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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
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photo by Jacqueline Zema, ISO Photo Studio
Jill Pinto fell in love with her partner Tom Parry’s Akron home the first time she came over during a date five years ago. “I literally walked in and said, Don’t say anything to me,” she recalls. “I just wanted to take it all in.”
Parry had a similar experience nearly 30 years prior. In 1987, he bought the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home located just outside of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, around the corner from where he grew up.
Although the 2,750-square-foot house underwent several renovations, both agreed a redesign was necessary when Pinto moved in in 2018. Enter Katie Heinz, owner and senior designer of Medina-based Interior Design Studio.
Parry’s renovation goals were simple: to preserve the richly grained woodwork, the dimmable lighting and his beloved sound system that reaches every room and the front and back yards. Pinto had free rein beyond those elements. Her aesthetic is traditional but light and airy. Her goals were to brighten the dated home and enmesh their belongings to create a shared life.
Heinz incorporated their visions into the three-year renovation that didn’t erase the home’s unique look and backstory. She was enchanted that it’s a kit home in a distinct early 20th-century style and was purchased out of a Sears catalog in 1958. “It’s roots and history,” she says. “There’s nothing like them anymore.”
Changes are particularly evident in the open floor plan 375-square-foot kitchen, dining and sitting rooms. They access a large deck with a hot tub and overlook an expansive backyard running to the tree line.
Emerald walls were painted a cozy off-white, and a black granite backsplash matching the kitchen countertops was swapped out for light subway tiles. Barstools were upholstered in a striped fabric with a pop of coral. Moroccan-inspired pendant lights picked up in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, hang above an island.
The dining room showcases a glass table set for four. Parry’s love of music is evidenced by a stylized photo of the Beatles hung in the central nook of a well-stocked wet bar. A neon-lit sculpture of a diner picked up at the Boston Mills Artfest is displayed on a shelf.
Eclectic accents, such as a flower-shaped side table, add whimsy to the sitting room. A tufted sofa is staged alongside an antique R.J. Horner china cabinet Pinto’s grandparents rescued from a barn. That’s not the only piece of family history: Her grandfather crafted a chair with carved wooden arms and legs using a lathe. Heinz reupholstered it with a lively bird fabric to pay tribute to Pinto and Parry, who are avid bird-watchers.
Similar treasures pop up like jewels around every corner. A pink volcanic rock female climber sculpture by a Colombian artist hangs off the wall in the main-floor bathroom. Three pieces from the Art of Dr. Seuss Collection are displayed in the den, including a painting of a green cat in an Uleaborg Finland subway. The couple picked up another together — a hand-painted, cast resin trophy mount of the Sea-Going Dilemma Fish that’s framed above the granite-fronted fireplace they use all winter. Parry gifted Pinto the final one, which features a cat wrapped in a lime-green shower curtain, after he saw her admiring it in Lake Tahoe, California. “She was in a bubble, locked in on that painting,” he recalls.
Comparatively, the owner’s suite is sparsely accessorized because it is already a work of art. A bed and floating nightstands rest inside a previously renovated dormer outfitted with atrium-style windows. The couple sleeps underneath the open sky. “During a starry night or a storm, it’s pretty awesome,” Pinto says.
Heinz also transformed what used to be an office into a modern sitting area. A rounded sofa and seafoam walls play off warm-toned wood paneling. The result is a blend of old and new.
There’s nothing old about the owner's bathroom. Last renovated 24 years prior, it’s now tricked out with modern amenities.
A damask area rug was cut into segments and trimmed to create runners.
Quartzite tops the vanity, which features dual sinks and bronze, gemstone-adorned cabinet pulls. A newly cased window bathes the room in natural light.
Tucked away within the woods so they can hear concerts from Blossom Music Center but still enjoy privacy, the serene home that was once just Parry’s now reflects the couple. It’s lived-in, well-loved and filled with gems that nod to their history together and apart. And Pinto? She’s enamored as ever.
“Once a week I say to Tom, I love my house so much,” she admits.
Closer Look
A glass-enclosed steam shower replaced a walled-in shower to create the illusion of extra space within the 90-square-foot owner's bathroom. Chrome showerheads spray from all directions, and a trough drain is a sneaky feature.
Heinz utilized two types of accent tiles in the luxe spot. A hexagonal glass tile mosaic sets the scene for a small nook in the corner, and white carved tiles wrap up one wall and continue across the ceiling in a graphic line. The latter is a favorite of the homeowners. “Every tile is different. It sort of looks like a patchwork,” says Jill Pinto. “Katie brought one square, and I was like, Yes!”
