Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays
  • Videos
  • current issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 12 One-of-a-Kind Museums You Can Only Find in the Midwest

      12 One-of-a-Kind Museums You Can Only Find in the Midwest

      Spend the day interacting with paintings, pioneers and a U.S. president at these enlightening—and occasionally unconventional—stops. Read More
    • Out Now: Best of the Midwest 2022

      Out Now: Best of the Midwest 2022

      Find your summer adventure with our new bookazine, available now in the magazine store! Read More
    • This Family's Garden Farm is a Nature-Filled Paradise

      This Family's Garden Farm is a Nature-Filled Paradise

      On land passed down through generations, a Wisconsin family experiences—and shares—the glory of gardening. Read More
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    Urban-Pop Art, a New Boutique Hotel and More—Here's What to See and Do in Fort Wayne Right Now

    Urban-Pop Art, a New Boutique Hotel and More—Here's What to See and Do in Fort Wayne Right Now

    On a trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana, catch a colorful wave of fresh development, plus a new hotel from the cofounder of Vera Bradley.
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Family Travel
    • Around the Region
    • Beyond the Region
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    Mango Toast with Prosciutto

    Mango Toast with Prosciutto

    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    5 Clever Tips for Repurposing a Potting Bench as a Bar Cart

    5 Clever Tips for Repurposing a Potting Bench as a Bar Cart

    With smart accessorizing, a potting bench becomes a celebration station for summer soirees.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden
    Expert Tips for Growing a Window Box Garden

    Expert Tips for Growing a Window Box Garden

    Casey Lawrence’s lush window boxes were a revelation to her online followers. Use her tips to grow your own.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays

    Holidays

    See All Holidays
    30 No-Cook Potluck and Picnic Recipes

    30 No-Cook Potluck and Picnic Recipes

    Assemble these recipes—great for potlucks, picnics or light family dinners—without turning on the oven or range. They are the perfect way to help you keep your cool.
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing

    These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing

    Don't toss those orange peels! Instead, use them as vessels for our super-simple and fragrant candles.
    • Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath
    • These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing
    • Ring in the New Year with This Glam Star Garland
    • How to Make a Modern Fruit Cake Box
    • An Eye-Catching Oval Treat Box You Can Make
    • Make a Colorful Paper Raffia Wreath to Welcome Fall
    • How to Make a Dried Floral Arrangement
    • How to Make an Easy Pina Colada
    • How to Make an Amazing Pavlova
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
  • current issue

    current issue

    See All current issue
    About Us

    About Us

    • March/April 2022 Issue
    • January/February 2022 Issue
    • November/December 2021 Issue
    • September/October 2021 Issue
    • July/August 2021 Issue
    • May/June 2021 Issue
    • Summer 2022 Issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Homes
  3. Homes Featured in Midwest Living
  4. House Tour: Stylish Chicago Colonial

House Tour: Stylish Chicago Colonial

June 01, 2012
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Enhance an entry
Borrow ideas from a Chicago-area Colonial to boost the style and function of your home. Architectural touches and easy room changes make it happen.
Start Slideshow

1 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Details, details

Details, details

Chicago architect Fred Wilson knows smart detailing can enhance a home -- and keep your budget looking pretty darn good, too, by skirting the expense of a to-the-studs remodel. That lesson comes through in Wilson's work on a remodeled 1920 Colonial, where artful architectural touches and easy room changes add to the home's traditional look, yet accommodate the family's contemporary lifestyle.Moldings and trim add both age and character to the reborn rooms. And other savvy style upgrades make a big impact with small changes. Click ahead to check out 19 ideas taken from this refreshed house that could make a big difference in your home, too.

1 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Add light/sight

Add light/sight

Widen standard door openings with fixed sidelights to extend sight lines and light from room to room. "They give you the poetry of French doors without their cost -- or the expense of the hardware you'd need to make them operable," Wilson says.

2 of 20

3 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Enliven walls

Framed again

Use stock trim pieces to create the effect of an expensive paneled wall. Here, white moldings surround a geometrical grouping of portraits for additional visual impact.

3 of 20

Advertisement

4 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Dress up a ceiling

Dress up a ceiling

Add detailed richness to an intimate dining room by applying stock molding to a drywall ceiling. A coat of bright, fresh white paint makes it look like the treatment is original to the home.

4 of 20

5 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Change a room's function

Change a room's function

Think about the best use for a room, rather than the room's original purpose. These homeowners chose to make the original dining room into a much-used family room, left, conveniently adjacent to the kitchen. Meanwhile, a too-small den near the front door became the cozy dining room (previous slide).

5 of 20

6 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Sneak in storage

Sneak in storage

A built-in family room cabinet offers multiple storage options. A large flat-panel TV hides behind doors, while speakers sit in cabinetry above. Two deep drawers below, detailed to look like eight small drawers, provide the perfect cache for games that come out on family fun nights.

6 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Hide everyday items

Hide everyday items

So much of what's stored in a kitchen isn't stuff you want in plain view. Be smart: Dress up existing cabinets with door fronts that include glass display windows only across the tops. They lend old-fashioned charm without revealing everything inside.

7 of 20

8 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Add an accent window

Add an accent window

An oval window offers an appealing alternative to a standard rectangle. Use divided-light glass doors on display cabinets. Brighten things up even more with lights inside the cabinets. Combined with task lighting below, they make the pantry glow.

8 of 20

9 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Change out hardware

Change out hardware

Inject a little drama into an all-white kitchen with new knobs and drawer pulls. In this kitchen, black metal cup pulls really pop.

9 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Boost interest with tile

Boost interest with tile

Lay inexpensive white subway tile vertically and horizontally to bring subtle style to a kitchen backsplash. Decorative brackets are another nostalgic, character-rich (and easy-to-install) feature.

10 of 20

11 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Rethink a sink

Rethink a sink

A narrow, rectangular, stainless-steel trough sink adds style to the pantry. Plus, it's handy for cleanups. Filled with ice, it becomes a self-serve beverage cooler during parties.

11 of 20

12 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Install a pullout

Install a pullout

A pullout counter, like this one in this pantry, offers function and flexibility. Supported by retractable brackets, the ledge makes a handy spot to assemble drinks or dessert, then slides away when not in use.

12 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Create contrasts

Create contrasts

Achieve architectural interest by setting white risers and spindles against stained treads, newels and railings. Edge-banding the carpet runner adds to the look.

13 of 20

14 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Get gallery appeal

Get gallery appeal

Moldings connecting stairwell windows act as graphic "frames" for family photos.

14 of 20

15 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Add an easy custom look

Add an easy custom look

Frame a bathroom wall mirror for a simple yet impactful touch. Floating a stock drawer unit between a pair of vanities creates a custom, furniture-style look and offers extra counter space.

15 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Create niches

Create niches

Uncover extra storage area in rooms like the master bath by utilizing space between wall studs.

16 of 20

17 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Stretch your tile budget

Stretch your tile budget

Basic ceramic tiles cover large areas of the master bath, while pricier mosaic glass pieces appear only as accents inside shelves and on the backsplash.

17 of 20

18 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

"Raise" ceilings

"Raise" ceilings

These bedroom draperies hung above the window frames create the illusion of taller ceilings. So do vertical-stripe curtains. Create a custom look with a single fabric by adding a ruffle in the same pattern, but turning the stripe on its side.

18 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Dress up a mudroom

Dress up a mudroom

Easy-to-install beaded board and trim add cottage style to a hardworking back entry. A bench offers a seat for changing shoes, while large cabinets conceal coats, sports clutter and more.

19 of 20

20 of 20

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Enhance an entry

Enhance an entry

Add a pillared portico to bring new emphasis to an entry. Sidelights and transoms will flood a foyer with light.

20 of 20

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 20 Details, details
    2 of 20 Add light/sight
    3 of 20 Enliven walls
    4 of 20 Dress up a ceiling
    5 of 20 Change a room's function
    6 of 20 Sneak in storage
    7 of 20 Hide everyday items
    8 of 20 Add an accent window
    9 of 20 Change out hardware
    10 of 20 Boost interest with tile
    11 of 20 Rethink a sink
    12 of 20 Install a pullout
    13 of 20 Create contrasts
    14 of 20 Get gallery appeal
    15 of 20 Add an easy custom look
    16 of 20 Create niches
    17 of 20 Stretch your tile budget
    18 of 20 "Raise" ceilings
    19 of 20 Dress up a mudroom
    20 of 20 Enhance an entry

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Midwest Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Renew this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Affiliate Program
    • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
    • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
    • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
    • Video
    • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMidwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Midwest Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    House Tour: Stylish Chicago Colonial
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.