Basement

Here are some photos of the basement:

Laundry Area

Storage (future Rec Room?)

Storage

Boiler Room

Second Floor

Here are some pictures of the second floor:

Playroom (future Library)

Playroom 2 (future Bedroom)

Arlo's Bedroom

2nd Floor Bathroom

2nd Floor Kitchen (future Master Bedroom)

2nd Floor Pantry (future Master Bathroom)

2nd Floor Bedroom (future Master Bathroom/Walk-in Closet)

First Floor

Here are some pictures of the first floor:

Front Stairs/Foyer

Living Room

Living Room

Dining Room

Office (former bedroom)

1st Floor Bathroom

1st Floor Kitchen

1st Floor Kitchen

1st Floor Pantry (future Breakfast Area)

Breakfast Room (former bedroom) and Arlo (future Pantry/Kitchen)

1st Floor Porch

Back Stairs

Exterior

Below are a few pictures of the exterior of our place.

A typical Chicago 2-Flat wouldn't you say?
We probably won't do too much to the front of the house. Eventually, we'd like to repair or replace all of the windows. We'll also look to redo the soffit under the porch.

What a nice looking family.
Our neighborhood has a lot of kids in it ranging in age from newborns to high schoolers. Arlo should have plenty of friends to play with over the years.

The garage.
For those unfamiliar with Chicago lots, ours is pretty typical at 25'x125'. The garage is accessed from a back alley and that's where the electrical and cable wires are run too.  Interior photos coming in the next post. 

Hello

If you made your way here then you're probably interested in what we're doing to our house, or you're just being polite. Either way thanks for clicking.

First, some background: We moved here on May 8th, 2012. Our place is in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. We're about 1 mile from Wrigley Field.

So what are we doing to our house? Whoa, wait a second. Don't you want to know how the house is currently configured first? Sure you do. Our house is a typical Chicago 2-flat meaning there are two apartments in the building. Each floor has a kitchen, living room, dining room, two bedrooms, and a porch. The basement has what was a communal storage and laundry space. We own it all and are using it all.

Still with me? OK- here's what we're doing in a nutshell. Converting the two apartments into a single-family home. That will entail renovating and expanding the first floor kitchen; opening up the entryway into the living room; converting the second floor kitchen and rear bedroom into a master suite; adding a third bedroom to the 2nd floor; replacing the garage; and re-landscaping the back yard (and if we get around to it we'll add a rec room to the basement.) Our biggest priority is the first floor kitchen so that's what we're planning to do immediately.

The next few posts will contain photos of the existing spaces. Renovation photos will posted this fall. Feel free to spot by and chat in the comments or at our house.