I’ve been dying to share this post for literally two months now, but yes – my husband and I just closed on our first home! It’s a third-floor condo on Chicago’s north side, and it was built in 1907, so there are tons of lovely historical touches (and quirks).
I don’t think I’d call it a fixer upper overall, but we’ll eventually be completely renovating the kitchen and bathroom, and putting our own touches on all the other rooms as well. But the bones are good – I completely fell in love with it when I saw the living room with its fireplace mantle, chandelier, french doors and built-in window seat. Hello main-character-in-a-Nora-Ephron-film vibes?
One of my favorite things is the built in hall tree and full length mirror in the entryway, which is original to the building! It definitely makes a grand statement upon entering.
We definitely weren’t planning on buying property in Chicago, or at all really. We had been talking about moving back to Chicago for quite some time (we’d lived there for nearly three years, then moved back to Michigan to be closer to family at the beginning of the pandemic).
So we decided to keep an eye on rental listings, but were really having a hard time finding something that was in our budget and had all of our desired amenities. Having a dog now means that there was no way I was going back to trekking down three flights of stairs to do laundry each time.
And then suddenly this property popped up in our searches, and next thing we knew we were scheduling a trip to view it and a few more.
The minute we stepped inside, I totally fell in love. It definitely needs some help, but if you’ll forgive the cliche, it has such good bones. And as a life-long fan of DIY projects and HGTV, I can’t wait to have a space that’s all mine to do with as I please.
I already have lots of plans and ideas (and Pinterest boards), and of course I’ll be sharing all that here. This project has also helped get me back into blogging and I gotta say, I’ve missed it!
I can’t wait to share more updates! Follow along on Instagram to see all the good stuff.
