Randy Gilbert and Jamie Petrus visited more than 100 Victorian-style houses before buying this 1870 townhouse in the North Side's Allegheny West neighborhood.

So what's so special about this one?

"It's not that this one was so grand," said Mr. Gilbert, 30. "It was a good frame for me at this point in my life."

"Frame" seems like a strange word to use -- until the 30-year-old human resources specialist explains how rehabbing, furnishing and decorating this old house appeals to his artistic side. Next weekend, you can judge how well his artwork turned out when it's unveiled as part of the Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour.

Six restored Victorians will be featured along with a model train exhibit on Friday and Saturday. All will be decorated for the holidays in lavish Victorian style, including Mr. Gilbert and Ms. Petrus' home on West North Avenue. The focal point will be an 11-foot tree in the dining room, dressed with antique and reproduction ornaments and antique wax candle holders from as far away as Germany and as close as Altoona.

Any other time of year, the dining room's focal point would be a 10-foot-tall, heavily carved oak server that Mr. Gilbert had imported from France. He admires the detailed faces of people on the center panel, much the way he appreciates his 2,500-square-foot house's grand dimensions and intricate craftsmanship.

"I'm 6-foot-4 so I like high ceilings," he says. "I really enjoy these houses -- their eight layers of molding, the special hardware. I probably spent $2,000 on switchplate covers. You can't get anything off the shelf for these homes."

Though his family thought he was crazy to buy the house, all pitched in to help him, including his parents, Ralph and Dottie Gilbert, brother Rich and uncle Joe Provenza, all of Oakmont. Ms. Petrus, 26, a clinical dietitian from Belle Vernon, did her share even though she's not as enamored with all things Victorian as he is.

"She's been pretty tolerant," Mr. Gilbert says.

Over four months, he and his family redid bathrooms, put on a new roof, patched plaster, wallpapered and painted. When they couldn't save the old pine floors, they put new oak ones on the first and second floor. The original budget was around $10,000 but they ended up spending closer to $50,000.

Looking at all the restored houses in Allegheny West, Mr. Gilbert feels like it's a solid investment, though he had some doubts.

"Sitting on a torn-up floor, looking at holes the size of basketballs in the walls, I wondered what I'd gotten myself into. It's been quite a learning experience."