A family needing space to grow updates 1970s decor of Colonial in Wynnewood
“When we saw this house, we knew it was the right one.”
With three toddlers, Liza and Justin Bresson had grown out of their Center City home in 2019. When they started their search for a new place, they found a circa-1930s home in Wynnewood intriguing. The yard was completely overgrown, and the house clearly needed work, but they love stone Colonials, and there was something about the wrought-iron gate that spoke to them.
“It looked preserved like it was the nicest house from 1970,” recalled Justin, a Realtor with Compass.
They immediately replaced the windows, boiler and wiring, and then moved on to cosmetic upgrades, including replacing wallpaper with paint and refinishing the floors. Luckily, when they lifted the wall-to-wall carpeting throughout the house, they discovered gorgeous hardwood floors underneath.
“We pulled down all the gold-and-white wallpaper, saving it in just one little closet to remember it,” said Liza, founder of FPRE, a boutique real estate firm in Wynnewood.
After tackling the home’s interior, the couple landscaped the front yard. “We had neighbors pulling over in front of our house saying they never knew our house existed,” said Liza, because the yard was so overgrown.
The 4,100-square-foot house has six bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms. One of their favorite spaces is the sunroom turned playroom for their twins Cobe and Hunter, 4½, daughter Cindy, 2½, and Bernedoodle Moshe.
“Our house has a Middle Eastern flair, and every piece in the house, except for the couch and living room armoire, are hand-me-downs and pieces that have traveled with me throughout my life,” Liza said. “I really hate to buy new furniture because I think the old stuff is better than the new.”
Each piece has a meaningful history or holds special memories. The kitchen hutch came from Justin’s aunt and uncle and stores china and silverware from both their grandmothers. After being in storage for several years, it now feels especially meaningful.
“Thanksgiving was a unique holiday last year and probably one of the more special moments we’ve had in the house,” Justin said. “We cooked a meal for the five of us like we were going to serve 60 people, and it was the first time we actually used those things in the hutch.”
The artwork throughout the house was created by Liza’s aunt, Pat Forbes, an award-winning painter based in Florida. Forbes had owned a Turkish rug shop at one time, and many of the rugs are family heirlooms that were passed down.
Their retreat is often in front of one of their two fireplaces, one wood-burning and the other gas. “The fireplace just accentuates the house’s super cozy feeling,” Liza said.
In addition to the fireplace, their bedroom sitting area has interesting architectural features, including beautiful crown molding and a curved wall. When the kids go to bed, that’s where the couple relaxes. The room also reminds them of the amount of work they put into the house.
“The ceiling was wallpapered, and Justin and I tackled it one weekend,” Liza recalled. “I will never remove wallpaper from a ceiling again!”
Possibly the most useful part of the home during the pandemic has been the guest suite above the garage. Accessible through the home’s side entrance and with its own bathroom, it’s become the perfect school for the Bresson kids and children from four other neighborhood families.
“Justin and I both work full time, and all three of our kids go to school,” Liza said. “In the spring when everything went virtual, it wasn’t working for 4 and 2½ year olds.”
The five families worked together to hire two teachers and create a pod within a safe environment. The students eat lunch in the Bressons’ kitchen. Liza and Justin’s home offices are on the other side of the house, so they can work undisturbed.
The outdoor space has also become a haven for the Bressons during the pandemic. Within the yard is a swing set, sandbox, fenced-in swimming pool, and two fire pits, where the family enjoyed camping out over the summer.
And Justin has discovered birding as a pandemic hobby. He’s watched hawks, woodpeckers and goldfinches from the comfort of his backyard and just installed an owl box in hopes of luring one nearby.
“We looked for a house for almost two years, and being in real estate, we’ve seen a lot of houses,” Justin said. “When we saw this house, we knew it was the right one.”
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