‘North Star’ in South Philly

Evan Sanchez and Kelly Renn were preparing to move their family into their new South Philadelphia rowhouse in 2021 when they received devastating news. Their daughter Nuala, 4 years old at the time, was diagnosed with leukemia and would need chemotherapy.

They decided to rent the house out to friends, continue living in Atlantic City, and hold off on their move until Nuala’s treatments were finished.

“We figured the Philly house would be an opportunity for a fresh start,” said Renn, a childbirth educator and the founder of every.body.advocacy, doing reproductive-justice activism and childbirth education.

When the couple first bought the house, they didn’t have major renovations in mind. But Nuala’s illness and recovery impacted their plans.

“It made us realize we wanted to create this home as our North Star,” said Renn. They moved in August 2023, after Nuala’s treatment was complete.

But before that, they embarked on a six-month renovation led by Design Manifest, with Buono Construction Group handling the construction.

Their house was built in 1915, and they wanted to add spaces for modern living while preserving the character and charm of the historic home.

The family, who loves to entertain, needed areas where guests could comfortably gather. That meant creating a cozy space for grown-ups with a dining area and powder room on the first floor.

“We were coming out of COVID and this time of real isolation in caring for our daughter, so the goal was bringing people back together into our lives,” Renn said.

The second floor includes the bedroom and bathroom for Nuala, now 9, and their younger daughter, Fiadh, 5, and the primary bedroom. The third floor features a guest room/office, bathroom, and large den/playroom.

They added space to all three floors, creating a 2,033-square-foot home with three bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms.

“It’s an old, small rowhouse in the city, and that charm comes with certain constraints,” said Naomi Stein, owner and creative director of South Philadelphia-based Design Manifest. “You have non-level surfaces, small entry points, and cranky neighbors.”

Stein added, “We wanted to embrace the spirit of the home and blend old and new to make it feel seamless and full of character.”

That came with challenges. The home’s narrow front door and stairwell meant they had to remove the first-floor window to bring in living room furnishings. They set up a hatch into the upper floors to allow larger pieces of furniture to be passed through. And on a rainy day, they hoisted a massive sofa from the roof into the third-story window.

“We didn’t want to blow out the front room and make it a bigger space,” recalled Sanchez, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Authentic City Partners in Atlantic City. “We enjoy smaller spaces that keep us all physically close and together.”

Renn spent time on Pinterest imagining what each room might look like. The home is filled with bright colors and textiles featuring bold patterns. The kitchen includes orange cabinets — Essential by Sherwin-Williams — with a bold flowered wallpaper above the banquette.

“We leaned into living out loud,” said Sanchez.

Original features of the house include the flooring, exposed brick walls, doors between the kitchen and living room, and the staircase between the second and third floors.

“It’s cool how the exposed brick meets the funky modern wallpapers,” said Sanchez.

The living room is the heart of the home, the space that feels most personal. It is filled with original historic details, including a curved wall reminiscent of parlors from the turn of the century and a wood-burning fireplace. They added custom-built bookshelves painted in shades of blue-gray — Refuge and Moody Blue by Sherwin-Williams.

That’s where some of their favorite things are displayed, including books, family photos, and the saxophone used by Renn’s dad, Burd “Buzz” Renn, a jazz musician who died 22 years ago.

“His music and legacy live on and help me keep him close,” Renn said.

The room includes a rich brown leather custom-sized sectional sofa, a marquetry inlay coffee table, and a colorful patterned wool rug.

They created a new bright and airy dining room with an oblong wooden table, bistro chairs, and basket-weave mosaic floor tiles.

“That room has been a place of so much joy,” Renn said. “It’s not a huge space but it’s a place of real family connection.”

The family has discovered a coincidence that feels cosmic. Nuala finished chemo treatments in 2023 on May 19. Their house number is 519.

“I think there is something lovely in that we moved in to 519 and we finished this very hard journey on 5/19,” Renn said.

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