My Houzz: A 1950's Minimal Traditional Ranch in the Chicago Suburbs
No professional designers or architects or fancy My Houzz Tour photos here. This is our attempt at transforming our first home - a minimal traditional brick ranch in a suburb just outside of Chicago - into our own eclectic retreat. These small, symmetrical, and affordable homes in well thought out neighborhoods were built with the same quality construction than the larger expansive mid-century modern ranch. I understand that homes of this style offered an affordable housing for returning war vets and their families. From the outside, it’s known to be called plain, vanilla, minimal - but this American Small House is anything but plain on the inside.
We’re making the best with what we have and expect to be doing so for many years to come on our slim budget. So far we love what we’ve done - despite everything that’s gone awry since moving in a few months ago. Pics of the basement coming soon - we’ve put almost everything back together post-flood and sewer backup (see Chicago news from April 18, 2013!) which all happened within a month of moving in. Chaos at it’s best.
I’ve included photos taken before we purchased the home and moved in.
We’re making the best with what we have and expect to be doing so for many years to come on our slim budget. So far we love what we’ve done - despite everything that’s gone awry since moving in a few months ago. Pics of the basement coming soon - we’ve put almost everything back together post-flood and sewer backup (see Chicago news from April 18, 2013!) which all happened within a month of moving in. Chaos at it’s best.
I’ve included photos taken before we purchased the home and moved in.
Pool BEFORE. Here are the cracks we discovered after uncovering it. Put the rest of our savings into fixing this. Not sure it was a good idea but the pool and lure of the yard are what got me out of the city and into the burbs - I needed to make it happen. Tip: ALWAYS pay for a pool inspection when purchasing an older home with a pool!
The Chicago Bulls filmed a summer promo in our backyard one year. It was AWESOME.
Q