surprising rear end,” said one commenter on the Zillow Gone Wild Instagram page.
“It’s an architectural version of a mullet,” added another.
Others responded more positively. “Rare example of what happens when someone has money, taste and style,” said a commenter.
See for yourself and decide.
This story was originally published September 13, 2025 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Listed for $3 million, a Raleigh ‘dual-era’ dwelling lands on Zillow Gone Wild."
