Time has not treated the carpeting kindly in the charming, brick home that Helen Aggen has owned since 1947 in Chicago’s Mt. Greenwood neighborhood.
Otherwise, this three-bedroom home is in superior condition and boasts many attractive features, said Joan O’Connell, a real estate agent for Malloy & Associates in Chicago.
Replacing the carpeting in several rooms of the house was O’Connell’s main suggestion for how to improve the home in anticipation of showing it to potential buyers.
Aggen, a mother of four and grandmother of 11, is considering moving to a town home in the southwest suburbs. Her grandchildren, however, are not looking forward to losing the use of this home’s ample back yard, which features swings, a bird bath and a barbecue grill.
“They’re saying, `What are we going to do? Grandma can’t move from her playground,’ ” said Aggen with a smile.
The extra-large back yard was created with the purchase of part of an adjoining lot in 1984. Aggen’s entire lot measures 69 by 125 feet, compared to the average lot size in the neighborhood of 69 by 40 feet. Also to the rear of the home is a 2 1/2-car garage.
“It’s a plus,” said O’Connell. “It’s an extra-large lot–close to 70 feet of frontage, which is unusual in Mt. Greenwood.”
Other pluses in the home are the windows. They were replaced a few years ago and include a bay window in the living room. The sunlight that cascades across this room’s floor, however, has faded the carpeting. It was beige and now looks pale yellow. When Aggen moved a small table out of position, it was possible to see how the color of the carpeting has changed over the years.
O’Connell suggested replacing the carpeting here and on the stairs that lead from the first to the second floor. The carpeting on the stairs is more functional than appealing to the eye.
“It’s an indoor/outdoor type,” O’Connell noted. “It would dress up the staircase (if it were replaced),”
Aggen asked if ripping up the staircase carpeting and painting it to look like planks of wood might be an option.
O’Connell recommended that Aggen weigh both ideas before moving forward.
“You should get the cost on both. Do some comparative shopping,” O’Connell advised.
The staircase leads to the second-floor bedrooms. One of these rooms, which is now Aggen’s sewing room, features dated-looking, orange-brown, shag carpeting. This room has wood paneling varnished to a high shine.
“Something in a Berber would be terrific here,” said O’Connell. “It would go great with this gorgeous, knotty pine paneling.”
O’Connell praised Aggen’s organization in this room and in others. Here, for example, a large set of Beanie Babies is kept organized in a hanging, fabric fixture that looks like a shoe organizer and has a separate pocket for each stuffed toy.
Going back downstairs, O’Connell and Aggen toured the home’s spacious kitchen. Aggen noted that she had knocked down a wall between the kitchen and dining room to create an open, sunny, eat-in kitchen.
Aggen asked if the muted, colored tile on one kitchen wall looked dated and needed to be replaced. Also, an island from one wall into the room features a white counter with subtle, gold, feathery stars.
It is not necessary to replace either, O’Connell said. “The counter might not be to someone else’s taste. It’s not new. But it’s in perfect condition.”
The kitchen leads into a large family room that overlooks the back yard. There were no words of advice for improving this room, however.
In fact, O’Connell’s final words were high praise for the home’s mint condition and the improvements, such as the new windows and expanded lot, which have enhanced it through the years.
“If there’s not an offer on this in 60 days, somebody’s doing something wrong,” she said.
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