We are so, so (so!) excited to kick off our next project – the garden apartment! If you’ve been with us since the beginning of this house’s renovation journey, you might remember that our home is zoned as a residential two-flat, meaning, there are two living units. Before us, the house was split into several apartments, with each […]

We are so, so (so!) excited to kick off our next project – the garden apartment! If you’ve been with us since the beginning of this house’s renovation journey, you might remember that our home is zoned as a residential two-flat, meaning, there are two living units. Before us, the house was split into several apartments, with each one being rented. As soon as we signed those closing papers, we spent the better part of a year to turn it back into a two-flat. You’ve come to know the first two floors as ours, but directly below us is the garden unit! It was never our intention to own a two-flat, but the price was right, and it was in our very favorite Chicago neighborhood. Of course, we learned to quickly embrace it – hello, income property! – and almost immediately, we leased the garden apartment to a friend who was looking for an inexpensive place to live. The unit got a good scrubbing, fresh paint and a handful of necessary repairs to get it in good working order, and we priced it accordingly. We couldn’t have asked for a better tenant; she never complained or grumble...