The Bungalow We Used to Call Home – Before & After

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

image bungalow chicago front porch

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

chicago bungalow front porch

Front Door

BEFORE

image front door chicago bungalow

This poor front door made me sad.  Shortly after we moved in, we removed the storm door, but then we were left with a wood panel bedroom door behind it.  We hadn’t been living there long when we saw someone down the street replacing their beautiful old door with a new one.  I had Steve go ask them if we could take it off their hands and they guy said, “Sure, take it.” and handed him this huge heavy door that he had leaning inside in his foyer.  We tried to carry it 1/2 block with our baby girl, but that didn’t work.  We didn’t know any of the neighbors yet to ask for help, so we got the car, put blankets on top, hoisted the door to the roof and drove it veerry slow down the block.  It took a while to get it installed, but it was a perfect fit for our Arts and Crafts Bungalow. I wish I had a better after-picture, but this gives you an idea.

AFTER

image front door chicago bungalow

 

Windows

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow windows

The windows in the house were in bad shape.  The old storm windows were falling apart and there were many cracks and gaps in the windows.  We hired a company to remove and restore all of the windows and we purchased some new dark brown storms.

DURING

image chicago bungalow windows

AFTER

image chicago bungalow windows

 

Foyer

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow entry front door

This shot of the foyer shows the old front door and the water damage on the wood floors.  We had the floors refinished before we moved into the house.  They were gorgeous oak floors in the main living areas, and the bedroom and kitchen were maple with birds-eye maple boards interspersed.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow entry front door

 

Sunroom

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow sunroom

The Sunroom was originally part of the front porch. It was made part of the interior of the Bungalow during the Great Depression. Before we moved in it had been used as an extension of the small Living Room.  Once the blinds, sheers, curtains and valances were removed, and the floors were refinished, it made a perfect place for the kids to play.  Bright and cheery, and in front of the house where all the action is, like the mail carrier, dogs on walks, and other passersby.

AFTER (2008)

image chicago bungalow sunroom playroom

 

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow sunroom

AFTER (2013)

image chicago bungalow sunroom playroom

This photo was taken when the house was on the market.

 

Living Room

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow livingroom

Look at my in-laws working so hard!  Before we moved in, my mom and I (at 8 months pregnant!) were painting the 2 bedrooms and the office, while Steve and his parents were uncovering the original hardwood floors.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow livingroom

 

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow livingroom

This photo was taken before we purchased the house. It shows blinds on the windows and some 1970s groovy sconces that didn’t really fit the space.  After we stripped away the window covers and replaced the 70s lights with Old California sconces, we had a classic Bungalow mantle.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow livingroom

 

Dining Room

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow dining room arts & crafts

The dining room is in the distance here.  It was a very large room that we made our living room because of the extra space and the proximity to the bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen.  When we put the house on the market in 2013, we changed things around so that the dining room was once again in its intended configuration, as can be seen in the photo below.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow dining room arts & crafts

 

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow dining room arts & crafts

The wonderful windows in the dining room were covered with blinds and curtains.

DURING

image chicago bungalow dining room arts & crafts

We removed the window treatments, and the track lighting was replaced with an Arts and Crafts style chandelier. We loved these 100-year-old windows. The restoration was so much more satisfying than replacing them would have been.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow dining room arts & crafts

 

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow dining room arts & crafts

The house was so much brighter after removing all of the window treatments and refinishing the floors.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow dining room arts & crafts

Kitchen

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow kitchen arts & crafts

You can kind of make out the crowbar leaning up in the corner.  Steve worked tirelessly to remove the vinyl and underlayment from the maple kitchen floor.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow kitchen arts & crafts

 

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow kitchen arts & crafts

The dark cabinets, the tile, and the countertops were a bummer.  Once we were able to spend the time painting everything, the room came alive.

I figured out that turning the cabinet doors around gave us a flat, Arts and Crafts look to our Early American cabinets.  We added hardware to the cabinets and quarter-round trim.  I painted the tile on the wall, planning to replace it down the road.  The counter top started out as beige formica.  I used chalkboard paint to refinish them!

AFTER

image chicago bungalow kitchen arts & crafts

 

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow kitchen arts & crafts

Here is a silly photo of Steve and our home inspector but it shows the tile floor and more.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow kitchen arts & crafts

 

Master Bedroom

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow bedroom arts & crafts

The previous owners had olive green shag carpet in the bedroom and lots of window coverings.  It wasn’t a huge room, but we were able to fit a king-size bed and 2 dressers.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow bedroom arts & crafts

 

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow bedroom arts & crafts

We did have roman blinds on our bedroom windows, but I took them down to show the house, the details on the windows were so pretty I wanted to show them off.

AFTER

image chicago bungalow bedroom arts & crafts

 

Nursery

BEFORE

image chicago bungalow bedroom arts & crafts nursery

The second bedroom was indescribable “before” so I am glad we have the photos to show you what it looked like.  In addition to painting we added baseboard, crown moulding and replaced the closet doors with curtains.

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts bedroom nursery chicago

 

BEFORE

image bungalow arts & crafts bedroom nursery chicago

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts bedroom nursery chicago

 

BEFORE

image bungalow arts & crafts bedroom nursery chicago

The chandelier in the nursery replaced a simple ceiling light.  I found the chandelier in the alley on the west side of Chicago and saved it for a long time before I finally had the perfect place to use it.

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts bedroom nursery chicago

 

Bathroom

BEFORE

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

Oh, the bathroom.  What a mess!  We tore it apart and put it back together.  The pictures tell the whole story.

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

 

BEFORE

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

 

BEFORE

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

This tile floor is classic style from the early 1900s that I really like, but this floor was just too damaged to keep.

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

 

BEFORE

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

 

BEFORE

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts bathroom chicago

 

Office

BEFORE

image bungalow arts & crafts office chicago

The office is a perfect example of what a little paint can do.  We painted the wall paneling, the ceiling, and the floor white to brighten up a small room that originally was part of  the back porch.

AFTER

image bungalow arts & crafts office chicago

It is so satisfying to see these before and after shots of our old bungalow.  I think our creativity and hard work made a huge difference.  To learn more about our adventures in Chicago real estate read my interview with DesignMom.  It’s quite a story!

xo

Elizabeth

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