When home is where the view is, the heart will surely follow.

That's how it happened for Judith and Steve Thomas. Leaving the land of sun and celebrity, Los Angeles, for Pittsburgh's variable weather and rabid Steeler fans wasn't as difficult as some might imagine.

The couple and their two children moved to Edgeworth 18 years ago, enticed in part by the outstanding vista their new home provided. But for Mrs. Thomas it was more than spectacular sunset views. It was a homecoming.

"My father was here and wanted to retire, plus I wasn't happy raising our children in L.A.," she admitted.

When someone was knifed in front of their home in Beverly Hills, that confirmed for them that they were making the right decision. Good schools, the charming Connecticut--like village ambience and easy access to the airport made Edgeworth the perfect location.

Both she and her husband are avid travelers. Mrs. Thomas, who worked as an interior designer in California, is currently travel editor for Pittsburgh Magazine.

"I traveled all my life and started writing in the '80s," she said.

She co-wrote the "Born to Shop" travel guide series published by Bantam.

It was Mr. Thomas who found the house. They call it Overlook because it sits high on ridge.

"He came back to L.A. with a very funny narrated video of the house, interior and exterior," she recalled. "Since he likes architecture, he was pointing out the various unmatched building styles that were a result of previous owners winterizing what was once a summer cottage," Mrs. Thomas said.

The home, built in the early 1900s, was at one time the summer residence of J&L Steel executive William Larimer Jones. Then known as "Ridgewood," it was converted in 1928 to a full-time residence by architect Brandon Smith. One of the additions was a great room separated by the porte cochere. Built in the Tudor style, the room features stained-glass windows, cathedral ceilings, slate roof and lead gutters. Belgian linen-fold oak paneling and bookcases frame a 17th-century stone fireplace brought over from England.

"It was originally built for entertaining guests," said Mrs. Thomas.

The room has an Oriental carpet custom-made for the space and is home to a pool table and big-screen TV; it was a great getaway for their children when they were teens.

"As a designer, I was drawn to the interior architectural details of the house, the extensive crown moldings, woodwork, fireplaces and the room sizes," she noted.

"Most of the rooms had normal scale, which made them easy to decorate."

Initially, Mr. Thomas thought the house was too big. But she convinced him of its charms, including a curving center hall staircase and Clarence House fabric wallpaper, which she kept. She also kept the hand-painted Chinese wallpaper in the dining room. She used the colors in the original wallpaper as her palette for the rest of the house.

"The dining room and the great room are overscale, but since these rooms are for entertaining, that was just another plus for me."

The formal neoclassical dining room is divided into two dining areas by free-standing Ionic columns that mark where the porch was enclosed in 1928. The back porch and the original sleeping porches were enclosed to expand the interior living area, Mrs. Thomas said.

Her great-grandmother's grandfather clock stands sentry in the center hall, still keeping time just outside the paneled library room. The cozy library off the entry is balanced with a fireplace at one end and a bay window with leaded glass at the other. The richly stained pine with classic egg and dart molding around the doorways and shelves, and Ionic pilasters lead the eye to the detailed cornice and the carved acanthus leaf design on the mantel. It is a room made for a captain of industry and works beautifully as Mrs. Thomas' office.

Drawing on her decorating skills and extensive travels while working on the "Born to Shop" series, she combined pieces bought from the home's former owners and family furniture to create an eclectic and colorful blend.

After the Thomas children graduated from college, she and her husband began discussing downsizing but instead opted for rightsizing.

"We looked at smaller homes and even hired an architect to design one. Then, a few years after our daughter married we got the news: We were going to be grandparents!" she said, recalling the barrage of emotions that followed.

"My grandmother wore roll-down hose and a girdle. I wasn't going there. Like Goldie Hawn said on the 'Today Show' . . . our generation of baby boomer women are GlamMa," Mrs. Thomas said.

"Steve and I decided to turn 'Overlook' into 'Camp Thomas,' a place where our Glambabies, children and friends would love to gather.

"Since the heart of every home is the kitchen, we gutted and redid it in a French Provincial color palette," she said.

To make sure this was the place everyone wanted to be, they turned the backyard dog run into an infinity pool and patio with a breathtaking view of the Sewickley Bridge. That project took three years to complete. They kept the original butler's pantry off the kitchen but turned it into a wine room and storage for their cutlery and china. A shower off the other side of the kitchen is perfect for coming in from the pool.

"Our home isn't too big now. It's just the right size. Within the last six months, 10 of my friends have become GlamMas, too. They are all staying put. I think it's the new trend," she said.

Judith Evans Thomas can be reached at www.judithevansthomas.com or http://glam-ma.blogspot.com/.

Doug Oster writes a blog, "Growing With Doug," exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.