There are plenty of things that can stop a person from buying a house -- lousy bathrooms, antiquated knob-and-tube wiring or maybe the lack of a garage. For David Solosko and Sandy Kniess, the main obstacle to home ownership in the city was a very beautiful -- and very large -- Steinway grand piano.

Tony Tye, Post-Gazette photos The Resaca Place home of David Solosko and Sandy Kniess is on the Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour. Click photo for larger image. Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets: $18 in advance at the Monterey Pub, 1227 Monterey St.; $20 on tour day at ticket booth, Monterey Street and West North Avenue. Information: 412-323-9030 or www.mexicanwarstreets.org.

When they decided two years ago to trade their five-bedroom house in Marshall for something closer to UPMC Presbyterian, where Mr. Solosko works as an anesthesiologist, they zeroed in on the Mexican War Streets in the North Side. Having gone on several of this historic neighborhood's house tours, the couple were familiar with its housing stock. They also liked its friendly, neighborly vibe.

The problem was most of the century-old houses were too darn small to accommodate Mr. Solosko's beloved piano. But good things come to those who wait or are willing to compromise. An 1880s townhouse on Resaca Place had two small rooms separated by a large chimney at the back of the house that they felt could be remodeled into a large eat-in kitchen. That, in turn, would free up the dining room for the piano.

So they snapped the house up, hired South Side architect Peter Margittai to come up with a design plan and undertook a 13-month renovation and reconstruction.

Tomorrow, the fruits of that labor will be on display with 14 other properties as part of the 37th annual Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour.

"We live in here now because our piano lives in the dining room," Mrs. Kniess says of their sleek gourmet kitchen, which features kitchen cabinets made from birch by Larry Flock of the Kitchen Gallery in Greensburg, and professional-grade, stainless-steel appliances.

The piano doesn't have the former dining room to itself, either. The new music room also includes a large rolltop desk that was made by Amish craftsmen in upstate New York, a couple of barrister bookcases and, in a corner, a comfy reading chair. More books are stacked in a pair of built-in bookshelves crafted by Brian Darragh of Fisher Renovation in Oakmont, who served as project foreman.

"All the things Dave loves to do are in that room," Mrs. Kniess says with a laugh. "On a good day, he just moves from chair to chair."

Not that that's a problem. Besides being closer to work and within walking distance of theaters and restaurants, one of the empty-nesters' main goals was to live "smarter."

"And we do," Mr. Solosko says. "We use almost every room almost every day."

The house, which was among the first homes renovated in the neighborhood during the 1970s, was certainly livable when the couple purchased it two years ago. But it felt dated. Their renovation takes it into the 21st century while retaining much of its late 19th-century charm.

For instance, they refinished all the original oak floors in the front rooms and added architectural details such as crown molding and beadboard. They also painted the living and dining rooms a warm Clarksville gray that picks up the shades of green and blue in a pair of stained-glass windows in the piano room.

The kitchen of the home of David Solosko and his wife, Sandy Kniess includes an upholstered built-in couch and a rustic English fruitwood farm table. Click photo for larger image.

They put in a "real" staircase to the third-floor loft, which opens onto a fabulous rooftop deck. As for the curved hearth in the living room fireplace, it was fashioned from a piece of slate a worker found in the back yard and was using as a bench.

"We wanted it to be comfortable," says Mrs. Kniess.

That would certainly describe the kitchen, which, despite being on the narrow side, is one of those spaces visitors naturally gravitate to. An upholstered built-in couch is the perfect place to relax with some wine, while the rustic English fruitwood farm table -- discovered at Mahla & Co. Antiques in the Strip District -- can host a dinner party of eight. Adding even more warmth are the caramel-colored ceramic tile backsplashes, which were handcut by ceramic artist Matt Grebner, a neighbor whose studio is around the corner on West North Avenue.

Since Mr. Solosko likes to cook, there's also a four-burner Thermador gas range with built-in grill, the head of which is bejeweled with a hand-painted tile still life the couple purchased in Cordoba, Spain.

A small backyard garden that was paved with salvaged brick extends the kitchen into the outdoors. It's smaller than the yard Mr. Solosko and his wife enjoyed in Marshall, but it's just as scenic and textured. Oakleaf hydrangea and Japanese painted fern are mixed among the ornamental grasses, verbena and giant variegated coleus. Garden designer Eric French, who manages Eisler Landscapes in Prospect, also added three conical Blue Atlas cedars to add height and block the view of the garage. Planters filled with colorful annuals punch up the new Trex deck.

The second floor -- whose hallway doubles as an art gallery -- is just as picturesque. The sky-blue master bedroom has a 20-foot ceiling punctuated by original support beams, and a middle bedroom has been converted into a large dressing room with two walls of closets. The real eye candy, though, is the guest bath, which has a lightbulb-shaped soaking tub with a curved glass partition at its head.

"We wanted something we could actually lie down in and soak," says Mr. Solosko.

And be sure to climb the stairs off the dressing room to the third-floor loft and its adjoining rooftop deck. Up on this deck, whether you're sitting in the clematis-covered pergola or standing next to the long built-in bench that hugs the railing, the city lies stretched out before you.

"We can even watch the fireworks at PNC Park," Mr. Solosko says.