Much like the lady herself, Debbie Norrell’s Penn Hills home exudes a glamorous vibe with soft gray walls and black and white accents.
“I’m a big fan of black and white,” she said, wearing white slacks and a black top.
There is a touch of sparkle as well, from newly installed rhinestone-accented curtain rods to the flecks of silver in her gray shag rug.
The model, former New Pittsburgh Courier journalist and WAMO radio talk show host also has an eye for a good buy. Norrell enjoys hunting at flea markets, estate sales and department stores when they’re selling display furniture.
“Everything in my house has a story,” she said.
“I have a souvenir from all of the department stores. Remember when they had big warehouse sales, and sometimes they would have a display flea market?”
The console in her dining room came from the old Downtown Kaufmann’s.
“You can find things all over, and I just love finding things,” she confessed.
She also has several shopping bags with the Kaufmann’s clock. “When Kaufmann’s closed, they had a big sale, including these great shopping bags.... I have met so many people under Kaufmann’s clock.”
As much as Norrell loves fashion, she loves design and stays on top of the latest trends.
“People are creating a conversation area with chairs instead of a couch,” she explained.
Norrell replaced her living room sofa with two barrel back chairs sporting a decorative nail head design. Along with an acrylic ghost chair, they give guests their personal space while enjoying a gathering.
She bought the house in 2007 after living in a duplex for 29 years. “I lived in one side and rented out the other, but I always wanted a single-family home with a garage.”
Now she makes at least one improvement a year as a birthday present to herself.
“One year I put in the granite counter tops in the kitchen,” she said.
Another year she knocked out a wall to open the kitchen to the dining room and most recently added crown molding to the living room. Next year she plans on carpeting the stairs.
She also has painted her stone fireplace white and transformed one of her guest rooms into a walk-in closet.
“It’s really like my private boutique,” she said, surrounded by racks of clothes.
“Another gift to myself was the movie room.”
Norrell created a cozy place to watch her favorite films in the basement. The walls are adorned with signed photos of famous people she has interviewed on her radio show as well as movie posters from premieres she covered.
An old Kodak Brownie camera is a prized possession. “That camera was my father’s,” she said with emotion.
Photography is another passion. She has an impressive collection of black-and-white pictures by legendary Courier photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris, and above the fireplace are three larger-than-life photographs of Norrell by Ahmad Sandidge.
“He said when you walk into a house, you should always be able to know who the house belongs to,” she said.
In front of the photos are some of the many awards she has received throughout her career. She was with WAMO-FM from 1994 to 1997.
“I had left my job at Mellon Bank for radio,” she recalled. “That was a leap of faith and the biggest chance I have taken in my entire life.”
From there she went to Pittsburgh International Airport and was PR manager. While there, she was offered a stint with a jazz radio station and did that before joining the New Pittsburgh Courier, where she was a columnist and Lifestyle editor.
Norrell has always been a hard worker — She started modeling when she was 15 years old. “I did mostly runway for the local department stores and then moved on to television commercials.
She still does both today, as well as writing for Soul Pitt Quarterly magazine and doing the community calendar for Soul Pitt Media Health and Business Report podcast.
Norrell reflected on her successful and varied career as she glanced around a home that truly reflects her accomplishments and personality.
“It’s been wonderful,” she said.
Patricia Sheridan: psheridan@post-gazette.com.
First Published: July 5, 2021, 9:46 a.m.
