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River Forest Bungalow

This 6,000 square foot complete renovation of a 1920’s bungalow involved removing elements of the original home to enhance its stature.  Two main elements that were subtracted from the home were the front entry porch and the second story of the sleeping porch. The front entry was revitalized with an elegant mahogany front door, transom and sidelights of art glass that reused one of the only interesting interior details of the home: vintage art glass.  The side porch was reconfigured into an informal entry/mudroom and home office providing a smooth transition from the garage and exterior side yard. 

This house had suffered several poor quality renovations and alterations during its lifetime. While the exterior of the house had the feel of a typical larger scale bungalow, the interior of the home did not have an identity and was inconsistent with the bungalow ‘skin’ of the exterior. It was the desire of the owners to elevate the home to a more classic bungalow style. This included incorporating custom made wood trim throughout, custom art glass windows and panels in the front entry, living room, main stair hall and kitchen windows, as well as custom carved balusters for the main stair railing and radiator covers. Attention to tile details in all of the bathrooms and living room fireplace adds to the bungalow character of this home. Although new, the details that were added lend themselves towards more authenticity than what was originally constructed.

The clay tile roof was reworked and re-laid using only limited reclaimed tiles. Copper cladding on the main dormers replaced the shingle tiles that were initially installed.  Matching the brick was difficult as it was a blend of rare and hard to find brick. Since no good brick match was found, a lighter color brick was selected and then stained in the field to match the existing brick.

2045 West Grand Avenue • Chicago Illinois, 60612
p: 312.243.7799  •  f: 312.243.7836 • e: information@nicholasclarkarch.com