House Beautiful Digital - Bunker Hill Pittsburgh, April 2022
Our Bunker Hill project is in House Beautiful!
House Beautiful Digital featured it on April 5, 2022 as "Betsy Wentz Transforms an Old Stone Home into a Welcoming Abode Filled with Western Art and Antiques."
Bunker Hill is a large stone abode on the sixth hole of a golf course in Pittsburgh. Built in 1952 by a steel executive. After a series of renovations — kitchen remodel, bedroom additions, new pool — this home got a fresh look for an active, sports-loving family and their furry housemates.
"It was such a nice collaboration," I said. "It wasn't me just telling a client that this is how it should be."
This was the third house I've done for these clients, and over time our families became close — our oldest sons are best friends. The homeowner has amazing taste and even a design degree herself.
The challenge: a historic stone home with great bones but outdated interiors, plus a large collection of meaningful antiques that needed to be incorporated, not discarded.
The family brought many pieces from previous homes — a Chipperfield sofa, an original Frederick Remington solid bronze "Coming Thru The Rye," dishes from many generations, and a 180-year-old trunk from someone's grandfather. "You can't just buy something like that."
They also had Western art and antiques and wanted comfortable, functional spaces that worked for teenagers, dogs, and entertaining on the golf course. They leaned toward neutral, nature-driven colors rather than my usual fun with color.
So unlike Pulpit Rock which is bold fuchsia and turquoise, Bunker Hill is my neutral project — but still with vivid grounding.
The biggest revision was enlarging the kitchen footprint. Zinc pendants from Urban Electric above the island — same ones we chose for the dining room in their previous house — plus a hood by The Metal Peddler, Four Hands stools, and banquette cushions in Perennials performance fabric.
We added French doors to make the dining room the "center of the house" for entertaining. That dining room got metallic green grasscloth from Kravet that lets art "jump off the wall."
The den, once wood-paneled, was transformed with deep Slate Teal Benjamin Moore — "warm, fun, and the right color to ground the space." Primary suite got creamy white Elitis wallpaper and White Dove Benjamin Moore throughout.
We blended existing antiques with custom pieces in performance fabrics — JF Fabrics and Perennials sofas, vintage Ralph Lauren settee from her father, Stark rugs throughout. Dark stained wood floors hide brown pet hair. Brown sisal runner on stairs is functional, clean, and natural.
The mudroom truly functions — dogs go in and out all day — with a pink-and-red vintage rug and a Tom Mosser painting of the family's dogs proving fun but functional can look great.
As I told House Beautiful, the compromises were perfect. "It's parts of her and parts of me."
Thank you to House Beautiful for featuring Bunker Hill.
See Portfolio: Bunker Hill
Read full Article: House Beautiful