House of the week: A three-bedroom contemporary home in Pennsport for $485,000

“I want someone to smile when they walk into my house,” said Jill Keys.

That was hardly a likely reaction when she bought the house in April 2020. “It was pretty hideous,” she said. “Like a cardboard box. But it had good bones.”

Still, with the COVID pandemic picking up full steam, finding people to work on the three-bedroom, 2½-bath house in Pennsport proved difficult.

So she made a virtue of necessity. “I went to ‘YouTube University,’” she said, learning, for example, how to do a tile backsplash in the kitchen, custom paint tile flooring in the powder room, and how to use an orbital sander to refinish the wood floor in the third floor art studio.

She did have a bit of a head start, as an art director specializing in theater set design — “a Jill of all trades, if you will“ — and found some fellow theatrical technicians looking for work in the pandemic. They built pieces like a faux fireplace in the entryway. She painted murals to brighten neutral space.

“I love South Philly,” she added. “You get a homey neighborhood feel, but you’re close to the bars and the boutiques.”

The home has central air conditioning, a finished basement, and a spacious patio and rear deck.

The open-format living area leads to a contemporary kitchen with stainless steel appliances and white Shaker-style cabinetry.

The primary bedroom and en suite full bath with a jacuzzi tub are on the second floor, with the other two bedrooms on the third floor.

Unusual touches include a bookcase that opens up into a hidden door leading to an outdoor patio off the second floor.

The 1,878-square-foot house is close to I-95, an easy walk to neighborhoods including East Passyunk Crossing and Queen Village, stores including Acme and Target, quaint cafes, and Dickinson Square Park (a huge asset to Keys’ 16-year-old corgi mix).

It is listed by Matthew Condello of BHHS Fox & Roach-Spring House for $485,000.