Angela Petro and her husband John have lived in German Village for quite some time. She moved to Columbus in 1994 for college and he moved here for law school. “At the time, other than Victorian Village, there was not a really tight knit urban community,” said Angela. “I had lived in Germany and German Village ended up keeping me here in Columbus.” They had been living in a different home and just decided to put their house on the market to see what would happen. They weren’t necessarily planning to move, in fact, they didn’t really actively search for homes. But when the house surprisingly sold in 24 days, they had to do something. She luckily had a rental property that they were able to utilize while they searched for a new place.
Their search took them to a home in the country, but they could never really picture themselves away from the city. They loved seeing people out all of the time, while they are riding their bikes or walking their dogs. John has a law practice downtown and he enjoyed walking there sometimes. So they refocused their search mainly around German Village but did not see much they liked. Then their realtor mentioned this property. It was just under 3000 square feet, had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a beautiful private courtyard, a 3 car garage (unheard of for German Village!) and a first floor master suite. The property needed some work, but the two love projects to work on. The uniqueness of the property was really special and in July 2009, they bought it.
Architect Brian Zingelmann helped them with the project. The Petros previous home had been very colorful and Angela wanted this house to be more neutral. But more of a black neutral. The heart of pine floors are stained in a dark walnut. Some questioned her desire of black trim throughout the home, but it works and is gorgeous. She envisioned the main eating and living spaces as what an old commercial space would have looked like. The black collar ties through the space were fabricated in Lancaster and are decorative as well as structural. The iron door leading to the rear courtyard is another focal point. Angela wanted a doorway that was more than just a typical French door and she had this custom wrought iron door designed for the space.
The shelves that line the east wall of the living room are reclaimed wood from an old collapsed barn in Waldo, Ohio. The same wood is also used for the banister that leads to the home gym in the basement. The master suite is on the first level off of the living room.
Being a caterer, Angela was especially excited about designing the kitchen. The main pass through was moved closer to the windows which freed up space for the refrigerator. She had two dishwasher drawers installed which are nice for smaller loads and also eliminates having to bend down to do dishes. There is an oven and a microwave that doubles as a convection oven.
The heart of the space is the beautiful honed carrera marble topped island that is large enough to serve as the dining table. The honed finish will cause the marble to wear and tear more easily, but that’s the look Angela desired. “I wanted it to look like you live here,” she shared. The same marble is also used for the backsplash and countertops. The splashes of orange and yellow throughout the kitchen and a punch of color.
Angela and John enjoy having lots of parties in this space. Over the summer they were a host of one of the pre-tour dinners for the German Village Haus und Garten Tour.
Some of their favorite places to find furnishings for their home include Our House Designs, Room & Board, Found in Powell, Bungalow Home, and they loved Global Living. They have purchased a few pieces of art from Muse Gallery and also love being able to lease pieces to see how they will work in their space before committing to buy them.
For future projects, they would like to remodel the master bath, freshen the upstairs guest rooms and add a rooftop garden to the garage. Angela would love to have a spiral iron staircase to the rooftop garden. She also would like to add beehives.
They are a bit stuck with what to do with the front room of the house – during the pre-tour dinner, the space was used as a pop up gallery for Muse Gallery, but that is not an every day occurrence. If you have any ideas for the space, please tell us in the comments!
Angela and John see themselves living in Columbus for quite some time. “Living in Columbus affords you the opportunity to do what you want,” said Angela. “You can have it all here. A great urban neighborhood, close to everything, great quality of life. Columbus has all of the good things about a big city without all of the stress of a big city.”
Sources:
•Custom Wrought Iron Door by Colletti Designs in Tempe, AZ.
•Marble from Solazzo Marble and Granite.
•Security and sound system by Jeffrey Technologies, LLC.
•Landscaping by Yard Solutions.
Pre-tour Dinner photos provided by Angela.
At Home is a monthly column on Columbus Underground focused on urban home remodeling and style as well as older home renovations and unique homes in Columbus. If you would like to have your home featured in the At Home series, please send an email to me at [email protected].
[At Home is sponsored by The Hamilton Parker Company. Located in Columbus, Delaware and Cincinnati. The Columbus Showroom, open to the public and located at I-670 and Leonard Avenue, features brick & stone, ceramic tiles, garage doors and fireplaces for your home and landscaping projects. Currently, the promotions are Ragno Boardwalk and Calabria 13×13 Porcelain Tiles 20% off. Click here for current promotions or stop by their showroom. M-F 8-5pm, Sat 8-noon, Extended hours Tue & Thur 5-7pm]