Fixerupper turns into DIY dream
First-time homeowners Erin and Richard Kelly did what many Pittsburgh transplants do when they decide to start a family: They come home.
“We came back from Chicago,” Mrs. Kelly said. “Both of my grandparents grew up in Forest Hills and we started looking for a house here.”
She’s a photographer and he’s an illustrator. They were looking for a home they could fix up. What they found at 107 Fairfax Road fit the bill.
“It had really awesome bones but hadn’t been updated for quite some time,” she said.
Dark interiors and old lighting was the norm. They went to work and after a three-year remodel, their chic design style was featured in Design Sponge and Apartment Therapy design blogs and Country Living magazine. It’s also to appear in an upcoming issue of “This Old House” magazine.
Ready for another project and looking to move closer to family in Oakmont, the couple have put their home three-bedroom, 1 ½-bath home on the market for $169,900 (MLS No. 1239136) with Tim Gyves of Coldwell Banker Real Estate (412-366-9928 or www.coldwellbankerhomes.com). It is under agreement.
The house in the Edgewood Acres neighborhood blends elements of cottage and modern design. On the outside, it hasn’t changed much — red shutters, red brick and the original slate roof.
“Someone clearly loved the spaces. We landscaped the lot and tamed everything back out there,” Mrs. Kelly said.
Brightening the interior started with lots of white paint.
“All of the walls in the first floor had heavy, dark paneling and no lighting. We wanted to just light every space.”
To the right of the entry is a 23by-13-foot living room that features an original fireplace mantel and one of many built-ins. Hardwood floors were exposed and heavy wood paneling deglossed, sanded, primed and painted in a Benjamin Moore white called Putty.
“We wanted to create a Modern Colonial feel to the house,” Mrs. Kelly said.
They added new pendant lighting and furnished the space