A Great House Tour

If you are a fan of The Prairie School, Arts & Crafts Architecture, or if you just love old homes, this is an event you can't miss. On June 21st, Pleasant Home Foundation is sponsoring a tour of Historic Hutchinson Street in Chicago.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the street, it stretches just a few short blocks off of Lake Shore Drive and is dotted with some of the finest homes in Chicago. They were built around the turn of the century and many were designed by renowned Prairie School Architect George Washington Maher.
These homes feature impressive monumental exteriors with unique Prairie Style detailing characteristic of Maher's work. Their interiors are filled with original carved woodwork, art glass, tile and metal work, designed with harmonizing motifs derived from nature like poppies, thistles, and wisteria.

It has been about 8 years since these homes were last open to the public so this is a rare occurrence and a unique opportunity. There are currently 6 homes scheduled to be open and there may be more. In addition to the interior tours (one of them given by yours truly), the event also features a guided walking tour of the entire street, a Chicago Landmark District, by some of the most knowledgeable architects and architectural historians in the area.

This is the primary fundraiser this year for Pleasant Home Foundation, whose mission is to educate about Maher and restore Historic Pleasant Home, a National Landmark designed by the architect and located in Oak Park, Illinois. Tours will be scheduled at one of 2 times: 10:00am or 1:00pm. Tickets are $50.00 and $40.00 for Pleasant Home Foundation Members. Space is limited and this event will most likely sell out. Call Pleasant Home to make reservations by phone: (708) 383 2654. They will also soon be uploading a printable PDF to their website for registration.

The Foundation can use your support and you will not be disappointed by the homes on the tour.

Considering the Environment

As a way to celebrate Blog Action Day, I am writing down a list of things that we do here at the Tinybungalow in the hopes that in some small way we will impact the environment in more good ways then bad.

1. Live small.
I am not suggesting that everyone should be living in an 800 square foot home but it is worth considering why people in our country seem to need so much space. Regardless of how energy efficient your home is, an extra two or three thousand square feet per home is just not sustainable.2. Live in an old home.
If you don't have to build it, you don't have to use resources to manufacture it and you will create less waste during construction. The greenest building you can build is the one that you don't build at all.

3. Get off your butt and walk.

I hate driving so this is an easy one. When we chose this home, we knew we wanted something near public transit and within walking distance to park, school, and village. Burning off the last meal you ate will do yourself and the environment much more good than burning fuel in your car.

4. Recycle.

It doesn't take a lot of time to have an extra garbage can for recyclable items. If we could find the space for it, then anyone can. If it can be used again, help to put materials into the recycling pipeline.

5. Re-use and Re-purpose.

We love Craig's list and e-bay. Old stuff is usually cooler than new stuff anyway. Now, we don't buy everything used but there is so much that you can buy and sell so why not do it? An old piece of furniture will do more good in your home than it will in the area landfill.

6. Compost.
A lot of people think composting is rocket science. We do not have a composter - I prefer to layer stuff in a big pile. The result is great. If it can help out your garden then why would you throw it away?7. Repair, don't replace.

I am a fan of our old plaster walls, the wood windows, and just about every part of this old home. There are some good reasons to update particular items in old homes but why create waste and use resources when you have something that works and is currently in your home.

8. Go bottle-less

It is tough to avoid them - this is one item that we have had some difficulty embracing but so far, so good. To help the water taste better, buy a water filter and instead of buying several cases of water a week, use refillable bottles. The nice part is that we save money.9. Put in some CFLs.Look, they even have holiday ones now!10. Install a rain barrel

Putting in a rain barrel is not the easiest thing to do and it does add a little more maintenance to the house. We love them though. Why pay for water when it's free?

One Month to Beautiful Bungalows Weekend

For the third year, Pleasant Home Foundation presents Beautiful Bungalows: A Celebration on Saturday, October 6 and Sunday, October 7. Beautiful Bungalows features events celebrating Oak Park’s bungalows, their variety, craftsmanship and modern use. Three special events make up the weekend, with the highlight being the bungalow house interior tour on Sunday. New this year is a Restoration Forum at Pleasant Home, free and open to the public. A benefit fundraiser for the restoration of Pleasant Home will also be held in a private George Maher-designed home in Oak Park. Details on all of the events follows:

Pleasant Home Restoration Forum
Saturday, October 6
9 am - 12 noon
Find lots of ideas for your own renovation and restoration projects at this free open forum of local preservation experts and resources at historic Pleasant Home, 217 Home Avenue, Oak Park. Free, open to the public.
Exhibits will include:
- Furnishings
- Financing restoration
- Lighting

- Green materials
- Getting a permit
- Kitchen design
- Art glass: new and old
- Using the Internet
- Researching your home
- Color analysis
- Historic fences
- Planning an addition
- Historic windows
and more.

Maher’s Bungalows – A Pleasant Home Benet Reception
530 North Euclid Avenue, Oak Park
Saturday, October 6
6 - 8 pm
Join us at George W. Maher’s wonderful Erwin House for a special evening benet reception featuring cocktails and hors d’ouevres, and a presentation on Maher’s bungalows by architectural historian Kathleen Cummings.
$25 (advance registration requested)

Oak Park Bungalow Tour
Sunday, October 7
11 am – 4 pm
Enjoy this unique opportunity for docent-led interior tours of some of Oak Park’s most spectacular bungalows, most never before open to the public, and a self-guided walking tour of their historic neighborhoods.
No tickets will be mailed. Check-in, ticket/map pick-up and day-of registration begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7 at Pleasant Home, 217 Home Avenue.
$35 (advance registration), $40 (day of the event)

To register, call 708-383-2654 or visit http://www.pleasanthome.org/.

If You Love Bungalows

If you love bungalows and old homes, you need to mark your calendars. Sunday, October 7th will be Pleasant Home's 3rd annual Beautiful Bungalows tour. It features interior tours of 7 historic bungalows and we always have a great selection of homes. We will also be hosting lectures and presentations on old home restoration. Stay tuned for details. It is a great place to get restoration ideas, to learn about historic architecture, and to see the inside of some fantastic homes. If you are interested now, don't hesitate to put your name on the mailing list for Pleasant Home by calling (708) 383 2654.

Here are some of the homes we have featured over the past two years:

If you are into old homes, here are a couple of events you shouldn't miss

If you are in the Chicagoland area, there are a few events sponsored by Pleasant Home Foundation you should seriously consider attending. PHF puts on awesome events involving architectural history, tours, old homes, etc. Each of the 2 tour programs is $20 and all proceeds benefit the foundation, whose role is to oversee renovation of the National Landmark, Pleasant Home. I'll try and update this later with photos to hopefully make it more enticing.

The tour portion of the May 6th program should be great. Yours truly will be speaking about Silsbee in front of the only surviving home by that architect in the town. One of the reasons for the tour is to shed light on the earliest structures in Kenilworth. It seems critical given it's designation as an endangered place by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Maher, Silsbee, and Burnham: A Look at the Early Architecture of Kenilworth
Join architectural historians Kathleen Cummings and Bill Hinchliff to explore the early buildings of Kenilworth, Illinois. The afternoon program will begin with a visit to the Kenilworth Historical Society's current exhibit and a brief talk about the character of the early village. An exterior walking tour of houses by George Washington Maher, Franklin Burnham, and Joseph Lyman Silsbee will follow.
Sunday, May 6th 2:00pm
Kenilworth Historical Society
415 Kenilworth Avenue
Kenilworth, Illinois

The next program gives you interior access to two amazing Prairie Style homes by George Maher (and some wine and cheese to boot).

Preserving the Prairie School: A Future Orientation
Vincent Michael, director of the historic preservation program at the School of the Art Institute and a member of the board of directors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will give a poignant lecture to help us understand why and how to save important Prairie School structures, in one of five structures in Oak Park by leading Prairie School architect, George Maher.
Friday, May 18 6:30 pm
Unity Church (G. Maher’s J. H. Taylor Home)
405 N. Euclid Avenure
Oak Park, Illinois
A special reception at G. Maher’s Caldwell House will immediately follow the lecture.

If you have any questions or want to register, follow this link to Pleasant Home.

Finally, (and I saved the best for last) mark your calendars for this event coming in June. More details will follow regarding times and fee.