Fox Chapel Bungalow Restoration
This handsomely restored Craftsman bungalow is the result of well-considered design choices by an architect sensitive to its style, but the construction process began with peeling away layers of poorly conceived alterations (by a previous owner) in order to reveal its hidden beauty.
The single most significant measure was removing the vinyl soffit that concealed the originally unenclosed eaves and rafter tails— features emblematic of the Craftsman Style. Although carpentry details are characteristically simple, they are now enlivened by a palette of deep, rich paint colors that accentuates the home’s picturesque quality. Following on this theme, vinyl siding was stripped from the dormers and a projecting bedroom bay, and replaced with stylistically appropriate cedar shingles— rough-sawn and stained the color of espresso.
White aluminum “K” gutters, ill-suited to the style of the house, were replaced with traditional half-round gutters in a dark copper finish. The original front door— stripped of paint and refinished in a deep mahogany tone—and a new custom screen/storm door milled from richly grained Spanish Cedar form the focus of the inviting entryway.
Press:
Renovating an exterior can give home whole new perspective, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 01/19/13.
