Philadelphians love their vestibules | Real Estate Newsletter
And a rare Fair Housing ruling.
Today, we’re talking about a special Philly rowhouse feature: the vestibule.
I’ll admit I didn’t think much about the one I had in a house I rented years ago in Center City. We didn’t do anything with it. It was just there to pass through.
But Philly homeowners say they use the tiny entrance space to shift vibes and transition from a chaotic outside world. Vestibules can add drama and character. And they have a fan base.
Read on about the feature that one Port Richmond homeowner calls “just classic Philly.”
Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:
A rare ruling: Philly’s Fair Housing Commission says a landlord unlawfully retaliated against a tenant for organizing her peers.
Last call?: This popular Manayunk beer garden could be replaced by an apartment building.
Quest for accountability: Philly judges ordered the sheriff to fix her office’s problem with processing deeds — or they’ll appoint someone who will.
Unique style: Peek inside this quirky Kensington rowhouse that became the homeowner’s creative canvas.
— Michaelle Bond
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Geometric tile patterns on the floor. Fancy wallpaper featuring flowers and fruits. Paneling and glass tiles on the walls. Antique light fixtures.
Philly homeowners are using their vestibules to make statements and express themselves. The spaces also serve practical purposes, such as keeping pets in and cold weather out.
Newsletter reader Jocelyn Grayson is among the homeowners who told us about her love for vestibules, and she shared how she transformed a once-boring space. That’s her in the photo above.
Philadelphians who don’t have vestibules are even building them from scratch. That’s what a South Philly couple did after admiring other people’s entryways.
Keep reading to see what these Philadelphians have done with their vestibules.
📮 Do you have a carefully curated space in your home or yard that you’d like to show off? I want to see it.
An East Falls renter, frustrated by living conditions in her apartment complex, texted her neighbors in their WhatsApp group.
What she shared about executives of the landlord company sparked a flurry of messages among rental officials about pushing her out.
Days later, officials told the renter she’d violated the terms of her lease and they would not renew it.
But the group chat incident was just an excuse to get rid of a tenant organizer, says the city’s Fair Housing Commission. The commission ruled that the landlord unlawfully retaliated against the tenant because she helped create the apartment’s tenant union.
It’s a rare decision from the commission. Staffers said they couldn’t remember another time when a renter successfully argued they were evicted because they participated in a tenant association.
The Public Interest Law Center, which represented the renter, celebrated the decision as “a victory for the city’s growing tenant organizing movement.”
Keep reading for more details about the case and the Fair Housing Commission’s ruling.
The latest news to pay attention to
This popular Manayunk beer garden could be replaced by an apartment building.
Philadelphia judges are threatening to appoint someone to oversee sheriff sales in the city if the sheriff’s office doesn’t resolve its ongoing deed problem.
A soup heiress’ mansion, a sports complex, and an architecturally renowned townhouse are for sale near Philly right now.
A formerly industrial corner of North Philly is seeing a boom in senior affordable housing.
Homes could be built at the former Budd Co. plant in North Philly under a City Council proposal.
Dozens of New Jersey organizations are asking Gov. Mikie Sherrill to ban new data centers.
A historic Point Breeze church is being transformed into a brewery.
This restaurant owner just bought the former Irish Pub in Rittenhouse, his third major real estate purchase in less than a year.
House of the week: For $799,900 in Wyncote, a mid-century modern home designed by a prominent architect.
After years of renting and not being able to change spaces too much, Sophia Khan was ready to let her creative juices flow when she bought her Kensington rowhouse in 2020.
She painted olives on the walls of her powder room. She added peel-and-stick tile on the vanity’s granite countertop in the primary bathroom. She changed her kitchen floor to match the vibe of the 1970s stained-glass ceiling light.
Khan said she’d get bored if every room looked the same, so she gave all the spaces in her home distinct styles.
But her home was already quirky when she bought it. For example, the swan faucets on the sink and bathtub were “a selling point” for her.
Peek inside Khan’s home to see what makes it unique and check out the mural on her back wall that she painted in memory of her sister.
📷 Photo quiz
Do you know the location this photo shows?
📮 If you think you do, email me back.
Last week’s quiz featured a photo of a beautiful mural called “A Daughter Migrates Towards the Mother Earth” at Kensington Avenue and D Street.
Shout-out to Lars W. for knowing that.
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Did you know you can sleep in homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright? Not his iconic Fallingwater home in Western Pennsylvania, but two others that were packed up and moved to Polymath Park 28 miles away.
My colleague Jason Nark shares the details.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
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