415 Pershing Dr, New Kensington, PA 15068

The house sits on a corner in Mount Vernon, brick from the foundation to the eaves, with a slate roof laid down in 1938 and still good for another generation. A Japanese maple keeps watch out front. River stones edge the beds. The walk runs under an arched doorway and into rooms where the hardwood has just been refinished, every board on every floor, so new the light catches differently in the morning than it will by fall. The living room turns toward the fireplace. It's gas now, but the carved mantel is the one the house was built with, and the arched openings to either side are too. They lead into the dining room, where the chandelier hangs low over the table and crown molding traces the ceiling all the way around. A pass-through cut into the wall opens onto the kitchen: white cabinets, stainless appliances, French-door refrigerator, Maytag range, dishwasher, microwave, all of them staying with the house. Two bedrooms upstairs, tucked under the dormers, both proper rooms with...