PG Renovation Contest: Small Project Category Runner Up

Ryan Indova's Highland Park Home

Ryan in his Living Room

Dining Room

Stairwell

Master Bedroom

The son of architect Robert Indovina, he grew up in Fox Chapel, joined his father's profession and went to work in Los Angeles and New York. Then, 21/2 years ago, he moved back and began looking for an older house in Highland Park that he could put his "stamp" on without erasing its architectural style.  The 1925 brick Colonial he found had five bedrooms and 31/2 baths but had lost much of its interior charm to the wear and tear of a large family and several misguided renovations. It was the blank slate he'd been looking for.

He made the most of the opportunity, giving each room a clean simple design whose contemporary leanings never overwhelm the traditional floor plan. On the first floor, the old hardwood floors shine, thanks to his careful sanding and refinishing. New recessed lighting highlights the bright white woodwork, cool gray and white walls and an array of sleek pieces made from the 1920s to the '50s. The second and third floors are similar, except that the furniture is made from old, warm wood.

In the front hall, where a Colonial chandelier probably once hung, there is a 1963 Danish light fixture based on Louis Poulsen's artichoke lamp. In the dining room, old laboratory chairs from Slippery Rock University that Mr. Indovina discovered at Construction Junction were sanded and refinished. They surround a 1920s Le Corbusier glass-topped table with aluminum base.

The living room is a modern furniture lover's dream, featuring chairs by Eames, Breuer and Bertoia. A large oil painting by Robert Indovina fills one wall. The fireplace mantel, which he believes is made from limestone, had too many coats of paint to strip. So he painted it white to match the woodwork and topped it with a whimsical deer head from Cardboard Safari. French doors lead to a screened porch that got a new beadboard ceiling and ceramic tile floor.

Upstairs, the master bedroom and bath are even more successful "experiments." Mr. Indovina, who works with Indovina Associates Architects in Shadyside, redesigned the floor plan, shuffling a closet, bathroom and hallway to improve flow, then built a low wall to act as headboard for his homemade bed.  Now the room's centerpiece, his bed was made from oak plywood stained ebony (Minwax). Mr. Indovina used the same materials plus two IKEA night stands to make his vanity, topped by an Italian ceramic sink. The glass shower has gray ceramic tile.  Other experiments are the light shelf around the edges of the ceiling and baseboards that are flush with the wall surface.

A reconfigured hall bathroom features a cast-iron bathtub Mr. Indovina found on Craigslist with reproduction hardware he bought online. The guest bedrooms have light shelves and beautiful carved oak beds and vanities made in the mid- to late 1800s.

The only hint that the house took nearly two years of hard work is found in the linen closet -- it's filled with tools. The only other reminder is a third-floor closet that was left untouched to show visitors what the house looked like when Mr. Indovina bought it. Faded striped wallpaper clashes with a bright green painted door.
The last room to be done is the kitchen, which still has several layers of old linoleum and a dropped ceiling. As Mr. Indovina decides how to redo the room, he could seek advice from another designer; one of the renovation contest's prizes is a free Renplan consult from the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh.

Highland Park
Metro Pittsburgh Real Estate