Bungalow Love?

[Aimee]

Hello to all!
Hi there I just wanted to let everyone know that we are going to be starting
the Bungalow Association in partnership with the Berwyn Historical Society.
We are planning a Bungalow walk very soon possibly in October.
I have heard from Ald. Weiner that many of you on this board might be interested. I am glad to hear this. I am a new member of this board (as of today) I hope we will be having lots of people interested.
We will welcome all ideas and suggestions. If anyone is interested in this please let us know. I thank you for supporting our historical bungalows. Was any Berwynites able to attend the Bungalow Expo? If so what did you think of it?
Aimee Sordelli

[OakParkSpartan]

I attended the Bungalow expo and saw this flash of blonde hair pass by while I was speaking with Mark 

I attended last year, and it seemed as though there were more booths of interest last year. I don't know if that was because it was all new and different, or if this year there were just more mortgage brokers.  I enjoyed listening to a couple of speakers.  We have decided next year, that will be our primary focus, to go for the education, and use the booths as a secondary resource.  I wish I had the list of speakers and times prior to attending.

I did like seeing the restored store window vendors (2 of them), as I'd eventually like to replace my vinyl storms with something more appropriate.

Cheers,
Brian

[Boris]

Boris is all over it!

[Boris]

whoops! hit return too quick. I meant to include a pic of our little Berwyn beauty.

[Boris]

Thanks! It's a satin finish...3 coats...nothing special, really. Except, of course, the fact that they are the original red-oak, which is just beautiful. The guy who did our floors, David Gligor is a master. We had radiator-holes all over the place that he had to patch...etc etc.

[dukesdad]

Been to the bungalow expo all 4 years. This will be our last unless they improve the venue. I don't know why they try and hold it in a place that is so ill suited to the event. They need to get it in a real convention venue where there is room to move around and see what folks have to offer. Also, the the parking at Comiskey is a cluster *%$@! I'd like to see them charge $5 or $10 to get in, maybe that would eliminate all the leeches that are just there trying to get something for nothing.

[Boris]

Should look into getting some corporate sponsorship for a bungalow walk...allow them to set up booths in the Depot area for example. Ikea would be a great one...their kitchens are tailor-made for the challenges of bungalows.

[Suedehead]

Perhaps we could get a separate section on this board for bungalow chatter?

[marysol_21]

Boris,

Your home is beautiful. Homes like this will only increase the value of our community. I do not own a bungalow, but I love the original stained glass windows that some bungalows have preserved. It would be great if more bungalows who have since long lost them, restored the stained glass windows. It adds such character to the home. 

[Boris]

OK...so since you've twisted my arm...

[Suedehead]

Since, we're sharing- these are the windows that sold us on our bungalow.

[dukesdad]

We'd be happy to include our house in a Bungalow Walk. Our house was featured in "Bungalow Nation" a book that came out a couple of years ago. It was done by the photographer who shoots all the American Bungalow covers.
Our stained glass is not original. We had it made by a lady from Oak Park, Sarah King who we found at the Expo a couple of years ago.

[mabeda]

Thanks! It's a satin finish...3 coats...nothing special, really. Except, of course, the fact that they are the original red-oak, which is just beautiful. The guy who did our floors, David Gligor is a master. We had radiator-holes all over the place that he had to patch...etc etc.

Is David Gligor still around?  And was he reasonable?  We are going to be redoing our hardwood floors in the near future and would like someone we can trust and that will do a good job.  

[Suedehead]

I think ours would be considered an octagon front; there are side windows that you can't see in the picture. 95% of the woodwork is original and has never been painted over. we had the orginal oak and maple floors sanded and refinished about 2 months ago and now we have a whole lot of landscaping and what not going on. We still have all 3 bedrooms, the house has never been chopped up or remodeled much, it was built in 1927.

[Boris]

here's a little better view. Our's seems to be a bit older than most in Berwyn...though I've been trying to find out about the history of my house and there doesn't seem to be much info. These are the original windows...no mirrored glass...the opaque panels look like mother-of-pearl. I don't know what the correct "glass term" is for that style.

I am now looking for David Gligor's (floor guy) info, and will post as soon as I find it.

[Boris]

well...as long as we're all sharing pics, the thing that I get the most conversation out of is our kitchen. When we bought the house there literally was no kitchen...just a room with a gas-pipe, and an awkwardly placed staircase. So, here we are, first-time buyers, with practically NO cash, and we have to build a kitchen from scratch. A few trips to Ikea and Abt, and 6 days of following crazy Ikea instructions and *viola*!

Here's before and after:

[dukesdad]

I'm not sure of the page, I'll have to look when I get home tonight.

[Boris]

All I've been able to find out (from a old man in the neighborhood) is that when it was originally built, the guy who built it owned the entire block (or most of it anyway) and there were only 3 houses on the block...he built all 3 for his family. It seems to be true, and the two next to me are identical, and look easily 25 years older than anything nearby.

[marysol_21]

I feel ya with those Ikea cabinets, we found that we were missing key pieces here and there. And the work has been in progress fro months  It was a mess to sort out, but I guess thats the price you pay to save some $$$. Your kitchen is a great size, I live in a Georgian, so if anyone is familiar with them, they know the kitchens are tiny. I am looking to give it a colonial look when I can get the funds together. 

[Boris]

Lessons learned while building an Ikea kitchen:

1) Follow the directions in the order provided...do not skip ahead.
2) Build the cabinets in another room, and stand them all together to make sure that the sizes/configurations are all correct.
3) If something doesn't seem to work or fit, you're doing it wrong. Stop. Take a break, and look at it again.
4) See lesson #1.

I have to say, if put together as designed, Ikea cabinets are as good as anything on the market shy of very expensive custom cabinets. Ikea wasn't in the picture for us, we had resigned ourselves to a HomeDepot something-or-other...with the idea that we could start saving for the kitchen we really wanted. A friend showed me an issue of Consumer Reports last summer that ranked kitchen cabinets- Ikea came in #4 out of 20...well ahead of manufacturers who's cabs cost 4 to 6 times more.

I am VERY happy with our Ikea kitchen.