Cozy splendor
Quilter warms up home for symphony tour
On the outside, this stone Tudor is beautiful but not especially unique, at least not for Mt. Lebanon’s Virginia Manor neighborhood. But inside, it’s a colorful patchwork of elegant yet functional rooms, much like the lovely quilts the homeowner makes in her home studio and usually gives away
“It’s become my passion,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used in this article.
The sprawling 1942-built house that she shares with her husband is one of eight stops on the Symphony Splendor Holiday Home Tour from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 19. Tickets are $60 each in advance, $100 for two or $70 on tour day. Members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will perform in each of the houses, all in Virginia Manor.
The couple moved to the neighborhood 36 years ago and raised two boys here. They have made many smart changes, most in 1989 and 2012. The architect for all of the renovations was Richard Hayes of United Concepts, who grew up in the neighborhood. He collaborated closely with the homeowners, especially the quilter of the house. The black and white kitchen -- an anomaly in this color-filled house -- is an example of Mr. Hayes’ care.
“He kept asking, ‘How do you use your kitchen?’ We went drawer by drawer,” she recalled.
So in addition to the 12burner Dacor gas stove where she and her husband can cook together, there are pull-out pantries, leatherwrapped cabinet handles (no fingerprints!) and a sturdy pull-out shelf to catch bags of groceries.
The bold red dining room with a 12-foot ceiling is the most spectacular change. Originally a small porch, it became part of an addition that also includes a large butler’s pantry. The walnut dining table with bronze dore accents is set for 14 people. It seems large but there was room enough only for the older members of her extended family last Thanksgiving. Forty-two people were spread throughout the house last November, and the homeowners made three turkeys in the double oven, a huge gas grill on the porch and a deep fryer.
They’re not hosting this year, which gave the quilter a big head-start on her Christmas decorations.
“I’m done!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never even started decorating before Thanksgiving!”
The bright yellow den’s artificial tree — one of four — is covered with tiny crocheted, knitted or felt sweaters, socks, hats, flowers, Santas and other items, all handmade by the homeowner. The living room Christmas tree, however, must compete with a larger-than-life wooden Santa and a fireplace mantel trimmed with greens and topped by antique alabaster lamps. A double glass door leads to the roomy, inviting back porch, which also has a Christmas tree.
Nearly every room in the house features a distinctive piece by Lyle Clevenger, a Mt. Lebanon woodworker. Just in time for the tour, he finished a reindeer silhouette that leaps across a wall in the pantry. Mr. Clevenger made the deer and the demilune table beneath it from cherry and wrapped them in copper. Exposing the finegrained hardwood in the antlers was his idea, but every piece is actually a collaboration with the quilter of the house.
“He and I go back and forth on what we want and fine-tune it,” she said. “I love this man!”
The house’s colorful palette is also the result of a collaboration with designer Lynn Smith, who painted the stencils over the doors in the dining room. It’s the details that make the houses on the tour special, said Cathy Trombetta, who helped organize the fundraiser for the Pittsburgh Symphony Association (www.psa75.org).
“Each has taken a traditional house and made it their own,” she said. “They have the creativity to make it fit their families, their hobbies and their lifestyles.”
For the quilter, that meant turning the old master bedroom into her studio. On one wall, she can spend hours arranging swatches, turning and swapping colors and textures until she finds a pattern she loves. It’s a crazy quilt that is both ephemeral and eternal.
“Here I can lose the world and just work,” she said, smiling.