Rustic Meets Modern in This Tri-Level Lincoln Park Timber Loft

By AJ LaTrace Jul 20, 2015, 1:30pm CDT

Welcome to House Calls, a feature in which Curbed tours the lovely, offbeat, or otherwise awesome homes of regular Chicagoans. Think your space should be featured next? Drop us a line with a few photos and details about your place.

[Photos by Nick Fochtman]

Sometimes, some people find themselves browsing homes on the internet, and then just just days later, they find themselves living in that home. Last autumn, Adam was browsing Curbed during a break at work and stumbled upon a post for a Lincoln Park loft that he thought was intriguing. Jokingly, he sent the post and the listing to his wife in an email with a subject that read "OUR NEXT HOUSE!" Just days later, the condo did become their next house. "We decided we'd check it out and after a quick call with the listing broker we were set up to see the condo the same night," Adam tells us, "When we arrived, there were about 20 other potential buyers perusing the condo. We were shocked, delighted at what we saw, but shocked." Adam sent us a message earlier this year to share his story, so naturally, we asked to see if he'd invite us over to check out their new home.

Who lives here?
Myself my, wife and our handsome French Bulldog, Sherman.

What are the stats?
1,800 square feet, two bedrooms, two and a half baths. Amazing outdoor patio space.

You have an interesting story about how you found your home, can you tell us how you came to live here?
I frequent Curbed in the afternoons and saw a listing for a "Nice Tri-Level Timber Loft Townhouse." Joking, I sent it over to my wife with the sarcastic subject line "OUR NEXT HOUSE!" We had briefly talked about buying a place but figured we'd wait until our lease were to expire. When we both got home from work she said we should go look at the place just for fun.

We called the broker and scheduled a time to see the condo that night. When we arrived at the unit there were several other buyers and their brokers salivating over the unit. My wife and I instantly fell in love. We went home, printed up a generic contract and sent it to the seller's broker. A half hour later we were under contract for a new home!

Was it stressful trying to juggle a new home purchase while trying to an existing apartment lease?
At first, yes, but we were determined to make this work. My wife and I thought about what we could do to sublease our current apartment so we could focus on the new home. Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was Curbed! While my Craigslist ad was buried beneath thousands of other posts, I sent an email with a link to my ad to the Curbed tip line and it was posted on the site. Two hours after the Curbed post we had sublet our apartment. Easy as cake.

How has the new place been working out?
From the minute we moved in, this place has felt like home. After making a few small tweaks it's been smooth sailing. Now that it's nice out (sort of) we love using the deck!

Have you made any big changes to it?
The biggest change we made was replacing a spiral staircase that led to the master with a traditional staircase. This was a big issue for us initially but after meeting with a good contractor we felt confident the staircase could be replaced quickly and seamlessly. The new staircase is a huge improvement that turned out well.

What thing do you like most about your home?
It's unique, there's a great balance between modern and rustic charm.

What thing do you like least about it?
For a few months there was construction going on right next to our unit. That sucked. But they finished the project. Yippee!

What do you like about living in Lincoln Park?
The location is great. We live across the street from a gorgeous park, a few blocks from restaurants and stores and a very easy commute on the 'L' or the highway. Lincoln Park was an easy choice for us because of its neighborhood feeling and close proximity to downtown.