My children aged ten and twelve and I absolutely loved staying in Ryan's place. He has everything you need, the Garden Room was great, the shared bathroom was never an issue and we hardly saw the other guests. The kitchen is perfect and the house is just beautiful and like a gorgeous museum piece itself! Very quirky and unique and interesting. The train station is just five minutes walk away and though the area has a mix of lovely family homes and empty ones, and there is definitely evidence of poverty in the area, we never felt threatened or worried, and everyone was very friendly to us. I wouldn't walk alone from the station after dark as a woman, though, but I am probably being over-cautious especially as I had my children with me. It was very easy to get into downtown Chicago. If you want to eat at Ryan's, there is a little supermarket five minutes away for groceries, although I am not sure there are any restaurants nearby. But Chicago is full of great places to eat, and things to do, and it's only less than thirty minutes to get to the Loop.
I would definitely come back and will be recommending Fort Washington to all my friends as it is great value, a beautiful place, and Ryan is a great host.