Houzz Tour: Cinderella Story in Pittsburgh
Creative renovation turns radiator shop Into a contemporary gem
Take a look at this first photo. What would you have envisioned here? This former radiator shop in Pittsburgh is now a posh contemporary home thanks to the keen eye and eclectic background of Mark Frankovitch, who at 28 is making a name for himself renovating industrial spaces on the city’s South Side. Frankovitch grew up building barns on a family farm, studied art and history, then got an MBA in real estate finance. His interests merged when he found a passion for turning old buildings into something new. His first project, the redevelopment of a machine shop, opened his eyes to the possibilities and helped finance the makeover of this corner into a wow spot he calls teres 58 domus, which he says means “rounded, polished home.”
Cinderella before the ball: The unique corner design caught Frankovitch’s eye every time he drove by this property. A small church had been using the old concrete-block building as a meeting space. After he persuaded the church to sell it to him for $100,000, his hobby became dreaming about the floor plan, drawing building plans, and running back and forth to the city for permits. In January 2010 he and two carpenters began the renovation.
A year later, it's a 2,200-square-foot home. Got $739,000? That's the asking price today. Cedar siding shows off the original curve. Frankovitch left some of the original blocks exposed and painted them dark brown. "Buildings that used to be something else have a richness and history to them," he says. "The beautiful imperfections just add to it."
The bright green box at the end of the property contains the garage and two of the home's three bedrooms. Frankovitch chose fiber-cement panels for their durability and clean lines, and High-Strung Green Sherwin Williams paint for how cool it looked with brown and white.
"The neighbors in the house next door were very supportive of the project," Frankovitch notes. "They wrote a letter to help me get the variances needed for the setback requirements."
"The neighbors in the house next door were very supportive of the project," Frankovitch notes. "They wrote a letter to help me get the variances needed for the setback requirements."
On other side of that rounded wall: a sunken den or sitting room. Frankovitch used horizontal oak paneling to emphasize the curve, dropped a lighting grid into the original ceiling and turned a partition wall into art with cut-outs painted Sherwin Williams Cayenne.
The steps lead to the engineered bamboo floor of the kitchen.
The steps lead to the engineered bamboo floor of the kitchen.
A local glass shop fabricated the backsplash: a 170-gallon aquarium. He chose KraftMaid acrylic cabinets in almond and stainless steel countertops. The orange stools and the rest of his accessories came from Stuff Furnishings, a favorite local shop.
A raised floor and slightly dropped ceiling defines the kitchen space and creates the feeling of a stage. In the living room, the oak paneling from the entry appears again in the TV inset.
The upstairs is designed for parties, music room or a home office. He blended three Sherwin Williams colors — Tony Taupe, Accessible Beige and Aesthetic White — to play with light and dimension.
Frankovitch likes the industrial look of exposed ducts. "Why take up that big square with drywall?" he asks. Ceramic tile covers the concrete floor.
The roof over the curved corner became a deck off the master bedroom.
A 9-inch drywall bump-out in the second bedroom provides minimal art, a headboard and ambient lighting via LED rope lights around the edges.
1,000 feet of rooftop deck offers 360-degree views. Fiber concrete paneling lines the railing. A built-in gas grill and island stand ready for spring.
A gas fire pit warms the other end of the deck and the entry to the third bedroom.
The room atop the bright green end of the home has its own city views and deck. Walls: Sherwin Williams Lively Yellow.
Exterior up-and-down lights wash the whole front at night.
More: More info and floorplans for teres 58 domus
Next: Tour a modern renovation in Seattle
More modern home design photos
More: More info and floorplans for teres 58 domus
Next: Tour a modern renovation in Seattle
More modern home design photos