Evan and Lea Litvin met and fell in love while studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. But just one year after graduating, in 2013, they fell in love with something else: a rundown rowhouse from the 1850s that was listed for sale across the street from their rental apartment in the Fitler Square neighborhood of Philadelphia.
“We were really taken with this charming, historic, red brick neighborhood,” said Mr. Litvin, 39.
Because the home needed work, it was relatively affordable. For a couple of young architects willing to put in some effort, “it was the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Ms. Litvin, 38. “The house was in very, very poor condition. But it was a neighborhood we did not want to leave, so we pounced.”
They bought the 2,100-square-foot structure for $365,000 in 2016, three years before getting married, and moved in with a plan to do much of the repair and renovation work themselves.
They stabilized the sagging facade, fixed cracked cast iron pipes and removed rag-filled bowls they found in ceilings to catch water leaks.
With help from friends, family and hired contractors, they remodeled the kitchen and took down a few interior walls to open up some of the rooms. Mr. Litvin learned how to build cabinetry and fabricated a closet for the primary bedroom and bathroom vanities.
“It was very much a D.I.Y. effort,” Mr. Litvin said. “We did work ranging from tile and drywall to plumbing. It was a great learning lesson as an architect, I must say.”
In 2017, they launched their architecture firm, Lo Design.
However, when they were stuck at home during the pandemic with their first daughter, Ella, now 6, it became clear that patchwork repairs were no longer enough. “All the systems started failing,” Ms. Litvin said, noting that their heating and cooling system gave out just as they began feeling the need for more space.
Fixing the rowhouse once and for all, they decided, would also be an opportunity to create more space for children. So they began planning a complete gut renovation that would undo most of their previous work, restore the original structure, and expand the home to about 3,150 square feet.
They restored the brick facade and recreated its damaged mahogany cornice. Inside, they painted exposed brick and original wood joists to highlight the home’s historic character.
On the ground floor, they located the living room at the front of the house, where Mr. Litvin built a white oak shelving and cabinetry unit that wraps around an ethanol fireplace and television. Just beyond it is the dining area.
The kitchen is at the back, where they expanded the home by enclosing what was previously a side alley. The small addition has three skylights to pull in natural light and a bank of tall kitchen cabinetry, as well as a glass door leading to the backyard.
Up a new staircase, made from white oak and perforated metal, they made space for two bedrooms and a family room on the second floor.
On the third floor, which used to be smaller, they expanded the back of the house to build a large primary suite, including a new dressing room with a coffee bar and a laundry room. The primary bathroom has a double vanity Mr. Litvin built, which is topped by Calacatta Viola marble, and a shower beneath a skylight with a matching marble bench.
On the very top of the house, they added a small one-room home office that the Litvins refer to as a “pilothouse” for the way it offers views over the neighborhood like the bridge of a ship. The office has glass sliders opening to roof decks on both the front and back of the home.
Finally, they dug the basement of the rowhouse lower to create enough headroom for a guest suite.
When construction began in March 2022, the family moved into the nearby home of Ms. Litvin’s parents. Just a couple of months later, in May, Ms. Litvin delivered their second daughter, Avery.
As construction progressed, the couple called in favors from their design industry contacts; recycled and reused materials from demolition, including quartzite they had previously installed as kitchen counters but managed to repurpose as bathroom vanities; and built many things themselves, including most of the custom millwork and a headboard for the primary bedroom made from leftover flooring.
The work took over two years to complete, but by being so hands-on, they managed to keep costs down to about $650,000.
When the expanded family moved into their larger home in April 2024, they had no doubt the wait and work were worth it.
“We love it,” Ms. Litvin said. “We really thought a lot about flexibility, adaptability and how the house can grow with us.”.
Now that they can finally relax, Mr. Litvin added, “We’ve almost blocked out the trauma of construction.”
The post D.I.Y. Repairs Turned Into a Gut Renovation in Philadelphia appeared first on New York Times.
