We were thrilled to find our first house in Berwyn, Illinois, 10 miles from downtown Chicago and on the commuter train line. After looking for an entire year (thanks to our patient realtor Chris) we found a gem – a Chicago Bungalow with all of its original woodwork and character. We were only the third owners of this 100-year-old home. It needed a lot of work: repair on the stucco exterior, electrical rewiring, insulation, window restoration, storms and screens, a new chimney, a roof, as well as cosmetic work throughout. Over the seven years we lived there, we attacked all of those updates as well as remodeling the bathroom, updating the kitchen, adding a fence and designing gardens around the entire property.
(Please excuse the not-so-good quality of the photos)
Front Porch
BEFORE
The house was painted white with wedgewood blue trim. I really wanted to embrace the natural, neutral colors that were popular in the Arts and Crafts movement. Painting windows a dark color on a light colored house always gives it a real punch. For the trim I chose an earthy khaki color. We replaced the house numbers with ceramic tiles from Rejuvenation Hardware.
The porch swing belonged to my grandparents. I remember my grandpa taking it off of its frame in the yard and putting in the garage when it rained. I would always ask him why he didn’t just leave it out in the rain and he would say that you need to take care of things if you want them to last. I staked a claim on that swing long ago.
AFTER
