I’m Tracie. I currently live in Quincy, Illinois where I’m restoring an 1896 former rectory and convent. But that’s a project for another blog. I cut my teeth in historic restoration and rehabilitation on my Chicago bungalow from 2016 to 2023.

I got involved with the Chicago bungalow community in 2016 when my partner and I bought our first single-family home in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. In 2017, I started an Instagram account My Chicago Bungalow to document house projects and connect with other bungalow owners. Soon after, I began to see the online bungalow community grow and knit themselves together. Through Instagram, I’ve met many Chicago bungalow owners (current and former), as well as other old house enthusiasts.

I’ve won two Driehaus awards through the Chicago Bungalow Association and have taught myself how to refinish floors and woodwork, hang wallpaper, do basic plumbing and electrical, do drywall and plaster repair. I’ve also taken classes on historic masonry and wood window restoration. The list keeps growing.

In 2018 I started this blog as a way to long-form document my projects, conduct research, and build resources and project lists for old house owners. And now the blog is ready for a new life. One of my passions is for education and helping others build their own home literacy to better understand home maintenance and how to identify, plan, and tackle projects both large and small. I’m hoping to share my knowledge here for anyone that’s interested. Thanks for reading!