Pam Cherillo found her home at 119 Blackmore St. totally by accident.
"I was riding my bike on the other side of the [Monongahela] river and saw people fishing and walking. I wondered how they were getting down there on the other side. I crossed the bridge and followed the road down and found it."
She's no stranger to Pittsburgh's tucked-away neighborhoods as she grew up in Polish Hill, then returned after an eight-year stint in Florida.
She was delighted with her discovery of Duck Hollow, which is part of Pittsburgh's Swisshelm Park neighborhood.
"The location was fabulous. It is like living in the country, still in the city proper and just five minutes away from all of the shopping, dining and more at The Waterfront."
She was looking for a home to move into, and this one fit the bill: convenient, close to her family and the price was right. But it needed work.
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"The house was a mess. It needed everything, basically. It had the old paneling and the drop ceiling and the old kitchen."
Hard work, ingenuity and a cheerful decorating flair turned that all around.
Now the longtime Florida resident has decided to move back to warmer weather and has put the two-bedroom, 11/2-bath house is on the market for $119,000 (MLS No. 1043716) with Maryann J. Bacharach of Howard Hanna Real Estate (412-361-4000 or www.howardhanna.com).
An open house is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. Sunday.
The 115-year-old wood-frame house sits on a 24-by-100-foot lot a short walk from the river and within sight of the Homestead Grays Bridge. Frick Park's Nine Mile Run is nearby, and the Carrie Furnace Trail runs along the river nearby.
"People bike and fish here, We have a lot of wildlife -- deer, wild turkey, birds, ducks, geese, eagles and hawks nesting in the trees. It is really peaceful and quiet. There is no traffic," Ms. Cherillo said.
Handy with a hammer and a paintbrush, she enlisted the help of contractors she found through Angie's List and picked up building materials from Construction Junction in Point Breeze when possible. Previous owners replaced siding and windows, then enclosed a back porch into a mudroom and powder room.
She added a strategically placed window.
"The view back there just screamed for a big window. You can see the bridge in the distance, all woods and a hillside."
She found the perfect arched window at Construction Junction, a non-profit retailer of salvage and surplus building materials, then built a deck, too. It is the perfect place to take in the spring scents of ornamental pink apple and white pear trees she planted.
A weeping willow tree is growing nicely and will provide shade in the coming years.
Inside, the kitchen is light, bright and airy with modern touches from Ikea and a mostly open floor plan.
"I knocked out part of the wall between the mudroom and the kitchen," she said.
The kitchen cabinets got a new crisp, white paint job and glass tile backspash in black and white stripes. She recently replaced the hardware and appliances and added a kitchen island and cool amber glass light fixture.
Six recessed lights also were installed.
The wide opening to the 16-by-13-foot dining room makes for easy entertaining. A clear Ikea snowburst light fixture hangs over a table that fits six to eight diners.
"We exposed the brick on the chimney in the living and dining room and opened it all up. I also installed new insulation and drywall on the first floor," Ms. Cherillo said.
The living room, which measures 13 by 10 feet, has exposed brick that is painted slate gray. New carpet was recently installed.
Upstairs, three bedrooms were turned into two.
"There was a tiny bedroom and tiny bathroom that did not work well. I ripped out the wall to the bedroom and made one big bathroom. Sink plumbing was moved and I purchased the double vanity and top at Construction Junction. I painted it and added new fixtures and hardware."
There is a new shower/tub combo, a large oval ottoman and a furniture-style storage cabinet that gives a spa-like touch.
The remaining bedrooms both measure 13 by 10 feet. Both have carpeting.
There is a attic that could be used for bedroom or storage.
"I never got around to doing anything with it. I wanted to drywall it and install a spiral staircase. There are two windows up there," Ms. Cherillo said.
The home has forced air heat but no central air conditioning. "We are close to the water and things are just cooler in the summer," she said.
Parking is on-street and never a problem.
Even though the winter is driving her south, she does regret having to leave her home.
"I love it so much, I wish I could take it with me."
Speaking of the winter, Ms. Cherillo wanted buyers to know about the snow removal.
"It is considered a secondary road, but the city always comes down and manages to get to the bottom of the hill. They were very good about it."
The property's county assessed value is $94,600 (www2.county.allegheny.pa.usRealEstateSearch.aspx).
The only home that has sold on Blackmore Street in the past three years is this one, which Ms. Cherillo bought for $28,600 in September 2012 (www.realstats.net).
Rosa Colucci: 412-263-1634 or rcolucci@post-gazette.com, Twitter: PgRosa_Colucci.
First Published: March 14, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
