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Property Edited by Grace Perry timeout.com/chicago/property @perryjetaime Susan Robbins’ home Interior, Guy and etaime Guy and Susan Robbins’ more traditional bungalow


Loft space in BJ Krivanek and Tim Edwards’ home


OPEN HOUSE Pair of repairs


Two neighbors. Two renovated bungalows. Two wildly different outcomes. By Grace Perry


“We wanted volume,” says


YOU KNOW A Chicago bungalow when you see it: a brick one-and-a-half story home with a closed-in sun porch and low-pitched A-frame roof. Built in droves from 1910 to 1940, these single-family homes became emblematic of Chicago’s exploding middle-class immigrant communities. With many turning a century old, Chicago bungalows have become an increasingly popular rehab project. The brick homes are as solid as ever, though often in need of a touch-up. North Park neighbors Susan


Robbins and BJ Krivanek wanted the same thing from their Chicago


DISCOVER! Time Out Chicago June 7–September 5, 2017


bungalows: more space. In the mid-2000s, they both renovated their 1920s abodes. Robbins and her husband, Guy,


bought their two-bedroom, one- bathroom home in the late ’80s. When their son entered his teens, it was time to rehab the entire house by adding a bedroom and two more bathrooms. “We wanted to retain the


character and style of the house,” says Robbins. “We wanted to keep it looking bungalow-ish.” With that in mind, the


Robbinses registered their house as a historic bungalow with the Chicago Bungalow Association (chicagobungalow.org). The


BJ Krivanek and Tim Edwards’ bungalow


CBA offers energy-efficient items and rebates in exchange for preservation of a bungalow’s historic integrity. Across the street, Krivanek and his partner, Tim Edwards, decided not to register with the association. Their ambitious renovation would alter the structure’s facade, disqualifying it from CBA membership.


Krivanek. “We decided to rip off the roof and add a second story but still be sensitive to what looks correct in that neighborhood.” In the end, they transformed


their second floor into a contemporary loft, merely touching up the first floor while retaining original tiles and moldings. They also replaced the roof with a low-pitched, bungalow-style one, keeping the neighborhood feel in mind. Robbins and Krivanek both


achieved the same result: 1920s bungalows that feel new. The Chicago bungalow is as stable as it is adaptable—these homes aren’t getting huffed and puffed down anytime soon.


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PHOTOGRAPHS: MAX HERMAN


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