Tucked into the Northwest Side’s Norwood Park neighborhood, the four-bedroom bungalow at 5848 N. West Circle is as gracious inside as it appears to be solid from the outside.
Viewed from the exterior, the neat red brick home may seem modest in scale. But don’t be deceived: Gathered under its roof are some expansive rooms. The house is on the market for $325,000. Taxes for 1992 were listed at $2,932.
The deep front porch with its wood ceiling looks like the kind that should support a swing. From the porch, a beveled-glass front door opens directly into the 24-by-14 living room.
Built at least 60 years ago, the home recently was renovated by the current owners, said Nancy Zielinski, a listing agent with Century 21 Grabill Real Estate, at a recent open house. Vestiges of its early life remain in the natural woodwork, ornamented windows and, under most of the plush carpeting, hardwood floors.
Glass, stone, mirrors
In the living room, two stained-glass windows stand high on a wall across the room from a stone fireplace, which is flanked by mirrored alcoves with glass shelves. Guests will have to take their coats to a bedroom, because there is no coat closet near the door.
On one side of the door, a set of wood-trimmed casement windows looks out onto the porch. On the other side, a large doorway leads into a 12-by-8 sun parlor, which is surrounded by 10 more casement windows. The room lifts into a cathedral ceiling, appropriating space from the attic. The current residents finished the ceiling in wood, complementing the rest of the home’s woodwork trim.
Another large doorway from the living room leads to a 16-by- 13 formal dining room with white moire-patterned wallpaper. From the dining room, you can look out into the living room and see through to the sun room and beyond, for a great sense of openness.
A doorway from the dining room leads to a 16-by-13 kitchen, which has been completely remodeled by the current owners. The ceiling has two levels, rising toward the back of the room where a table would go. It has dark green counters, oak cabinets and a green and burgundy wallpaper.
A set of sliding glass doors opens onto an L-shaped deck, which overlooks the landscaped back yard. The 60-by-140-foot lot allows more room between the house and its neighbors than you might find on many city parcels.
Off the kitchen is an open 11-by-11 family room with green carpeting, a small green print wallpaper and windows letting in natural light from two exposures. From the family room, a back hallway leads past a gray and black tiled bathroom to an 11-by-10 bedroom and back to the dining room.
Remodeled upstairs
Take the curved, carpeted stairs from the kitchen to get to the second-floor bedrooms. The current residents remodeled the second story from raw attic space, Zielinski said.
Off the hall, past a long closet and a door to a storage room, is an 18-by-10 bedroom done up as a nursery, with a ceiling that slopes near the floor on one side. Next door is a 13-by-10 bedroom, currently used as an office, which also has a sloped ceiling. Across from it is a bathroom done up in gray and white with a skylight overhead.
At the end of the hall is the 20-by-14, L-shaped master bedroom, which has a vaulted ceiling, a double closet behind mirrored, accordion-style doors and its own entry into the bathroom.
From the kitchen, a set of stairs leads to the clean, unfinished basement, passing a door to the back yard and a two-car garage on the way.
In part because the bungalow’s floor plan is so horizontal, the basement here is a vast open space. It has fresh-looking green painted floors and white painted walls. The home has gas forced air heat and central air conditioning.
