Designer Eric Ashleigh rehabbed the sagging structure from top to bottom to create an urban retreat for himself, his partner, and their newfound feline friends.
The listing for this 1885 row house in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood consisted of little more than a dozen photos and an entreaty: “Bring this property back to life!” When Eric Ashleigh scrolled through it, he didn’t focus on the moldy carpeting in the bedroom or the kitchen’s peeling vinyl floors. He was struck by an iron ladder leaning up against the detached garage.
“It opened all these questions in my head; I had to see this space,” says Eric, a photographer and designer who grew up working in the trades in Philadelphia. He describes himself as someone that’s “always been drawn to spaces that defy the ordinary, like warehouses, abandoned homes, and turn-of-the-century architecture.” He and his partner, April Rosentreter, a vice president in human resources for a remote software company, set up a visit.
Before: Front Facade
Before: In 2021, Eric Ashleigh and April Rosentreter closed on this 1885 row house in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, after living in a loft in the Kensington neighborhood for years.
Courtesy of Eric Ashleigh and April Rosentreter
After: Front Facade
The couple refreshed the paint on the porch, and added a new concrete walkway. Eric refinished the front door, while April installed cat-friendly landscaping.
Photo: Eric Ashleigh
Turns out, the house lived up to the pictures, and it came with degrading finishes, waist-high weeds in the backyard, and a squatter. “We never really knew what we were going to walk into,” says April of their early visits. Still, after living in a loft in the Kensington neighborhood for years and getting notified that their rent was increasing, they could see the potential in this investment, both financially and creatively.
“It just didn’t seem feasible anymore to be throwing money into the loft, when we could invest in something like this and have a mortgage that costs less,” says April. “And I love to travel, so being able to have any cushion possible to maintain that lifestyle was really important for me.”
For Eric, it was inspiring to discover that a previous owner had been a carpenter, and their shop in the backyard (with the attached ladder) had gone relatively untouched. “I saw that somebody in the past had done some really incredible carpentry throughout the home, and I wanted to put a new spin on that,” says Eric.
Before: Living Room
Before: The living room received new windows and flooring, as the old floors were too far gone to save.
Courtesy of Eric Ashleigh and April Rosentreter
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: It Cost $180K to Fix Up This Philly Row House—But the “Army of Cats” Was Free
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