Carisa Crawford Chappell
All Stories

Get on the Good Foot at the Rink
Picture the sound of skates gliding across the hardwood floors, thumping James Brown music, colorful flashing disco lights, and skaters effortlessly rolling and dancing their way around the rink. On...

Visit the Tropics at the Garfield Park Conservatory
Chicago is no one’s idea of a tropical paradise. Nonetheless, you can experience such a lush landscape year-round at the Garfield Park Conservatory’s Palm House, featuring more than 70 palm...

See Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture Without Leaving the South Side
You don’t have to go to Oak Park to see Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Sure, that might be the mecca for Wright enthusiasts, but is it worth sitting in Eisenhower...

Marshall Art for a Cool $2.5 Million
An 1899 home influenced by France, Italy — and the Old West

A Palmer House for Sale in the Gold Coast
A grand Gold Coast greystone offers rooftop views of the city.

‘They slap lipstick on a pig’: What Chicago real estate experts think of the HGTV effect and ‘Windy City Rehab’ woes
The HGTV effect is nothing new, with real estate agents and renovators long grappling with sky-high expectations of buyers and sellers who assume outdated interiors can be fixed at the...

Making room for mom and dad: How Chicago homeowners are making multigenerational homes work
Amy Decombaz wanted her senior mom to live with her, and after house shopping for a space to accommodate them both, she purchased a home in Logan Square. "I bought...

Wishing for walls: Some buyers have had it with the ubiquitous open floor plan
Over time the airy open floor plan has turned into the American dream. But could the tides be gradually changing? In this sometimes hectic, over-connected world, some buyers are now...

Chicago’s condos are turning into rentals. Here’s what’s driving the deconversion trend, and what it means for condo owners.
Chicago apartment buildings can have many lives. "It used to be you bought an apartment building and converted it into condominiums," said Susan Tjarksen, a managing director in the Chicago...

Miss the food, not the taxes: Chicagoans explain why they left for neighboring states
Many Chicagoans wouldn't trade the city — its lakefront, skyline, energy and diversity — for the world. Others, after sticking it out for years or decades, opt to leave for...
