Campbell Creek Pittsburgh in House Beautiful July 2020

My home is in House Beautiful!

"Betsy Wentz's Pennsylvania Home Proves There's No Such Thing as Too Much Pattern”

When House Beautiful came to tour our own house in July 2020, Hadley Keller , Digital Director, called it "function meets fun for kids of all ages."

We live in Pittsburgh. I was out jogging one day and saw this very ordinary house for sale. It was tucked away down a private drive and had amazing old stone walls. I was in love. When we bought it, I knew we'd need to rethink how a family of six actually lives. Pittsburgh winters are long. You spend most of your time inside, so the design has to make you happy.

We added a two story addition to create a dining + mudroom, and our primary suite. The addition was all glass windows, making the house feel less rigid. And, it gave us floor-to-ceiling views of the property.

I did not want a formal dining room we would never use. We are not a no-shoes house. So we made the front of house one big, hard-working space: entry, homework area and pool room.

The kitchen backsplash came first — bright orange and white tile I installed over 10 years ago. People always ask if I'm tired of it. I'm not. If you love it now, you'll love it later is what I tell clients. That orange led me to paint the breakfast nook persimmon in automotive lacquer to match.

The mudroom was my chance to have fun. Instead of white lockers, each kid got their own glossy color. Rainbow lockers. It still makes everyone smile when they come in, and no one loses their shoes.

My neighbor Peggy Ray gave us the cobalt blue coatrack — it's from the 1950s World's Fair. Saarinen table in the nook, vintage chairs I recovered in tie-dyed velvet.

Where the formal dining used to be, we put a pool table from Pool Table Portfolio in New York, with a custom bench and built-in seating. The tile floor can take scuffs, dogs, and game night. Family room has a pink-coral-red surfboard that my kids love.

Living room wallpaper is a bonsai pattern that makes my vintage rosewood console pop. I collect vintage rugs — every trip to New York I bring one home. My art over the stairs? A painted bed sheet I found in a shop window for $100. Stretched it on two-by-fours myself.

My favorite trick from this house is in my daughter's room — cork wall covered in sparkly paper. Pinholes don't show, and she can pin up art, medals, photos, and change it whenever she wants. We do mica-covered cork in every client project now. It's our signature.

People ask if all this pattern is too much. My rule: something has to be the khaki pants. You wouldn't wear every fabulous thing in your closet at once. You need blue jeans or a white tee to anchor it. Same with a room. That anchor lets you layer pattern without it feeling like a circus.

Upstairs, our primary suite is intentionally quiet — neutral, calm, with walls placed so morning light isn't blinding. You need that relief.

We were honored House Beautiful featured our home in July 2020.

You can read their full story here on House Beautiful.

xo,
Betsy

P.S. Many of these ideas are in Chapter My Home in Design Happy: Colorful Homes for the Modern Family — photography by Carmel Brantley

Thank you to House Beautiful and Hadley Keller for featuring our home.

Read the House Beautiful feature: House Beautiful

See more of the project: Campbell Creek