Apartment Wanted: Vintage Living

So we're moving.  Again.  I know what you're thinking...three moves in a year, we must be crazy!  First was the big move from Boston go Chicago.  We moved into a gorgeous apartment that I loved!  Then came the disgusting centipede invasion that had us moving out of our first Chicago apartment just 3 weeks after moving in.  That's how we ended up at our current place, which I was just beginning to decorate.  It's huge with all the space we need, but we have a lot of changes coming up this summer which means it's time to move...again!  We're still on the hunt for the perfect place and hope to find it soon...we have to be out in a week!  Craziness, I know!

Our first Chicago apartment.  Absolutely GORGEOUS!  Darn those centipedes!

Our current apartment.  I'll miss the tall ceilings!

I'm so tired of apartment hunting, I thought I'd take a break to share this cute vintage apartment we found.  It's not the right place for us, but it's just SO adorable, I hope a true vintage lover gets it!  It's a 2bed 1bath in Irving Park with  big rooms, a pantry, and enclosed back porch.  It's the only apartment I've ever looked at where they kept so many of the details original to the house.  Someone get it quick!

Gorgeous foyer with the original door and wallpaper.  Score!

One whole wall in the foyer is made up of storage cabinets from floor to ceiling that open up to reveal various shelves and coat hooks.  The cutest storage idea ever.  Wish modern homes had these built-ins!

Living and dining rooms

Looking into the kitchen.  Love the dark wood doors.

The wall tiles have been painted an aqua/turquoise color and the floor tiles are super cute!

The ORIGINAL METAL CABINETS and counters!!!!!!  Oh, and in-unit washer and dryer.

Saved the best for last: they kept the ORIGINAL WALLPAPER in the hallway leading to the kitchen and back bedroom.  You should see how many pictures I took of this wall alone!  I almost cried when I saw this awesomeness.  Vintage wallpaper AND metal cabinets?  I'm pretty sure this is what heaven will be like :)

Interested?  Check out the full details here.

{images 3, 4, 6 via 4Sale Realty}

Apartment Wanted: Temple Livin'

My number one dream is to buy an old firehouse, church, schoolhouse, or warehouse and converted it into an amazing loft.  I'm obsessed whenever I see renovations like this and I always keep my eye on old buildings going up for sale.  I read a story about one couple that bought a firehouse for just $1 at auction.  What a steal!  Of course you have to use your own money to renovate and bring it up to code but it's worth it.

Until my dreams come true, I think I'd be mighty content living in the Buckingham Pews.  Formerly Temple Emanuel, the owners bought it and converted into gorgeous apartments.  Most units have fireplaces and stained glass windows.  They're in the Lakeview neighborhood so you're close to all the action. Not to mention, they're actually reasonably priced!

Why they chose to put their big TV near the gorgeous stained glass window, I don't know!

{images via Enterprise Companies}

They didn't have many pictures available on the website but just looking at the ones above was good enough for me!  If you're interested, they're having an open house this weekend.  We might go just so we can see what they look like!  For more info, head over to the Enterprise Companies website.

Apartment Wanted: We got an Apartment!!!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in forever.  We've been super busy packing!  A week ago today, my house looked like this:

The next day, it looked like this:

Originally, I was going to leave the decorations up and just pack the things we're not using right now.  But after stuffing the room with boxes, it made no sense to keep all the decorations up since you couldn't see them anyway.  It's been super hot here in Boston which has made packing even worse but I keep telling myself it will all be worth it once we finally get moved to our great new place in Chicago.

It took almost a month but we finally got the lease for the new apartment.  It's a gorgeous space in a 3-flat building.  The landlord lives on the top, we live in the middle, and the maintenance guy lives on the bottom so we're surrounded by help.  It's in Roger's Park, one of Chicago's northern neighborhoods, and only about 6 blocks from the beach.  Like the neighborhood we live in here in Boston, it's a quiet, family-oriented area with huge mature trees and beautiful homes.  There's a bar and grill a couple blocks away that we've already bought Groupons for and I found awesome shops and a thrift store that I can't wait to ride my bike to.

The funny thing is, I almost didn't look at this apartment.  There are only 1.5 baths instead of 2 and there's no central air so I didn't even want to consider it.  But after looking at the pics the realtor showed me, I had to give it a chance.  As soon as I walked in, I knew it was going to be our home.

The first thing you notice is the MASSIVE living room full of beautiful windows and a gorgeous decorative fireplace.  Almost every apartment we saw in Chicago had a fireplace, most of them decorative...after the great Chicago fire, most builders only made faux fireplaces.  Of course none of the places we saw had a living room as big as this.  There's enough room for THREE separate sitting areas!  My plan is to build a wall-to-wall window bench under the windows and then divide the rest of the room into two areas - one in front of the fireplace and another on the other side for the TV.  I'm even going to build my own sectional sofa from scratch.  That will definitely be my biggest project ever!!!

We saw the house on a 90 degree day, but even with no central air, the trees shaded the house enough that it was still nice and comfortable.  Plus all the windows let in a great cross breeze.

 

I have no clue why this picture is so short and wide.  The bathroom is beautiful.  It's the only full bath.  The other is a Jack and Jill half bath shared between the master bedroom and my office.  The tub is my favorite part of this room.  It's original to the house but they had it reglazed so it looks brand new.  It's nice and deep so you can take a relaxing bubble bath without half your body sticking out of the water!  There's also an absolutely gorgeous built-in linen closet outside the bathroom that's the same dark wood as the French doors in the picture below.

This is our amazing dining room.  The pictures definitely don't do justice to the chandelier or the windows behind it.  We're definitely not fancy enough to even stand in this room.  I have some great ideas though to dress it down a tiny bit and make it even more spectacular!

The kitchen was clearly remodeled in the late 60's/early 70's.  There's tons of storage (a walk-in pantry, a walk-in storage closet, and 2 built-ins) plus I love the vintage cabinets, but I'm not a fan of the blue laminate floors or the blue counter tops.  Blue is one of my least favorite colors.  Other than building an island, I have no real plans for this room yet.  I'm still trying to figure out how to make blue work into my color scheme.  Another thing I'm trying to figure out is why the beautiful wood hutch is not in the dining room instead of in the kitchen right next to the kitchen hutch.  Crazy!  Still, it's a nice vintage kitchen with all the modern conveniences you need.  I can't wait to get cooking!

As soon as we get to Chicago, I'm going to send pictures of all the wonderful details of the apartment.  What do you think so far?

Apartment Wanted: Our Roslindale Pad

Our apartment is now up for rent! 

Beautiful backyard patio area great for grilling or growing your own plants/flowers.

We've had nothing but great times here in Roslindale.  I've spent the past two years painting, repainting, decorating, and rearranging rooms like a crazy person.  I've loved the place like it was my baby.  Now, it's time for someone else to take care of it!  If you live in Boston or know anyone who does, check out our place! If interested, contact our landlords.

Spiral staircase in dining room leading to 3rd floor master bedroom

White picket fence...does it get any better?!

DETAILS:

• Price: $1650
• Available: August 1
• Bedrooms: 2 (Master bedroom w/en suite bathroom takes up the WHOLE upstairs and has large closet.  2nd bedroom downstairs good for full/queen sized bed)
• Bathrooms: 2 full
• Office: Small w/built-in bookcase.  Can fit desk, bookcase, filing cabinet, etc. Four windows so the room's always bright! (see my office redo pics here)

Downstairs bathroom.  Built in shelves on back wall for storing all your stuff.

Master bath with walk-in double shower

• Kitchen: Stainless steel appliances, dishwasher, nice cabinets, pantry, windows overlooking beautiful backyard
• Laundry: Washer/Dryer hookups off of office area.  You can buy your own stackable set or buy ours from us so you don't have to carry one upstairs ($150).  Laundromat also within walking distance.
• Storage: 2 attic storage closets in the master bedroom, plus normal sized closets in the living room and 2nd bedroom.  Pantry off kitchen.  Possible storage space in shed and basement.
• Parking: Private driveway parking...can fit 3 cars
• Yard: GORGEOUS front and back yard maintained by landscapers.  Shared with the downstairs neighbors (awesome young couple). Stone patio for grilling, separate seating area w/fire pit.

Office space. Trap door in floor leading to backyard.

• Neighborhood: The neighborhood is full of young families and retirees so it's quiet, clean, and safe.  Everyone's super friendly and will help you if you lock your keys in your car (thanks guys!)  Walking distance to Roslindale Village which has delicious restaurants, a farmer's market, great thrift store, grocery store, bakery, salon, Family Dollar, library, and post office. 7 Eleven and gas station around the corner.  West Roxbury Center is close (20minute walk if not lazy or 5 minute drive/bus ride) with tons of restaurants and the Dedham Mall and Legacy Place shopping areas are just a quick 10-15 minute drive.
• Transportation: About an 8 minute walk to the commuter rail.  Commuter passes are a little more expensive than a regular train pass ($135) but it's worth it considering you're only two quick stops (12minutes) from Back Bay!  Unlike the T, you almost always get a seat on the commuter rail and it's mostly full of business people so there's free wi-fi and you don't have to worry about someone shaking you down for change.  If you want to save money, you can take the bus to the Orange Line and pay the regular T price ($59).  Buses available to take you around West Roxbury/Dedham as well.
• Landlords: Great!  This used to be their apartment so it's in great shape with everything updated.  They're super attentive and will fix any problems quickly. 

Great kitchen.

***RENTING YOUR PLACE OR SELLING FURNITURE?  EMAIL pics and a description to have it featured on the Apartment 528 Blog***

Apartment Wanted: Gettin' Zillow With It

If you're like me, you probably think Craigslist is the bee's knees when it comes to apartment hunting.  Not so.  Zillow's the new apartment/house hunting tool on the net.  While Zillow doesn't have nearly the number of listings that Craigslist does, it's a great source if you're new to an area or doing a long distance apartment search like we are.  The information it provides goes way beyond Craigslist.

First you put in your search terms on the left hand side of the page.  You can choose everything from the number of bathrooms (something I wish Craigslist would add) to the type of home you're looking for. The results pop up in the area below the map.

Instead of clicking on each listing like you would on Criagslist, Zillow gives you an quick view of each apartment showing basics like how many beds/baths, the rent price, and the type of property.  You can also hover over the thumbnails to see a larger version of the pictures included with that listing.  All this without ever having to leave the search results page!

Once you find a listing you like, it pops up with basic information.  First there's the overview which includes pictures and info on the apartment.

Now here's where Zillow really excels.  Not only do you get basic information about the apartment, but they also offer pictures of the neighborhood and demographics about the area!  Since we're doing a long distance move and aren't super familiar with all the different areas of Chicago, it was extremely helpful to be able to look at the neighborhood demographics.  Now we know that Lakeview is mostly 20 and 30-something people with no kids.  Works for us!

Already, I'm in love with the apartment we found above.  It's in Lakeview which seems like a nice area based on the demographics and the photos.  As an added bonus, the apartment's eerily similar to our current place: it has a spiral staircase leading up to the attic master bedroom...we'd feel right at home :)

Apartment Wanted: Rent to Own

Here's this week's Apartment Wanted post as I promised yesterday.

Today, we're looking at rent-to-own apartments. If you're looking to become a homeowner but don't have the cash right now, rent-to-own may work for you. In most situations, a good part of the rent you pay is put towards a down payment on the house. You'll still have to secure financing and approval from your lender. I'm no money expert but I've heard that some rent-to-own deals can be kind of sketchy so make sure to read the fine print and take a more knowledgeable person with you if necessary.

Indy Charm (Indianapolis)
4bed, 2.5bath
$1695

Gotta love Indy :) When I first saw this posting, I wasn't super excited about the outside of the house. Then I saw scrolled down and saw the pretty bathroom with the gorgeous subway tile...my fave! The second bathroom has wainscotting. I'm not usually into lighter colors or girly accents but these bathrooms are just adorable to me. The fact that there's an attached garage and a hot tub doesn't hurt either! Financing options not disclosed in posting.

Irving Park Condo (Chicago, IL)
2bed, 1bath
$1250/month

Now you can tell all your friends you live in a penthouse! This top-floor apartment is move-in ready with exposed brick, hardwood floors, a balcony for entertaining, and a fireplace. There's also a jacuzzi in the bathroom. Cute starter home for a young couple.

Custom Built Comfort (Priest Lake, ID)
3bed, 2bath
$1200/month

If you're an outdoorsy person, you'll love this home. Aside from it's warm, woodsy design, it's spitting distance from a golf course and has access to fun activities like snowmobiling and boating. When you're ready to come inside, you can relax in 2000 sq. ft of space. Nice. 50% of your rent goes towards your down payment should you choose to purchase.

Apartment Wanted: The Staircase!

Sorry for all the delayed postings. I've been working on the Apt528 Store and doing wedding stuff. No excuse, I know!

Today, I'm just featuring one apartment in Apartment Wanted. Partly because I don't have time to search all the different cities today, and partly because once I saw this spiral staircase I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Porter Square Loft (Boston)
$1550

We have a spiral staircase in our apartment that leads right into the master bedroom. But ours is definitely not as spectacular as this one. I hate the decor (those chairs are hideous) but I'm willling to ignore it for now!

Other than the staircase, the apartment features the standard complex amenities such as stainless steel appliances, bamboo floors, washer and dryer, and seperate bath and shower. I'm guessing $1550 gets you into the studio units. It's probably a lot more for 1 and 2 bedrooms.

Apartment Wanted: Work Work Work

Moving this summer? Don't forget to look for an apartment with a workspace. Whether you're a student or your employer offers work-from-home days, you'll love having a home office to hide-away in when it's time to buckle down.

Remodeled Victorian (Ohio City, OH)

3bed, 2.5bath

$1500/month

Figured I'd start with one from my beloved state of Ohio! This victorian's been completely updated with a modern kitchen, baths, and all new fixtures. According to the listing, there are several rooms that will work great as an office. There's even a billiards room! This 15 room house is by far the largest rental I've seen so far under $2000. I would consider moving back if I got to live here (don't hold your breath, mom!)

Norfolk Foreclosure (Norfolk, VA)

4bed

$1200/month

Foreclosures suck. No one wants to lose their home. On the other hand, foreclosures are great opportunities for renters and home buyers in the market for a new place. Like this gorgeous Virgina home. There's a built-in desk with cabinet space in the kitchen that's great if you just need a small work area for you laptop. If you need something bigger, there's a den with built-in shelving and a 4th bedroom, both good options.

Lofted Workspace (Austin, TX)

2bed, 2bath

$895/month

The loft space in this apartment is great for use as an office. There's nice natural light streaming in from the downstairs windows, and great built-in space to store your books and files. If you need a study break, check out the gym, theatre, or pool...all great perks of living in a gated community.

Apartment Wanted: Master Bedrooms

Just because you're a renter doesn't mean you can't have a master bedroom. Believe me, I have one and it's the best thing ever. No more sharing a bathroom with guests or trying to cram all your clothes into a tiny closet. Here are a few master bedrooms you could be enjoying...

Rental Luxury (Charlotte, NC)

2bed, 2bath

$1100

GORGEOUS! I've spent so long dreaming about Chicago and Phoenix that I never even gave Charlotte a thought. Now I'm in love! This bungalow has everything you could want. The kitchen is jam-packed with ammenities (6 burner gas stove, wine fridge) and the bathrooms have been beautifully redone with marble floors. The master bath has a walk-in closet, and french doors leading out to the private patio. The master bath has a huge glass shower AND a soaker tub. Now that's what I call renting in style!

Lake House Relaxation (Goffstown, NH)

3bed, 2bath

$1700

I was recently in New Hampshire at a friend's lake house so I can tell you first hand how peaceful and beautiful it can be. For $1700, you get the WHOLE house to yourself, including the breathtaking lake views! The house was recently remodeled so everything is brand new. Gotta love that! The master bedroom has two closets, a built-in window seat, and en suite bathroom with dual shower heads. Bring your kayak and you're all set!

Living Large (Austin, TX)

3bed, 2bath

$1550

The outside of this home may not be much to look at, but the inside more than compensates. The kitchen is GIGANTIC, as are the rest of the rooms. The master bedroom is huge and comes with a walk in closet and double sinks in the bathroom. The house was built in 2005 so everything's still pretty new and modern. I'd put some flowers in the backyard to really jazz the place up.

Apartment Wanted: North Dakota

North Dakota. It's not a place you think of much, until now. Today, I'm dedicating an entire Apartment Wanted post to the forgotten state of North Dakota.

Move-in Ready

2bed, 2bath

Price: $785

The kitchen and bathroom are updated with granite counters and new cabinets. The dining room has built-in cabinets and there's a large garage...you won't be lacking for storage space!

Charming Grand Forks Cottage

3bed, 1.5bath

Price: $1500

Location, location, location. This apartment is near schools, parks, UNH, the hospital, the air base, and within walking distance of downtown Grand Forks. The house features a den, jacuzzi, new flooring, and a 2nd floor balcony...not to mention it's SO cute!

Green Townhouse

2bed, 2bath

Price: $1100

I love the architecture. On the inside, there are new cabinets, new appliances, new washer and dryer, new windows, and new carpeting. Gotta love new! To complete the package, the living room has vaulted ceilings and the master bedroom has large walk-in closets.

Apt528 Reminder: The Apt528 lamp giveaway ends today at 11:59PM...enter NOW!!