Steve Ford has worked on houses all over the country with his sister, Leanne. But the one he’s most fixated on is his own, in Pittsburgh.
“My house is my favorite project,” he said. “I designed it and Leanne decorated it.”
The Pittsburgh siblings who became famous on HGTV shows “Restored by the Fords” and “Home Again with the Fords” worked together on transforming a battered old warehouse in a Hilltops neighborhood into a home for his family, and an early 1900s house and guest cottage in Sewickley for hers.
This weekend, he will discuss and answer questions about those projects and his television work at the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show. He will appear at noon, 3 and 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon and 3 p.m. Sunday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The programs are free with home show admission.
Ford, 47, and his sister spent two months renovating the 1940s warehouse, turning it into an urban home and workshop with concrete counters in the kitchen and primary bathroom. He chose its most unique design element, a disco ball, for his son Jack’s nursery. Ford said he and his wife, Andrea, sometimes dance with their baby beneath its glittering lights.
Are they moving to disco, maybe Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby”?
Nope. “I’m more of a country-punk fan,” he said. “We like to party.”
The home, which was featured in an episode of “Restored by the Fords,” has a much more industrial vibe than Leanne’s house and guest house in Sewickley. On that property, her brother worked mainly on the pantry and exterior, he said.
Ford has many other projects. He continues to work with American Eagle Outfitters, which gave him an early start doing window displays.
He has pitched in on other TV shows, including “A Very Brady Renovation,” “Rock the Block” and “Property Brothers: Brother vs. Brother” with Jonathan and Drew Scott.
Ford also hosted “Stuffed with Steve Ford,” an online series showcasing Pennsylvania’s agriculture and food history. It included a visit to Pittsburgh Pickle Co. in Verona and Strange Roots Experimental Ales in Millvale.
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Ford grew up in Upper St. Clair with Leanne and their other sister, Michelle. After surfing and hanging out in California as a teenager, he returned to Pittsburgh and opened a vintage clothing store, Decade, on the South Side. His love for vintage also shows up in his home, which features vintage rugs and mid-century light fixtures.
Ford had so much fun on that project that he purchased another old warehouse in Allentown. He soon discovered its floor had collapsed and the roof needed to be replaced, he said on a recent segment on KDKA TV’s “Pittsburgh Today Live.”
“It probably would have been torn down,” he said. “I wanted to bring it back to life. It will have a lot of similar style to my house.”
He’s doing most of the work himself and hopes to finish the renovation this summer, after which he will rent it out.
“I’d love to see someone live there one day.”
First Published: March 13, 2025, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: March 13, 2025, 9:59 a.m.
