PHOTOS BY CAPTURED LISTINGS

Early in 2024, Realtor Penelope Linger of Howard Hanna was working an open house at 1050 Firwood Drive in Mt. Lebanon for a colleague. 

As she greeted house hunter after house hunter, Penelope was surprised at how many buyers were inquiring about the home — which was not in great shape at the time. 

“I thought, ‘Wow, a lot of people are interested in this home in this condition,’” she recalls. 

The interior was discolored from years of indoor smoking, and the fixtures and finishes in the Colonial-style home, built in 1938, hadn’t been updated in decades. 

“It had good bones and character. It just felt like a solid house,” Penelope says.

Seeing beyond the dated and worn facade, Penelope had some big ideas for the home — and she approached her husband, Aaron, about purchasing it. 

“At the time, we weren’t actively looking for another project,” Aaron says. “But she said, ‘Whew, we had all these people stop by with the bad pictures that are online. What would happen if we did our own work on it?’” 

The couple closed in March and got to work, doing 90% of the renovation themselves. 

“The good thing about Aaron is that he is always on board with whatever I want to do to make my dreams happen,” adds Penelope. 

The couple, who lives north of the city with their two young sons, spent the spring and summer rehabbing the 1,500-square-foot home. 

“Penelope painted the whole thing,” says Aaron.  “I did very little painting. The two of us did the tile work; I would cut the tile while she laid it. We shared the workload, doing most of the projects together.”  

While the Lingers are handy, they did bring in outside contractors for a few key upgrades, including the HVAC, a new roof, some electrical upgrades and updated landscaping. 

With the home now in prime shape for its next owners, the couple has listed it for $499,000. 

Penelope says she really enjoyed choosing design elements to update the tired interior; she sought to make bolder choices than most of the city’s gray-and-white flipped houses while still honoring the stately nature of the brick home. 

The couple also removed a wall between the kitchen and dining room to create a more cohesive space. 

“The kitchen was so boxed in,” recalls Penelope. 

In the dining room, she layered paint and even used an ostrich feather duster to create a design that replicates wallpaper, but is easy to change for the next owners if it’s not their style. For the kitchen, she chose a geometric blue backsplash to complement the paint and the Dekton countertops, which are more durable and heat-resistant than quartz. 

In addition to the living and dining room, the first floor has a large living room with a fireplace. Aaron says there were built-in shelves already in place when they bought the home, but they were in poor shape. Today, new shelves with integrated lighting showcase the fireplace. A side door in the living room exits to a covered porch that’s perfect for reading, al fresco meals and gatherings. 

Upstairs are three nicely sized bedrooms and one bathroom, which Aaron says once had multiple layers of tile hiding mildew and old leaks before it was fully updated.

“We had to take it to the studs and floor joists,” he says. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” 

The primary bedroom has two closets, and the other two rooms also have well-sized closets for a home of this age. 

In the finished basement is another fully renovated full bathroom. There’s also a family room and laundry room with a new washer and dryer, as well as an integrated one-car garage. 

The rear of the basement is above grade and has an exit to the large backyard; there’s also an oversized parking pad that’s great for guests or could be used as an outdoor play space for wheeled toys and sidewalk chalk. Beyond the partially-fenced yard that’s directly behind the home are stairs that lead down to more outdoor space. 

The Lingers chose to refresh the exterior brick, which already had been painted before they purchased the home. Penelope says the former off-white exterior was fine, but boring. These days, a bold colonial blue with crisp white trim makes the home stand out, and often garners remarks from friendly passersby. 

“I’ve never lived in a place where there are more people out walking in the neighborhood,” says Penelope. “There will be 20 people in two hours that walk by, kids riding bikes; the school is on the street basically behind us and there are a lot of kids riding bikes. It’s a really kid-oriented neighborhood.” 

As for whether they will remodel another Pittsburgh home in need of some extra attention, the couple says they are thinking about it — but they’re not in any rush. The next project will involve more subcontractors, as both Penelope and Aaron work full time. Penelope still plans to take the lead on design choices, though.

“That’s the thing,” she says. “I have a vision. I walk in and think, ‘I could do this, or do that.’ That’s what I really love to do.” 

Meg St-Esprit is a Bellevue-based freelance journalist who covers real estate, lifestyle, education, parenting and travel for a variety of local outlets including Pittsburgh Magazine, PublicSource, Kidsburgh, Pittsburgh City Paper, and City Cast Pittsburgh. Meg offers Hot Property, an inside look into unique and historic homes on the market. Each week, Hot Property goes behind the For Sale sign to share the story of a special Pittsburgh-area home.

About: Mt. Lebanon
Population: 33,754
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles: Residents of Mt. Lebanon can easily access the Parkway to get to the airport or to Downtown. Mt. Lebanon has many walkable areas and many residents also walk to local amenities. The T extends through the South Hills and also means it’s easy for residents to hop on a train to access the city or South Hills Village Mall.
Schools: Mt. Lebanon School District (mtlsd.org)
Neighborhood: Mt. Lebanon has a strong community feel, as well as several of the most vibrant, thriving (and dog-friendly) business districts in Allegheny County. Along Washington Road are Rollier’s Hardware, Uptown Coffee and Mt. Lebanon Floral. Restaurants range from grabbing a quick slice of pizza at Mineo’s to upscale dining at Bistro 19. Benches and trees welcome visitors and the historical churches are located up and down the business district.