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Category: Home & Design

  • Renovating this Rydal home posed new challenges for a Philly kitchen designer

    Renovating this Rydal home posed new challenges for a Philly kitchen designer

    When Diane and Keith Reynolds moved back to the Philadelphia area from Austin, Texas, in 2023, and bought their house in Rydal, Montgomery County, they knew immediately that they wanted to remodel the kitchen.

    But they also knew that project alone wouldn’t make a home they’d be satisfied with.

    “We wanted to keep it craftsman style,” said Diane, referring to the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th century. The style is characterized by simplicity, emphasis on natural materials, and closeness to nature.

    An exterior view of the Reynolds’ home. It was originally built as a Cape Cod, and a later addition brought in the craftsman style.

    Keith, a software sales engineer for a technology company, said he specifically wanted to avoid a “cutesy” environment in the home. Diane, executive assistant for a trade association, called it “bringing nature inside.” It was the third house they’d lived in since they married.

    Through an internet search, the couple found Philadelphia-based Airy Kitchens and designer Sean Lewis for the remodel.

    “It was an interesting design dilemma,” Lewis said.

    The house was originally built in the Cape Cod style in 1914, but when the previous owner added onto the home, he chose the craftsman style. By 2023, the kitchen needed significant updating for practical use. It had an unusual layout, opening up into a larger great room with high ceilings and a loft built from reclaimed wood towering over one side of the space.

    The loft over the kitchen created a unique design task. The range had previously been placed underneath it, but it was relocated to another wall.

    The loft was retained, but many other details were changed. “We changed a lot of the symmetry,” Lewis said.

    For example, a full bathroom tucked behind the kitchen was made into a powder room, giving Lewis more kitchen space to play with.

    The home’s kitchen after renovations. At the upper left, the reclaimed wood loft remains.

    The refrigerator and gas range were reused. A new hood, dishwasher, and beverage refrigerator were added. The custom island — larger than its predecessor — is a stained cherry wood that was chosen to match the natural wood trim on the existing windows.

    The backsplash is a multicolored earth-toned slate material in a chevron pattern, evoking the outdoors from within their kitchen.

    “It’s the first time we’ve seen or used that material as a backsplash,” Lewis said, and it was the jumping-off point for choosing the colors in the kitchen.

    “The assignment of rethinking a kitchen space is not unusual for us,” he said. But the home’s disparate styles and unique features, like the loft, beams, and open floor plan, created an “unusual design problem.”

    “It’s quite unusual for a 100-year-old home to have a great-room layout with a vaulted ceiling,” Lewis said. “The reclaimed wood loft installed by the previous architect is something I’ve never seen before, and I’m sure will never see again.”

    Maximizing storage was a no-brainer, and they accomplished that simply by adding cabinets.

    One of the key challenges was providing counter space around the range. The range was previously located below the loft, but is now centered on the kitchen’s longest wall, between two windows, with the sink off to the right, just below a window. This allowed Lewis to add counter space around the range, for more practicality.

    The backsplash tiles and wood stain were chosen to match colors from the surrounding yard.

    The windows were left untreated in the Craftsman style.

    Inside, woodwork was stained to match the outside.

    The stove was relocated so it would be surrounded by counter space.
    The refrigerator was reused in the remodeled kitchen.

    Diane said she and Keith looked at the house as a “homecoming” from their time in Austin, “a little bit like reclaiming our roots.” He grew up in the nearby neighborhood of Meadowbrook, and she is from King of Prussia.

    “From the second we walked into the house it was so warm — we felt immediately connected. There’s something grounding about watching the seasons change,” she said. “It’s colors and leaves and movement. Every day it just restores me.”

    Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.

  • How this family’s dated Montco property became their dream house

    How this family’s dated Montco property became their dream house

    The Mediterranean-style stucco home in Montgomery County was ringed by maple and oak trees. A tri-level deck with a hot tub and covered porch faced a sylvan pond on an adjacent property.

    Inside, the house had oak flooring, Amish-crafted red oak kitchen cabinets, two fireplaces, and a family room with a beamed cathedral ceiling.

    The almost 5,000-square-foot home Casey Lyons and her husband, James, purchased in 2021 also had a basement with a sauna, gym, full bath, and a great room opening out into a patio where their two young sons could play.

    On the second floor were four bedrooms and three baths and abundant closets fitted with drawers and shelving. Previous owners had installed a sophisticated sound system to play music.

    The 1988 structure was dated, though. The kitchen had “peachy” squares of tile for a backsplash, Casey said. The 1½-acre property was attractively landscaped, but the outdoor decks were stained a worn rust color.

    The home has a three-level deck in the backyard. It was painted green to play off the surrounding trees.

    To give the first-floor living spaces a contemporary look, Casey reached out to interior designer Val Nehez through a mutual friend. Nehez remembers, “Casey asked me, ‘Can you make me love this house?’”

    Nehez, owner of Studio IQL, and her senior designer, Ulli Barankay, were up to the challenge.

    In the kitchen they kept most of the cabinetry but replaced one wall with white subway tile and open shelves. They installed a white marble island, new globe light fixtures, and curved black faucets. Mustard-colored chairs surround a white table.

    “We turned a Lancaster County country kitchen … into a Southern California kitchen,” Nehez said.

    With two active boys and a chocolate lab, Casey has to clean the chairs once a month. Still, she said, “I love the color.”

    The renovated kitchen features white subway tiles and a marble island.
    Lyons loves the mustard color of the chairs in her kitchen.

    In the center hall, red oak entry doors, adjacent closet doors, and the staircase were painted dark green to match the slate floor.

    The dining room decor was inspired by a large abstract painting of white swirls on a green background from James’ family’s art collection. The walls are hunter green, and the “Flock of Light” curved metal chandelier from Design Within Reach complements the swirls in the painting.

    Nehez found upholstered chairs for the walnut table, which Casey had custom-made by John Duffy, owner of Stable Tables in Flourtown.

    For the formal dining room, Lyons chose a large abstract painting from her husband’s family collection and a “Flock of Light” chandelier.

    The dining room’s vintage apothecary cabinet and heavily carved buffet had been in her previous home.

    A copper plate and new mantle were added to the living room fireplace to make it more distinctive. The stone fireplace in the family room was whitewashed to blend with the white walls and emphasize the height of the cathedral ceiling. Furnishings include a tan leather sofa in the family room and white chairs, and a green velvet sofa and floral-pattern rug in the living room.

    The fireplace stone in the family room was whitewashed to accentuate the tall ceilings.
    A copper plate and mantel were added to the living room fireplace.

    Outside, the decking was painted a moss green to blend with the surrounding foliage. The back wall of the covered porch was covered with glazed green tiles. The porch features a maroon-and-white-striped sectional and blue, beige, and purple lantern-shaped lights. “It’s a beautiful place to sit” and admire the pond and the changing colors of the leaves in late autumn, Casey said.

    Some furnishings came from Material Culture, an antique store in Germantown. Other items and lighting came from Minima, a contemporary lighting and furniture store in Old City. Nehez said items were selected to “reflect the owners’ taste.”

    She and Barankay chose black porcelain fixtures for the powder room and wallpaper patterned with black and white zebras on a red background. In a happy coincidence, after the powder room remodeling was completed, the designers found a print of two zebras in the families’ art trove, which they hung in the hall nearby.

    The view of the nearby pond from the deck outside Lyons’ home.
    Lyons’ dog, Joe, walks along the three-level deck.

    As is their custom, with some exceptions such as the dining room painting, they waited until all the furnishings were in place to hang the art.

    Finding the right piece to blend in, Nehez said, is “like finding the perfect pair of earrings after getting dressed.”

    Since the remodeling Casey, her sons, and husband “have a space where we can cook, watch, television, and dance,” she said, in a home she now loves.

    Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.

  • House of the week: A six-bedroom in Upper Roxborough for $725,000

    House of the week: A six-bedroom in Upper Roxborough for $725,000

    For Jennifer Rodier, it was “a wonderful place to grow up.”

    The six-bedroom, 2½-bathroom stone house is on a wide Upper Roxborough street, perched high above a valley.

    Her father, Walter D’Alessio, bought the house in 1969, and “he never wanted to let go of it,” Rodier said.

    The formal living room has a working wood-burning fireplace.

    D’Alessio headed the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. and served under five Philadelphia mayors. He died in 2024.

    Rodier, a nonprofit executive who lives in Lafayette Hill, is selling the place where she and her friends played hide-and-seek or cavorted in the large yard.

    Window seat off the grand staircase.

    She said the D’Alessios did extensive renovations on the house in their time there.

    It is 4,406 square feet, and Rodier says it was built around 1910, with her parents only the second owners.

    The house has a center-hall Colonial foyer, its original wide entry door with a leaded glass transom, original exposed ribboned hardwood floors, a grand staircase with a window seat, original wall light sconces and pocket doors, and a wraparound front porch.

    The foyer’s original wide entry door has a leaded glass transom.

    The formal living room has a working wood-burning fireplace, and the first floor includes the kitchen, breakfast room, powder room, and pantry.

    The second floor has four bedrooms with large closets and a hall bath.

    The third floor has the other bedrooms, including a large front bedroom that could be used for a primary suite, and bath with a claw-foot tub.

    Reading nook with pocket doors.

    The house has a full basement with a workshop and a storm door to the rear yard.

    The sale could include some of the original furnishings, Rodier said.

    The house is minutes from the Ivy Ridge Regional Rail station, Route 309, and the Schuylkill Expressway.

    It is listed by Dennis McGuinn of Realty Broker Direct for $725,000.

  • Her Bella Vista apartment has a second-story tree view and brings nature inside

    Her Bella Vista apartment has a second-story tree view and brings nature inside

    Last spring, Katie Kring-Schreifels noticed two mourning doves fluttering in the maple tree outside her bedroom window. With the help of binoculars, over the course of several weeks she watched as the birds made a nest in the crook of two branches, then two eggs appeared in the nest, then fledglings hatched, and finally the baby birds grew up and flew away.

    Kring-Schreifels wasn’t surveying birds from a house in a bucolic suburb. She was watching from her second-floor apartment in a brick rowhouse in Bella Vista.

    Wanting to share the urban wildlife’s saga, Kring-Schreifels alerted her upstairs and downstairs neighbors to the nesting doves so they could watch, too.

    The Temple graduate loves city living, shopping at the Italian Market two blocks away, and taking courses at Fleisher Art Memorial down the street.

    The apartment is painted in a pale yellow, with live plants throughout the living space.

    Having grown up in Elkins Park, she values nature and has found ways to bring it into her one-bedroom rental. Her walls are painted pale sunshine yellow, for instance, and a flock of paper bluebirds is suspended from string, creating the illusion that they’re flying across a living room window.

    Kring-Schreifels’ mother, Julie, found the birds at a craft show. Julie, an artist, also created the framed collage with red poppies. And her prints of a fanciful salmon and a raven were purchased on a family trip to Vancouver.

    A map of London combining drawings of birds and foxes with street names was acquired by Kring-Schreifels when she spent a college semester abroad.

    Paper birds hang in the living room window.
    A green and bronze dragonfly is attached to a repurposed headboard on the patio.

    The beige pullout couch and coffee table in the living room came from Wayfair. The green chair, globe lamp, and the beige, cream, and black rug were purchased from Ikea, one of her favorite shopping destinations. “I love Scandinavian design,” she said, “It’s simple and warm.”

    In warm weather, marigolds and other annuals fill pots on the balcony, which is furnished with a blue storage cabinet from Target, blue chairs from Ikea, and a black metal table from her aunt, Mindy Kring. A brass sunburst headboard has been repurposed as a resting place for a green and bronze dragonfly found at the flea market on Head House Square.

    Inside, on an accent wall painted taupe, hangs a multihued Geologic Shaded-Relief Map of Pennsylvania. Kring-Schreifels finds ancient rock croppings fascinating. “I wish I had been a geology major,” she said.

    A geological map of Pennsylvania, a gift from a friend, hangs near the kitchen.

    Instead she was a public relations and art history major and now works as an executive assistant for a promotional products producer.

    Plants and books fill shelves over a dining nook furnished with a white table and red chairs from Ikea.

    The kitchen, with pale pine cabinetry and stainless steel appliances, including an apartment-size dishwasher, and the apartment’s oak flooring were installed after Kring-Schreifels’ landlord, Nate Carabello, bought the house in 2005.

    The dining area features a white table and red chairs from Ikea.
    The property owner was able to salvage the black-and-white tile in the bathroom.

    It had been boarded up for 30 years, he said, and a tree was growing in the middle of the then-roofless house. The brick rowhouse probably had been built in the early 1900s and enlarged in the 1920s, said Carabello, who lives nearby.

    The reglazed white fixtures and black-and-white tile in the bathroom were the only items from the 1920s he was able to salvage.

    In the bedroom, Kring-Schreifels’ favorite find is the coral, green, and cream-colored fan above her bed, which she purchased on Facebook Marketplace for $30. The fan’s colors are picked up in the small armchair from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and in the William Morris-inspired floral patterned rug from eBay.

    A fan over the bed, which Kring-Schreifels found on Facebook Marketplace.

    The iron bed came from Amazon. The gold drapes, green-and-white bedding, and tan blanket came from a nearby Target. The leather trunk with brass fittings belonged to Kring-Schreifels’ great-grandmother.

    Shades covering storage spaces above two closets were hung by Kring-Schreifels’ father, Jeff, who also provides transportation when his daughter, who has no car, wants her purchases hauled home.

    Under the bedroom window hangs a photo of a seascape with roiling blue waves. On the windowsill next to an ethereal print called Evening in Paris are binoculars awaiting the return of mourning birds next spring.

    The bedroom is decorated with eclectic items, including a leather trunk that belonged to Kring-Schreifels’ great-grandmother.

    Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.

  • House of the week: An expanded four-bedroom Colonial in Abington Township for $599,900

    House of the week: An expanded four-bedroom Colonial in Abington Township for $599,900

    Living in the Fox Chase Manor neighborhood in the mid-1990s, Linda and Mike Tobin admired the location of houses across the street. So in 1997, they decided to buy one and enlarge it.

    They raised their two children there and sent them to the Abington School District. But now the children are grown up and have moved to Cherry Hill, where Linda is from, so the Tobins will follow them there.

    Mike installs telecommunications systems for businesses, and Linda is a retired telecommunications professional.

    The primary bedroom.

    Mike said they were particularly attracted by “the quaintness of the neighborhood, the big oak trees,” and township-residents-only Alverthorpe Park, with its variety of athletic facilities.

    So they undertook a major renovation of the house on one of the larger plots of Fox Chase Manor, with a two-car attached garage and driveway parking for four more cars.

    The family room has a gas fireplace.

    The renovation comprised an expanded eat-in kitchen, first-floor powder room, and a family room with a gas fireplace and a large patio.

    The second level was expanded for the house to have four bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a laundry room.

    Entrance to the house is through a covered front porch into the foyer, living room, and formal dining room.

    The dining room.

    The second level has the bedrooms, and the primary bathroom has a stall shower and walk-in closet.

    The partially finished basement has heat.

    There are hardwood floors in most of the home, and tile in the kitchen and bathrooms.

    A covered front porch at the entrance to the house.

    The roof was replaced in 2015 and there is 200-amp electric throughout.

    The house is close to Huntingdon Valley Shopping Center and a Giant supermarket.

    It is listed by Don Rowley of Coldwell Banker Hearthside Realtors for $599,900.

  • How a home renovation can make or break your relationship

    How a home renovation can make or break your relationship

    Jena and Brandon Fisher know they have very different decision-making styles. It was important to keep that in mind when they renovated three full bathrooms in their Wynnewood home — all at the same time.

    When making a decision, “I think about it, I look at my options, and then I decide and move on,” said Jena.

    Conversely, Brandon’s style “is very deliberate,” he said. “I want to know every single option, I want to weigh them, and take time with my decisions.”

    The home renovation project they started planning in late December 2024 involved taking each bathroom — one for Jena, one for Brandon, and one for their kids Audrey, 15, and Charlie, 11 — down to the studs. The bathrooms were out of commission for about 3½ months, with the work staggered slightly to ensure they always had a working toilet and shower.

    Jena took the lead on her bathroom and, true to her personality, she made quick decisions. Brandon’s was more of a slog, with Jena pushing him for answers.

    A photo of Brandon Fisher’s bathroom after the renovations were complete. He was resistant to the project, he says, but he loved the result.

    “My bathroom was in bad shape but it took 10 years of me saying we didn’t need to do it yet,” he recalled, until finally the plumbing started leaking and the grout was crumbling.

    Recognizing their differing styles, the Fishers managed to complete their projects with minor stress, which happened mostly when she had to push him to meet deadlines. They are both thrilled with the finished bathrooms.

    Half of couples who undertake home renovations find the process fulfilling, according to the 2025 U.S. Houzz Remodeling and Relationships Report.

    But 4% said they considered separating or divorcing during renovations, Houzz reported. That share jumps to 12% for couples together five years or less, compared with 2% for couples in relationships of 30 years or more.

    Common sources of conflict include staying on budget; deciding on products, materials, or finishes; and agreeing on the project’s scope or design, the study found.

    Planning ahead is key

    To keep the process positive, set expectations before the project starts and keep communicating throughout, said Anna Nicholaides, owner of Philadelphia Couples Therapy in Center City. Understanding how your partner makes decisions and what causes each of you stress can help guide you.

    “A renovation is a stressor, and the list of things that can trigger people during a renovation is very long,” she said.

    Perhaps you or your spouse is triggered by disruptions to your routine or having strangers coming in your home. And timelines may be exceeded, which can be difficult if your house is constantly filled with dust or if you need to extend the amount of time you must be out of your home.

    Renovations can be riddled with anxieties, starting with budget concerns. Agree on a budget, and divide your project into affordable stages. For example, perhaps you can change the kitchen cabinets this year and wait until next year to replace the countertops.

    If possible, divide responsibilities. For example, if you care deeply about the layout of the kitchen but your spouse is more concerned with the brand of appliances, divvy up those tasks.

    “Maybe one person is highly focused on beauty and the other person is focused on how things work,” Nicholaides said.

    Taking on unforeseen challenges

    As builders, Tim Ernst and Jake Taylor of Ernst Brothers have helped clients navigate many building and renovation projects. But when it came to their own venture, they got a taste of the challenges their customers face.

    In 2014, the couple bought the old Moose Lodge in Doylestown, gutted it to the studs, and created two 4,500-square-foot condos, one above the other, each with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Taylor and Ernst live in the top unit, featuring 10½-foot ceilings and 7-foot windows.

    The living room of Jake Taylor and Tim Ernst’s home.

    “There’s got to be division of labor,” said Taylor, managing partner for the Spring House-based building company. He took charge of the financial matters and deadlines while Ernst managed the construction.

    The pair agreed on the budget, scope, and timeline, but as with most projects, there were unforeseen obstacles. Originally built in 1916, the building had water coming through the foundation. They also discovered grading issues, and that their neighbor’s deck was partially built on Taylor and Ernst’s property.

    “When you’re building, you’re selecting different finishes and tile and plumbing fixtures, and deciding to put in heated floors or not,” said Taylor. “But our biggest challenges weren’t things that were nice to have. They were things you have to fix or you’ll have a major problem.”

    No matter how complete your plan is, it’s difficult to understand all of the nuances on paper, added Ernst.

    “You have to see it in real life at times,” said Ernst, who serves as the building company’s principal project manager. “It’s inevitable that you’re going to want to make changes.”

    The added costs in both dollars and time to fix those unforeseen problems meant making sacrifices elsewhere. Though the couple wanted a heated bathroom floor, it was ultimately cut from the budget.

    The bathroom with tub and shower at the home of Jake Taylor and Tim Ernst. They ultimately had to forego plans for a heated floor due to budget constraints.

    Include a mediator

    To help settle disagreements on design elements, Ernst and Taylor brought in John Levitties, principal at JAGR Projects in Glenside.

    “Not only are you getting someone who is professionally trained, but they can also play referee between you and your spouse and offer a sounding board,” Taylor said.

    Amy Cuker, owner of down 2 earth interior design in Elkins Park, who worked with the Fishers, often plays that role for clients.

    “Design isn’t just about taste, it’s also about meeting functional outcomes, proportion, color theory, and other foundational areas of knowledge the design is based on,” Cuker said. “I will reference back to those things when I’m trying to convince a hesitant partner. Sometimes they want that third voice in the room.”

    In her initial meeting with a couple, she will talk to them about function and aesthetics to understand their goals.

    She has them create an inspiration album with pictures of rooms or pieces with the feel they want for their space.

    “If she likes modern and he likes traditional, here are a few images that are comfortable enough for both of them,” Cuker said. “It gets us quickly to a place of understanding where the middle ground is.”

    She finds the biggest challenges come with gaps in budget, neatness, and how much change each partner wants.

    In the end, most couples learn more about themselves and their partners through the process, and most are happy with the finished product. That is certainly true for the Fishers.

    “I resisted it up to the end and now I would probably live in my bathroom,” said Brandon.

  • Home for the holidays in Haddon Heights

    Home for the holidays in Haddon Heights

    The tree in the corner of the family room in the Haddon Heights home is decorated simply with lights and balls.

    Gold letters spelling Krissy and dated 1978 festoon a red ball hung in the middle of the tree. On a lower branch, white glitter on a blue ball spells Mom, 2012.

    Other colored balls are scripted with various dates and the names Sophia, Nick, and Emily.

    Kristin Corson-Ricci is both Krissy and Mom. Emily, now 20; Sophia, 18; and Nick, 14, are her children.

    Kristin Corson-Ricci sits in front of her hearth, where stockings hang for Christmas, holding a copy of her new book.
    A table is decorated with Byers’ Choice caroler dolls.
    Even the powder room is decorated for the holiday, with snowflakes and flocked trees.
    The stairs are decorated with poinsettias and Christmas trees.

    Corson-Ricci grew up in the two-story home where she now raises her family.

    The balls were purchased over the years at the holiday bazaar at St. Rose, a Catholic elementary school in Haddon Heights. Corson-Ricci, now a physician liaison, and her children attended the school.

    Corson-Ricci purchased the three-bedroom home from her parents, Phyllis and Rodger Corson, in 2002 when she was engaged.

    She and her husband added a family room and powder room to the first floor and a primary bedroom with a beamed ceiling and bath on the second floor. The screened porch was enclosed for an office. The couple later divorced, and she kept the house.

    A row of miniature wooden homes is on display in Corson-Ricci’s home.
    The Christmas tree is completely decorated with ornaments made at St. Rose elementary school. Corson-Ricci and her children were all students at the school.

    Corson-Ricci retained the traditional decor of the 95-year-old home, painting the breakfast nook bright yellow. Kitchen cabinets and backsplash were green. “It was warm and homey,” she said.

    Calamity came in 2022. Corson-Ricci returned to the house after four days at the Shore to find it flooded. Workers repairing the heating system had left water running.

    The oak floors inlaid with mahogany were soaked, as were walls, ceilings, and furnishings. Fortunately, photo albums and books were stacked on shelves that did not get wet. And the family’s collections of Christmas balls, 47 Byers’ Choice caroler dolls, and seven nutcrackers were stored in the dry attic.

    For over a year, Corsin-Ricci and her kids camped out in hotels and then in a rented condo. Professionals told her it would make more sense to tear the house down, but she said, “No. I wanted my home back,” she recalls.

    A corner shelf is decorated with Byers’ Choice caroler dolls.
    The dining table is decorated with holiday-printed china and florals.

    With the help of Reliance Contracting in Medford, Corson-Ricci rebuilt.

    The project gave her an opportunity to open up the first floor, removing walls between the dining room, kitchen, and breakfast nook.

    Now there are sleek black chairs, a white dining table, and white kitchen cabinets, which store contents of the buffet and china cabinet that were ruined in the flooding. Walls are heather gray in the dining area, kitchen, and living room with its original fireplace. The pale-blue family room is furnished with a blue couch and blue-patterned chair.

    The new layout is “great for entertaining,” Corson-Ricci said, and her more “monotone” decor is a good backdrop for Christmas decorations she and her parents have acquired.

    On Dec. 5 she hung a giant lighted wreath on the gray siding over her front door and opened her home to over 400 people attending the annual Haddon Heights Library Holiday House Tour.

    The kitchen counters, light fixtures, and cabinets are adorned with festive candles, garland, ornaments, and wreaths.

    Visitors admired the holly-patterned white china plates and cookie jar Phyllis Corson purchased in the 1970s.

    A Byers’ Choice dancing couple Corson-Ricci bought her parents tops a corner etagere. On the shelf below is a singing baker she and Rodger bought for Phyllis the month before he died in 2015.

    Nutcrackers in red and green velvet stand at attention on the wine cooler.

    To entertain children on the tour, Corson-Ricci hid a miniature elf in the refrigerator and another behind the window of a closet door.

    The third elf was seated on the etagere reading a tiny version of her mystery novel, published last month. Copies of The Game of Life … The Final Clue, Corson-Ricci’s first novel, were discreetly stacked nearby. Several tour-goers bought them.

    An Elf on the Shelf is holding a miniature version of Ricci’s new book.
    A cozy-looking Elf on the Shelf is on display behind the window of a closet door.

    Besides displaying family treasures, including her mother’s dollhouse decorated for the holidays, Corson-Ricci crafted Christmas trees out of stacked books and purchased snowflakes to hang in the powder room.

    The day before the tour she decided the pendant lights above the kitchen island needed embellishing. Gold balls ordered from Amazon arrived on time.

    Sometimes you want something new to go with the old.

    Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.

  • House of the week: A three-bedroom house near Temple University for $225,000

    House of the week: A three-bedroom house near Temple University for $225,000

    When Beverly Allen bought the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house near Temple University at a sheriff’s sale in 1987, her son Devon recalls that he and his three siblings were not impressed by the neighborhood. They didn’t think the house was a promising investment.

    But “she had the vision and we didn’t,” Devon Allen said as he prepared to sell the house where his late mother, head disciplinarian and assistant director of the ROTC program at Benjamin Franklin High School, lived until her death in 2020.

    She did a considerable renovation of the house, and in her will, she left it to her four children with the provision that they divide the sale proceeds. It remained mostly vacant for three years — another son lived there during the COVID-19 pandemic — until Devon started further renovating it in 2023. Now, he said, he is convinced that the neighborhood is on the upswing and will prove that his mother’s instincts were correct.

    “With the new construction going on around it, it’s very promising,” Devon said.

    Vestibule of the rowhouse.

    The 1,600-square-foot rowhouse in the Hartranft neighborhood is four blocks from the university and Temple University Hospital. It comprises two stories plus an unfinished storage basement with washer and dryer.

    The interior has been totally repainted.

    The house has high ceilings, a large eat-in kitchen, and hardwood floors. The lower level has an open-concept living and dining area, and all three bedrooms are on the next level. And there is a paved backyard.

    Stairs of the home, which has hardwood floors.

    The kitchen has granite countertops, white cabinetry, and ceramic flooring. The bedrooms all have ceiling fans.

    The house is near the North Broad Regional Rail station, Fotterall Square park, athletic fields, and a dog park.

    It is listed by Brian Wilson of BHHS Fox & Roach Center City for $225,000.

  • Ocean City’s Dollhouse Row was her dream. Now it’s her winter wonderland.

    Ocean City’s Dollhouse Row was her dream. Now it’s her winter wonderland.

    Driving up Wovern Place in Ocean City feels like entering a Hallmark movie set.

    It’s where nine homes — 800 square feet or smaller — stand shoulder to shoulder on a winding road known as Dollhouse Row, all decked out in holiday cheer. Ginny Chappell’s house, decorated in blue and white, combines holiday tradition with a classy beach vibe.

    “Christmas has always been my favorite time of year,” said Chappell.

    Since randomly discovering Dollhouse Row as a twentysomething visiting the Shore, Chappell dreamed of owning a home on this historic street, where the houses were built in 1927.

    Ginny Chappell looks out the front door from the living room of her Ocean City house.

    “I was obsessed with the street and followed it ever since,” recalled Chappell, a retired nurse with two part-time jobs in Ocean City. She’s a salesperson at Artisan Body Products and a part-time assistant innkeeper at the historic Coastal Chateau.

    In 2015, when she was living in Franklinville and looking to buy a vacation home, there weren’t any houses for sale on Dollhouse Row.

    “My Realtor told me to dream on, that they stay in families and almost never sell,” said Chappell, who instead bought an even tinier home — 400 square feet — in the south end of Ocean City.

    Five years later, looking for more space, she set out to buy a larger house, but just days before closing, the deal fell through. Chappell was devastated.

    A white and blue Christmas tree, festive ornaments and a toasty fireplace bring holiday cheer to the home.
    Chappell sits on the steps just off the galley kitchen.

    But her luck changed two months later when she got the call she had long dreamed of: an 800-square-foot Dollhouse Row house was about to go on the market.

    “I’m someone who very much believes in manifestation,” Chappell said.

    She now shares the house, named Grayce by previous owners, with her two long haired mini-Dachshunds, Liliana, 17, and Romeo, 6 months. She has a comfortable primary bedroom and a spare bedroom for visitors, which often include her daughter Kayla, 22.

    The first floor is open space with a cozy family room, kitchen, and dining area. Upstairs, a full bathroom sits between the two bedrooms, with a stacked washer and dryer hidden behind a curtain. The primary bedroom includes a small electric fireplace that doubles as a heater.

    Chappell’s holiday decor, with blue details throughout, doesn’t compete with the beachy theme of her primary bedroom.
    In a comfortable chair in the primary bedroom, Chappell is surrounded by blue, teal, and silver Christmas and winter accessories.

    Despite the small space, Chappell’s home is not cluttered. She has thoughtfully arranged each piece of furniture, artwork, and knickknack, with storage invisibly tucked away. She also rents a storage unit for offseason clothing and other items.

    Each year, she envisions her holiday theme, then sets out to perfect it.

    For her coffee and hot chocolate station, complete with marshmallows and candy cane sprinkles, she wanted Christmas-themed mugs in blue and white and searched until she found them.

    “I spent four days finding these mugs,” she recalled, hitting three Home Goods stores, Hobby Lobby, and Dollar General on her search.

    Ginny Chappell makes a warm beverage at her coffee and hot chocolate bar, complete with festive mugs.

    It isn’t about what something costs but how it makes her feel, she said. Her pre-lit frosted white tree, adorned with blue and silver ornaments and a Gingerbread Man tree topper, came from Walmart. She also supports local crafters and businesses whenever possible.

    For home design details she keeps year-round, she loves to scour the beach for beautiful broken seashells, where the iridescent pinks and beiges can be seen through the cracks in the shells. Shells line each window frame throughout the house.

    “If they weren’t broken you would never be able to see just how beautiful they are inside,” she said. “The message is broken is beautiful.”

    She also has dozens of small one-of-a-kind driftwood shelves hanging on her walls, and at this time of year each holds a small snowflake, tree, or other decoration. Her mantle is filled with artistic Christmas trees in shades of blue, white, silver, and gray. Vintage Christmas decor, including tin post cards, can be found throughout the cottage.

    Given its small size, Chappell’s home can’t host large parties, but it can be shared with friends, neighbors, and even strangers. Her home has been featured in Ocean City’s Holiday House Tour for the last three years, drawing as many as 500 visitors each year.

    Ginny Chappell sits on the porch of her 800-square-foot home that is decorated for Christmas.

    A house close to 100 years old does come with challenges.

    “I’m always fixing things,” Chappell said. “But, people are drawn to its charm and history.”

    A small group of friends share the holidays with charcuterie boards, wine, and lots of laughs. Her front porch is the perfect perch for watching visitors stroll down the street, enamored with the tiny houses.

    “I believe this street is very special because of its history,” Chappell said. “The people on this street call ourselves the cottage keepers. We want people to restore rather than tear down.”

    Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.

  • House of the week: A historic house on a tree-lined street in Queen Village for $519,995

    House of the week: A historic house on a tree-lined street in Queen Village for $519,995

    Mark Worker said his two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Queen Village has “so much character” and is “close to everything,” with “a true neighborhood feel.”

    Probably built in the late 1800s as part of a cluster of homes to house workers for an adjacent factory, it was augmented in the early 2000s by an extension in the rear.

    Worker, a software account manager, bought it in 2022 when he was single, but he soon married, and now he and his wife are moving to London for his work.

    The dining area.

    The house is 1,092 square feet and sits on a tree-lined street in the heart of Queen Village.

    It has hardwood floors throughout, all new windows, updated plumbing, a new HVAC system, and a new roof.

    The interior has been freshly painted and the bedroom windows let in abundant natural light.

    The primary bedroom. The windows let in abundant natural light.

    The primary bedroom is on the second floor. A second bedroom, on the third floor, was used as a nursery by previous occupants.

    “The third floor is really the best part of the house,” Worker said. It has an open floor plan and is being used as a living room and office, although Worker previously used it as a bedroom.

    The third floor is being used as the living room.

    The deck, just off the third-floor room, was carefully landscaped, with a picnic table and a variety of plants.

    The home has an unfinished basement for storage, and a dedicated outdoor space in the rear.

    The roof deck, which is landscaped with a picnic table and a variety of plants.

    Commuting is easy with ready access to public transportation, I-95, and other major highways.

    Adjacent landmarks include South Street and Head House Square.

    The house is listed by Jay Edwards of OCF Realty for $519,995.