Edge Wood House

Originally constructed in 1952, the Edge Wood House, set-back into the quiet wooded Fox Chapel, Pittsburgh neighborhood, is a home that had undergone numerous changes throughout its history. The renovation of the Edge Wood House became an exercise in selective removal and careful additions to create a unified home with spatial clarity, light, and connections of the interior living spaces with the surrounding gardens and landscape.

The project includes the addition of two new bedroom wings with the full renovation of the existing home. The strategy for this renovation uses the two additions to shape and create two landscape courtyard spaces which act as focal points from within the home. The existing main living space of kitchen, dining, and living room has been transformed from an internal, compressed space to what is now the heart of the house as an open, airy, inviting gathering space for the family. This involved the transformational restructuring of the main roof to eliminate the over-bearing compression of the low truss. This main living space now connects to all parts of the house and is bounded by the two exterior courtyards.

It was vital to the project to marry the existing home with the additions seamlessly. Where possible, materials were repurposed and reused. The existing kitchen and cabinetry were revitalized, existing hardwood floors were refinished, and specific walnut counters were removed, refinished, and used to create a custom millwork piece. The exterior of the house was thoroughly renovated to unify the parts that make up the whole. Strong horizontal elements were introduced to visually connect the primary volumes. Simple white poly-ash siding with contrasting black energy-efficient windows and dark standing seam roofing comprise the simple yet elegant exterior palette of the home.