Kitchen redo updates home while retaining its character

When Ian and Carol James first saw their house in Squirrel Hill, we knew there something terribly wrong, Carol says.

It wasn't the usual stuff that home buyers dread: water leaks in the basement, roof problems, dated electrical installation that begs a rewiring.

No, it was a kitchen that was so small in a 7,200-square-foot home it spoke of a dated lifestyle that was devoid of spending time together as a family. It told of children being elsewhere with a nanny.

The home once belonged to Oliver M. Kaufmann (1898-1980) of the department store family, brother of Edgar J. Kaufmann, who had Frank Lloyd Wright build Fallingwater.

Redoing that kitchen became the heart of renewal to the home on Beechwood Boulevard. The work brought the house into the 21st century without robbing it of any of its pre-Depression class. The kitchen now is big enough to cook and hold a big crew of friends and family.

After working on the house practically from the time they moved in nearly 13 years ago the Jameses have decided to move to a smaller home. The property is up for sale for $1.645 million.

The kids are getting ready for college; that means rattling around in a 7,200-square-foot home, Ian James says about the reason for the move.

The home's renovation ultimately demanded the construction of a staircase in a space that once was a servant's room. The job also left a carved, wooden door in the foyer that now leads nowhere. We left it there because I just couldn't get rid of it, Ian James says. The door once led to a closet, but redoing that area eliminated the storage space.

Architect John Cullen from the city's Friendship area says working on the house was one of the best projects ever because the Jameses had a concept of what they wanted, but were open to his ideas on ways to accomplish the jobs.

They moved into the house in November 2001 and immediately moved out until the following Memorial Day while work was done.

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Kitchen redo updates home while retaining its character