The completed Fourth Street living room, with exposed brick, warm flooring, and a black stair railing.

Featured renovation · Philadelphia1842 South Fourth Street

Down to the bones.
Back to a home.

From brick and joists to the last kitchen detail. The story of a Philadelphia rowhouse, reimagined by Nicole and Jack.

THE WORK: Full home renovation
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA
THE TEAM: Perrotta Built LLC
THE CHAPTER: Completed · 2025

01 / The whole story

The finish is only half the story.

Before the white cabinets and the blue tile, there were stripped walls, open joists, and a house ready for a different future.

We took Fourth Street back to brick and joists, opened the kitchen wall, and rebuilt the spaces around it. The photographs tell the story better than a list of finishes ever could.

Same home. Different chapters.

Go back to
the beginning.

The original living space, with patterned wallpaper and a suspended ceiling. — The original interior, from our on-site walkthrough.01 / 03

A room during demolition, with brick walls, bare joists, and a stripped floor. — Before the surfaces, the work underneath.On site

02 / Making room

A new way
through the house.

The renovation included removing the kitchen wall to open up the space. From the front room to the kitchen, the finished photographs show how the rooms now connect.

It is a big change made up of a lot of smaller jobs: framing, trade work, drywall, floors, stairs, and the details you see every day.

See how it came together ↗

03 / The details, built by hand

Progress you can put
your hands on.

Cleaning the brick. Building the kitchen bench. Setting the bathroom tile. The small, hands-on chapters give the finished rooms their story.

A worker wearing protective gear while cleaning exposed brick beside open framing. — **01 · Working with the brick**

Timber framing for the L-shaped kitchen breakfast-nook bench. — **02 · A bench takes shape**

The tub bathroom during construction, with blue wall tile and a worker beside the tub. — **03 · A little color goes in**

Two crew members in the living space during work on the staircase.

The people behind the project

Nicole’s eye.
Jack’s hands.
A crew that showed up.

Nicole led the design decisions. Jack and Nicole took on substantial work alongside Jack’s brother, cousin, and laborers, with electrical work subcontracted. A home rebuilt by people who were there for the work.

The payoff is a home

A bench becomes
a gathering place.

The bench started as timber and plywood. Later, the same corner was full of people. The finished detail became a place to gather.

See the finished home

A candid group gathering around the completed kitchen breakfast nook. — Same corner. A different kind of workday.From the project photos

The work, room by room

The transformation,
one space at a time.

The first walkthrough. The hands-on work. The finished rooms. Choose a space, then follow its story through the photographs.

The finished living room, brick wall, and black stair railing.

01 / Living & stairs

Brick, light,
and a new connection.

06 / 08

Living & stairs · Finished · Photograph 6 of 8

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The room stories.

Living & stairs

Before · The original living space: patterned wallpaper, carpet, and a suspended ceiling.

Before · The original carpeted staircase and the view toward the kitchen.

In progress · The house stripped back to exposed brick and joists.

In progress · Cleaning the exposed brick beside the new framing.

In progress · The stair railing being fitted beside the brick wall.

Finished · The exposed brick running along the completed living space.

Finished · The finished upper hallway and connection between floors.

Kitchen & nook

Before · The original kitchen, with yellow cabinet doors and patterned worktops.

Before · The original kitchen viewed through the doorway and paneled room.

In progress · Framing the L-shaped breakfast-nook bench.

In progress · The bench takes shape with its plywood seat and back.

In progress · Trying out the new seat before the finish work.

In progress · Cabinets, backsplash, and kitchen fitting work coming together.

Finished · The completed kitchen and built-in breakfast nook.

Finished · The finished coffee-bar corner, with a wood worktop and open shelves.

Finished · The finished kitchen looking toward the living space.

Bathrooms

Before · The original upstairs bathroom, before the layout was reconfigured.

In progress · Blue wall tile being installed around the tub.

In progress · The patterned bathroom floor during installation.

In progress · The shower room before its wall and floor finishes were complete.

Finished · The completed blue-tile tub bathroom.

Finished · The blue bathroom and its compact vanity.

Finished · The finished shower room, glass enclosure, and wood-tone vanity.

Finished · The completed downstairs powder room.

Bedrooms

Before · An original upstairs room with wood-paneled walls.

In progress · An upstairs room during the later flooring and finishing stage.

Finished · A finished bedroom with light walls, warm flooring, and two windows.

Finished · Another finished bedroom view from the listing photographs.

Basement

In progress · The water heater and distribution lines before enclosure.

In progress · Installing basement flooring beneath the exposed dark ceiling.

Finished · The finished basement and laundry area.

Finished · Another view of the finished lower level.

Courtyard

In progress · The rear exterior during the renovation.

In progress · Finishing and painting the courtyard gate.

Finished · The completed rear courtyard and white fence.

Finished · The painted rear exterior and finished courtyard.

The complete revealAll 24 listing photographs.Open the gallery

Living room, exposed brick, and stairs — Living

The exposed brick wall and open living space — Living

The living room and connection toward the kitchen — Living

Kitchen cabinetry, worktops, and breakfast nook — Kitchen

The kitchen looking toward the living space — Kitchen

The blue bathroom and vanity — Bathrooms

The glass shower and wood-tone vanity — Bathrooms

The upper hallway, brick, and black stair railing — Hall & stairs

Bedroom windows and closet doors — Bedrooms

Another angle of the finished bedroom — Bedrooms

A finished room with two windows — Bedrooms

The same finished room and closet — Bedrooms

The basement with exposed dark ceiling — Basement

The finished rear courtyard and fence — Courtyard

The rear courtyard and painted exterior — Courtyard

The completed Fourth Street brick facade — Exterior

Fourth Street among its neighboring rowhouses — Exterior

The finished front entrance and brick facade — Exterior

Aerial view of the Philadelphia neighborhood — Exterior

Showing all 24 listing photographs.

Fourth Street exterior, from the original project-journal entry

“From demo days to final details, every inch of this home has been thoughtfully reimagined.”

Fourth Street project journal · August 7, 2025
The Fourth Street house was thoughtfully reimagined over the course of its renovation. This August 2025 entry marked the final day with the house.

Aerial listing photograph across the Philadelphia neighborhood toward the skyline.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

One home.
Part of a city.

Fourth Street is one chapter in our Philadelphia-area renovation journal. Follow the work as the next chapters take shape.

← Back to the gallery

Next project

Down to the bones.Back to a home.

The finish is only half the story.

Go back tothe beginning.

A new waythrough the house.

Progress you can putyour hands on.

Nicole’s eye.Jack’s hands.A crew that showed up.

A bench becomesa gathering place.

The transformation,one space at a time.

Brick, light,and a new connection.

One home.Part of a city.

A kitchen, reimagined ↗