Architect Danielle Beaulieu and her husband, David Welch, found their 130-year-old Victorian worker’s cottage in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood in 2017 after scouring the market and touring everything from turnkey flips, to new constructions, to total teardowns.

It had 10-foot-high ceilings on the ground floor, big original windows with blue stained glass at the top, and built-in wood shutters and pocket doors. There was “even a goofy little hobbit door under the staircase,” says Danielle. “A lot of that kind of character is hard to come by.”

Before: Exterior

After: Exterior

This type of housing is quite common in Chicago and the neighborhood, says Danielle, but because they’re typically small, they’re often subject to being torn down—or expanded beyond recognition. And while this one had also been altered, especially at the rear and on the second floor, there was enough originality there to spark the couple’s interest.

They lived in it for two years before doing any demo, aside from replacing the collapsing fence in the front yard. “I was really interested in this dialogue between old and new,” says Danielle. “How do you respect the past and bring it into today, yet modify it to suit your needs? So, we kept the big changes to the unoriginal portions of the house.”

Before: Foyer

After: Foyer

At some point in time, previous owners had enclosed an exterior staircase at the rear of the property. There was already a main staircase at the front of the house, so not only did the secondary staircase take up too much of the footprint at the main level, it also fed into an upstairs bedroom. People then had to walk through that bedroom to get to a rear study.

“We called it the Clue staircase, like the board game, because it felt like a very sketchy back stair where something bad was going to happen, and it really wasn't necessary,” says Danielle. “So, we saw an opportunity to remove it.”

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

Before: Dining Room

After: Dining Room

Removing the so-called “Clue staircase” made it possible to enlarge the kitchen significantly at the lower level. Upstairs, Danielle carved out a proper hallway that fed from the stairs at the front of the house. She stacked two bedrooms on one side and two bathrooms on the other, one of which is a new addition.

With the floor plan reshuffled, the next consideration was bringing in more natural light to “track the day,” says Danielle, and shape the daily rhythms of life inside the home. To that end, the openings between the kitchen and dining room, and the kitchen and breakfast room, were widened, and a window over the sink added.

Upstairs, new skylights illuminate the bedrooms and study. Now, since the living room is east-facing, Danielle starts the day there with a cup of tea, while the west-facing kitchen is a wonderful place to make the evening meal and watch the sun go down. “It just creates different tones throughout the day,” she says of watching the light change.

Before: Kitchen and Extra Staircase

After: Kitchen

Danielle and her husband lived in the home throughout the seven months of construction, having breakfast by the water heater in the basement while the roof was tarped off. The architect worked on the remodel in her off hours while also at a full-time job at a local firm.

“It really became an exercise in instinct and believing my gut and going with it,” she says. The project wrapped in February 2020, when Danielle decided to launch her own firm, - Lieu, shortly thereafter.

During the remodel, “I was still searching for my voice,” she says. “But it showed me the value and impact that good design has on people's daily lives, and just how personal [a remodel] really is.”

Before: Upstairs Bedroom

After: Hallway and Hall Bathroom

Before: Main Bedroom

After: Main Bedroom

Before: Main Bathroom

After: Main Bathroom

After: Bedroom

After: Study

More Before & After:

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A Pavilion-Like Addition Opens Up a São Paulo Home for Three Generations

Project Credits:

Architect: - Lieu / @studio_lieu

Builder: Mfive Chicago

Landscape Design: Sprout Home Chicago

Interior Design: - lieu

Other: Wallin Gomez Architects