My Houzz: Major DIY Love Transforms a Neglected Pittsburgh Home

Bryan and Wendy Grasso went all in with their 112-year-old Pittsburgh home. Not that they had a choice. The abandoned three-story house came with boarded windows and doors, a water-damaged exterior and a poorly insulated, moldy and rotting interior. Bryan, an architect, and Wendy, an attorney, devoted their free time for a year to gut, renovate and create a new open floor plan. They laid down tile, poured concrete countertops and designed every detail.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Bryan and Wendy Grasso
Location: Regent Square neighborhood of Pittsburgh
Size: 1,830 square feet; 2 bedrooms, 1½ bathrooms
Year built: 1901

Old siding, plywood-covered openings, poor insulation and water damage once defined this house.


AFTER: New vinyl siding and traditional scalloped shingles have replaced the damaged exterior. Bryan removed every interior wall on the first floor, which created great cross ventilation. Operable casement windows flank the large picture window.

Windows: Pella Pro-Line; siding: CertainTeed


The windows, newly configured and reframed for better cross ventilation, are a combination of casement, awning, double-hung and fixed units. Bryan used narrow, slotted fixed windows on the side, because they're relatively inexpensive and can be ordered to fit within the existing stud spacing. He framed Velux skylights into the new shingled roof.

Rain barrels connect to the downspouts to help manage the water around the foundation.

Roof: Duration series, Owens Corning


Six-inch recessed can lights spaced evenly in the suspended drywall ceiling help define the living and dining spaces. Bryan created the columns for structural support with lumber from the hardware store, which he glued, sanded, primed and painted.

A birch-veneer plywood ceiling and an exposed duct run above a slate tile entryway. Bryan's former boss, Damian Velasquez, made the coffee table. Bryan and Wendy installed natural-color bamboo flooring.

Sofa: Perlora; slate tile: Indian Multi Color, Daltile


Bryan made the railing system using threaded rods running between steel bars. "It's a little bit more of an industrial look than an airplane cable system," he says. He sanded and stained lumber to form the handrail.

He bought the artwork at a Phish concert.


"Generally, we created a simple palette of base colors: gray, white and blonde-colored woods," says Bryan. "Most of the color you see in our house comes from our furniture pieces, artwork and just a few paint accents." Many of the home's walls are painted white, while the columns are done in bright hues.


The couple jots down favorite albums and what's next on the playlist on this chalkboard wall.

Kitchen table, chairs: Eames, Herman Miller


They installed Ikea cabinets and combined many different finishes, including stainless steel fronts, birch veneer and frosted glass fronts.

Bryan used a standard concrete mix without added color for the countertops. He poured and polished the countertops in the backyard in sections, which he then assembled like a jigsaw puzzle on top of the base cabinets.


The Grassos decided on a galley-style kitchen layout with a large island. Bryan made the butcher block bar counter with lumber from the hardware store. "It's held up great, and I really like it," he says.

Because of the open floor plan, the couple used a suspended drywall ceiling to separate the dining and living room. The existing ceiling joists above the kitchen were left open, sanded, thoroughly cleaned and painted gray.

Frosted pendants: Camille; heads: Sportster, both by Tech-Lighting


In this south-facing second-floor guest bedroom, Bryan installed a newly framed traditional double-hung window with wood trim. He eliminated a window on the wall facing a narrow, dark alley and replaced it with a small simple fixed window framed by drywall.

Bed: Heimdal, Ikea; side table: Hemnes, Ikea; floors: birch-veneer plywood


In the home's only full bathroom, the floor tile continues up the side of the tub.

Vanity: Ikea; tub: Air Bath, Kohler; floor and apron tile: Concrete Connection, Steel Structure, Daltile; shower-tub wall tile: Modern Dimensions in matte white, matte biscuit and matte desert gray, Daltile


Damian Velasquez made the brushed-steel, clear-powder-coated bed. The nightstands are the same red color used on the first-floor columns.

Comforter, pillows: Anthropologie


Bryan made the two doors leading into the main bedroom. The first is a clear acrylic that he sanded to make translucent. The acrylic is set into lumber that he clear-coated with polyurethane. The second door is an oversize black stained sliding barn door.

Bryan found the teal dresser at a thrift store; he repainted it and added new drawer pulls.

Flooring: birch-veneer plywood


They completely opened up the third-floor attic, removing interior walls to create an office space. The ceiling collar joists are painted with an accent color.

The flooring is birch-veneer plywood sheets ripped into 12-inch-wide strips. Bryan routered the edges and staggered the boards. The chairs are restored antiques.


"Our finished attic is my favorite space in the house," says Bryan. "It's so high up and so open that we get tons of natural light and great cross breezes. It's where we work, listen to music, hang out and even Hula-Hoop."


Wendy and Bryan, shown here, made this office table with some leftover birch plywood and a found table base.

Show us your home

Browse more homes by style:
Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Eclectic Homes | Modern Homes | Contemporary Homes | Midcentury Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Barn Homes | Townhouses | Apartments | Lofts | Vacation Homes

URL: My Houzz: Major DIY Love Transforms a Neglected Pittsburgh Home http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-21454.html