What was once a three-flat is now an attractive single-family Victorian home in the trendy Bucktown section of Chicago.
The house, at 1931 N. Wood St., was open for inspection last Saturday. Built in 1904, the home is architecturally appealing and completely updated.
It is listed for sale at $449,000 by independent broker Joanne Gross, herself a lifelong Bucktown resident.
“Bucktown has always been an artists’ community,” she said. “It has been growing for the last five or six years, and we’ve really surpassed what we had anticipated. Prices are skyrocketing, and we have a series of $600,000 homes around here now, and a lot of new restaurants and clubs.”
This home has a brick exterior and a wide set of stairs that leads up to the middle level. The foyer has a marbled floor and is the only area on all three levels that is not done in light-toned hardwood flooring.
The living room is on the right, with a woodburning fireplace angled into a corner. A light well off the entry and the living room looks down on the lower level and adds a visually appealing touch.
The wood flooring ties together the entire level as the eye sweeps back to the dining room, which leads to deck doors. The living room/dining room combination measures 32 by 12 feet. A step up on the left is a half bathroom with black and white ceramic flooring and black and white tiling that goes halfway up the wall.
The wall separating the 18-by-19 kitchen from the dining room sports a graceful curve, a design that’s carried through on the upper level. And in the kitchen itself, the breakfast bar portion of the countertop picks up the curved design.
The kitchen is done in whites, including all the cabinets and appliances, which stay with the house.
The kitchen is bright, thanks to recessed lighting and the fact that it opens both at the start of the dining room as well as at the back of the dining room, where the back door and deck are located.
The staircase going up has a brass railing and a window halfway up. At the top of the stairs is the curved wall that is evident in the hallway and in the 19-by-19 bedroom, which also has a walk-in closet and a small balcony deck.
The bath upstairs has black and white ceramic tile like the powder room flooring on the other two levels, with white and gray ceramic wall tiles. It has a tub with a shower and a shell pedestal sink.
The master bedroom, measuring 22 by 12 feet, has another fireplace– also angled in a corner–as well as a large walk-in closet. The master bath has black and white ceramic flooring; a tiled, step-up Jacuzzi; a separate shower; and a skylight.
Downstairs, at garden level, is a 22-by-14 family room, with an outside entry.
Going toward the back of the house, there is a bath with a shower, then a 13-by-12 office area or third bedroom. At the back is a 20-by-6 laundry room that is fully lined with shelves.
There are two furnaces, for zoned heating and air conditioning.
The 25-by-125 lot includes a back yard that’s relatively large for a home in the city and a two-car garage at the back.
All of the rooms are painted in neutral tones. Taxes last year were $3,351.
“The outside of this home really does have a stately presence,” said Gross. “It’s one of the older homes in the neighborhood. It was gutted and rehabbed around seven or eight years ago.”
