Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/super-cool-ad-inserter/inc/scaip-shortcode-inserter.php on line 37

1035 Campbells Run Rd. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

Last week’s column was about how much I hate the dominant greige-minimalist home-design aesthetic. I mean, that’s cool if you want a house with as much character as a Chipotle or one of those fleece vests tech bros wear. (Hey, if that’s your thing, be my guest).

Pittsburgh’s housing stock — by some measures, the oldest in the country — does not lend itself to greige very easily, anyway. That’s more of a suburban aesthetic. We don’t look feature the suburbs much in this column, but we probably should, because Pittsburgh has quite a few that don’t conform at all to the current trends. And, because of that, they stay somewhat affordable — without going greige.

For example, there are two very different western neighborhoods that seem like great places to live for very different reasons — the urban-ish, walkable Carnegie, and the mostly residential Crafton, which has a lot of really beautiful, very old houses. Here’s a little sampling from each:

For rent: 1035 Campbells Run Rd., Carnegie, $800/month.
Whoa, that’s green — like somewhere between key lime green and liquified-Grinch green. I don’t hate it. Inside it’s bright and clean and has nice wooden floors, a ceiling fan, and air-conditioning, which is a lot of things for $800 a month. Plus, this house is automatically a local landmark and impossible to miss (the color-blind excepted).

206 6th Ave. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For sale: 206 6^th Ave., Carnegie, $213,000.
Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie — benevolent benefactor or robber baron? Eh, probably a bit of both. At least he seemed to feel bad about crushing his workers and everyone in his way and built a bunch of libraries as a sort of self-inflicted penance. It would be nice if our current crop of robber barons did this, instead of, well, you know. The library up on the hill here — the Carnegie Carnegie — is one of the nicest in the region. This house was built when old Andrew Carnegie was still alive, 1902, and looks pretty good for a 123-year-old.

326 7th Ave. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For sale: 326 7^th Ave., Carnegie, $199,000.
Six bedrooms (!) and enough porch space to drive a Zamboni through, for under $200,000? Oh, and you can walk to perhaps the South Hills’ best coffee shop, Carnegie Coffee Company (a comfy community hub in a converted post office) a lovely little bookshop, Wooly Bear Books and Gifts (soon moving to bigger digs on Main St.), several unpretentious bars, and at least three (!) diners for breakfast. Throw in a record store and a National Park and this is basically paradise for me; your mileage may vary.

716 Idlewood Ave. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For rent: 716 Idlewood Ave., East Carnegie, $1,200/month.
Honestly, I want to see people’s books and record collections in a home listing — not to judge them (well, maybe a little, as a treat) — but because it’s evidence of people living full lives in a place. I would also live in a library (Carnegie, of course) if I could, so maybe that’s just peculiar to me.

66 Thomas St. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For sale: 66 Thomas St., Crafton, $249,500.
In 1890, when this house was built, there were no cars on the road because they only existed in Germany. (So nobody had the foresight to tack on a three-car garage). And yet, this house was built, and somehow it’s superior to much of what was built after. That much porch space is like having another entire house to hang out in, albeit not one that’s very useful this time of year. I’m not a huge fan of the outdoor paint scheme, but the navy blue cabinetry in the kitchen is oddly appealing.

146 Noble Ave. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For rent: 146 Noble Ave., Crafton, $875/month.
What did this beautiful 19^th-century apartment building used to be? A bank that John Dillinger cased? A buggy-whip factory? A cabaret? Thank you to whatever saintly ancestor who decided not raze this thing and put a drive-thru bank or a Taco Bell here. Needless to say, it’s illegal to build extremely attractive, useful, and inexpensive housing for different-sized families in 98% of post-war suburbs, because, well, poor people might want to live there. Their loss; Crafton gets it.