Mt. Greenwood is one of Chicago's most affordable South Side neighborhoods — which means you're more likely to find a real stone bungalow or Tudor at a price that lets you do it right. I've been working on these houses for 36 years. I know what they need.
Mt. Greenwood is often overlooked on Chicago's South Side — which is exactly why it's a great neighborhood to buy in. The housing stock is predominantly 1920s brick bungalows and Tudors, built for working- and middle-class families who wanted quality construction. The brick is real brick, the joists are dimensional lumber, and the trim is often solid oak or pine — not engineered wood.
The English Tudor details common in Mt. Greenwood — half-timbering, clinker brick, steeply pitched roofs — create trim challenges that most contractors don't know how to handle. Getting crown molding to work in a room with an angled ceiling or a Tudor-style fireplace surround requires someone who understands the vocabulary of the style.
The brick bungalows have their own character: exposed rafters in the living room, built-in cabinetry in the dining room, and original kitchen layouts that were designed for a time when people cooked differently. A kitchen remodel in a Mt. Greenwood bungalow should account for those original details — or work around them intelligently.
English Tudor (1920s): Half-timbering on exterior, steeply pitched gabled roofs, clinker brick. Interior: dark wood trim, wide casings, sometimes plaster walls over lath. The trim in these houses tends to be wide and substantial — often 4-1/2" or 5-1/2" casings in a dark stain. Replacing or extending this requires matching the width and profile, not just the color.
American Brick Bungalow (1920s–1930s): Brick exterior, exposed rafter tails at the gable ends, built-in cabinetry. Interior window and door trim is typically pine with a clear finish or painted white. Original kitchen cabinets in these houses are often solid pine — worth saving if the boxes are intact.
Craftsman (1910s–1920s): Tapered columns, built-in hall trees, window seats. These houses often have original hardwood floors under multiple layers of carpet and linoleum. If you're doing trim work in a Craftsman bungalow, it's worth checking what's under the carpet.
Bungalow kitchens are typically smaller and galley-style. I design cabinet layouts that maximize every inch — including above-refrigerator cabinets and toekick drawers — without making the room feel cramped or closing off original window placements.
Tudor homes with angled ceilings, dormers, and exposed beams require trim work that follows the architecture. I install crown molding that works with the existing lines of the room, not against them.
Mt. Greenwood Tudors often have wide-plank casings — 4-1/2" to 6" — in dark stain. I match these profiles exactly when doing replacement or extension work. Bungalow casing is typically simpler but no less important to get right.
Formal dining rooms in brick bungalows and Tudors often had wainscoting or oak paneling. I install period-appropriate paneling that matches the existing trim in width, profile, and finish.
Popular in Mt. Greenwood renovations where homeowners want to close off the kitchen from a dining area. I build and hang sliding barn doors that work with the wider casings typical of Tudor interiors.
Mt. Greenwood's working-class housing stock was built to a high standard. Original trim is worth saving. I assess whether existing trim can be stripped, repaired, and refinished — and I tell you honestly when it can't.
"We bought a 1925 brick bungalow in Mt. Greenwood and the kitchen was original. Three other contractors told us to tear it all out and start over. John said the cabinet boxes were solid pine and the doors were worth refinishing. Six weeks later we had a kitchen that looked original but worked like a modern one. It was half the price of the full demo the other guys quoted."
— Homeowner, Mt. Greenwood, Chicago (2024)One of the reasons I built FindBravo.app is so you never have to wonder if the number I quoted is real. I put pricing ranges there for every service — no bait-and-switch, no "call for pricing."
For a typical Mt. Greenwood kitchen with semi-custom cabinets: $26,500–$58,000. Crown molding for a Tudor living room (angled ceilings, wider casing): $1,500–$5,500. Wainscoting, dining room: $2,000–$6,500. I'll give you a firm number after I see the house.
See full transparent pricing at FindBravo.app ↗
I work primarily in Mt. Greenwood, Beverly, Morgan Park, Evergreen Park, and Oak Lawn — the South Side neighborhoods where I know the housing stock, the permit offices, and the material suppliers. That local knowledge matters for finish carpentry.
I call back within 2 hours. One visit, one firm quote. No pressure.
Chicago: (312) 970-9228 · NW Indiana: (219) 384-1566