Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette This Italian Renaissance home underwent a two-year restoration in the early 1990s. Click photo for larger image. More information An open house will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. today at 3233 Brownsville Road, Brentwood. Information: Alice Vaday of Howard Hanna, 412-882-9100, ext. 249, or www.howardhanna.com, MLS No. 613205.

Like people, some houses are born beautiful and others have to work at it.

3233 Brownsville Road in Brentwood was an Italian Renaissance beauty from the beginning, but she was in desperate need of a makeover when William and Donna Miller found her in 1992.

Then 70 years old, her tan brick skin was filthy and no one would have guessed the verde green color of the barrel tiles atop her sultry bedroom "eyes."

"We always liked Brownsville Road -- you can walk anywhere. We just fell in love with this house," said Mrs. Miller.

After two years of restoration, the Millers settled here with one of their two daughters. Fourteen years later, they have downsized and the house is for sale, priced at $215,000 by Alice Vaday of Howard Hanna Real Estate.

That price is toward the high end for Brentwood, where the median house price is $75,000 but the maximum was $350,000, according to RealSTATs. Some of the oldest and most expensive houses in the borough are on Brownsville Road.

The Millers started with the exterior, pressure-washing the brick and replacing all but the leaded- and stained-glass windows with vinyl.

Leaks in the barrel tile roof had severely damaged plaster in the third-floor bedroom, the largest of four at 23 by 23 feet, with beautiful pine floors and an interesting curved and angled ceiling shaped by the eyebrow dormers. Ronald Zubasic Roofing removed and numbered most of the tiles, replaced the underlayment and put all the cleaned tiles back.

In 1996, the house was featured in the Home Portraits column of Home magazine after Mrs. Miller sent in a photo.

"Rarely have I seen a house that has as much personality as your home does," wrote an unnamed editor, who goes on to describe it as a good example of the Italian Renaissance style popular in the 1920s.

The article also notes the paired Italianate brackets, distinctive arched hood over the front door and two types of bay windows, a detail that often goes unnoticed.

But passers-by notice plenty of other aspects of the house. Some remember the doctor who used the first floor as his office in the 1940s. Others just comment on its curb appeal.

	Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette Above: Dining room fireplace. Below: The third floor bedroom has an unusual ceiling. Click photos for larger image.

"Kids from a nursery school used to walk by on nice days. They would say 'Your house is so pretty!' " Mrs. Miller recalled.

The couple replaced the radiators with forced-air heat, which created space for banquettes at both ends of the 27- by 13-foot living room. Beyond it is the 21- by 9-foot den, with an exposed brick wall and decorative fireplace. Tall, narrow double-hung windows flank a stained-glass panel on the long wall, bringing in sunlight but not heat, thanks to the large maples that surround the house.

"This is Mr. Miller's favorite room," said Ms. Vaday.

Clearly, the unknown builder took extra care with this house. In addition to the decorative windows, the house has built-in cabinets with leaded-glass doors and Craftsman-style french doors in the living room. A unique bow-tie wooden detail in the den is repeated on the exterior.

The couple have not tried to restore the house's five gas fireplaces, which still have their 1920s fireboxes. Each has a different color ceramic tile; the dining room's bright blue makes it the focal point of the 13- by 13-foot space.

There is no bathroom on the first floor but two full baths on the second, including a large, new one off the master bedroom, and powder rooms on the third floor and in the basement.

Each of the three second-floor bedrooms has a decorative fireplace and a roomy closet. In the hall is large walk-in linen closet containing a dark-stained, built-in cabinet with flip-down doors that is both charming and functional.

	Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette The back deck at the Millers home in Brentwood is shaded by maple trees. Click photo for larger image.

In deference to buyers, Mr. Miller has stripped but not repainted the built-in medicine cabinet and sashes on the stained-glass window in the old second-floor bathroom, which still has its original pedestal sink and tile walls and floor. To make furniture moving easier, he removed the wrought-iron railing on the staircase. The pieces are numbered and stored in the basement.

The small kitchen was renovated in 1992, with oak cabinets, laminate counter tops and a unique angled table that Mrs. Miller designed to accommodate the entire family.

A door from the kitchen leads to a 7-year-old deck, 16 feet long and 12 feet wide, that is partially covered by a small roof and well shaded by maples. The corner lot has side and back yards, a detached two-car garage made of matching brick and stucco and a small hedged garden with a concrete bench. Resting upon it is a rather odd planter -- a single old combat boot left by Mr. Miller, a sergeant in the Army for 20 years.

Why one boot? their Realtor asked. "Because I only had one," he replied.