Good things come in small package at Ligonier Valley Home Tour site

Jun. 20—A house doesn't need to be a McMansion or historical edifice to merit a spot on a home tour.

One of the properties featured on the 17th Annual Ligonier Valley Home Tour, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, is small in size but big on style.

Just blocks from the Ligonier Diamond, the one-story home of Elizabeth Palmer and Stephen Hoza combines elements of their California roots with those of the surrounding landscape.

The couple bought the small bungalow in need of a complete renovation in early 2020.

As it was enlarged and rebuilt from the studs, Palmer's design aesthetic gave it a modern farmhouse vibe with multiple gathering spaces contained within 1,100 square feet.

Due to the pandemic, Palmer shut down her San Francisco yoga studio and moved into a Ligonier bed and breakfast to oversee the work, while Hoza continued his job with the U.S. Postal Service.

"My thought was to get a small weekender, nothing like this. It kind of exploded a little bit," Hoza said. "She made it work — I could never have done it."

The home's neutral finishes are punctuated by numerous paintings by California artists and others that the couple has collected over 30 years.

The front entrance leads to a small sitting area where the couple enjoy their morning coffee. Beyond are an eat-in kitchen and sitting room that doubles as a guest room. To the rear is the owner's suite, a combined living/dining room, laundry and powder room.

The back door opens to a three-season porch, with steps leading to the backyard with a hot tub, seating area with portable fire pit, outdoor dining space, raised garden beds and an newly built garage.

The low-maintenance grounds feature a gravel parking area and concrete patio in front and artificial turf in the back. Backyard privacy fencing employs wooden posts and galvanized metal, while the front is edged with post and wire fencing.

"I borrowed from the surrounding cow and horse pastures, the farm land and sawmills, to present them in a new style. These were not random decisions," Palmer said, noting that the construction included many sustainable materials.

'Five-stop adventure'

Now retired, Hoza and Palmer sold their San Francisco house and intend to live a snowbird lifestyle, spending warm months in Ligonier and cold months in Florida.

"San Francisco is cold in the summer, so we wanted a place we could go and get warm," Hoza said. "We couldn't afford Napa or Sonoma, but it's pretty nice here."

Hoza and Palmer said, for its size, Ligonier offers many amenities and Pittsburgh is nearby, if they need a shot of the big city.

Hoza's parents grew up in the Ligonier Township community of Wilpen, moving to California for his father's military service. The family returned every summer to visit relatives.

The tour will be "a five-stop adventure," said co-chair Theresa Rohall, executive director of the Ligonier Valley Historical Society and Compass Inn Museum.

The tour's other in-town site is one of Ligonier's oldest and most stately historic Main Street homes. It features a large front porch and sweeping staircase with custom wood millwork. The current owners have created a backyard oasis with an in-ground swimming pool and gardens.

In a pastoral setting overlooking the Loyalhanna Creek is a farmhouse dating to 1892 that was gutted to the studs and lovingly restored with a new addition. The other country house is a new, rustic wood-and-stone dwelling on the site of a former beloved family home built using materials from the previous home.

Tour-goers also receive free admission to the Lincoln Highway Experience, located in the historic Johnston House at 3435 Route 30 East, Unity. There, they can enjoy complimentary pie and coffee in the museum's restored Serro's Diner.

Proceeds from the annual tour support programming for the Compass Inn and the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, which operates the Unity museum.

Tickets are $40 through Thursday and $45 on Friday and Saturday. A limited number of tickets will be available for walk-ins at registration on Saturday.

All attendees are required to check in that day under the portico at 121 East Main St., Ligonier. Children and pets are not permitted on the tour and the featured homes are not handicapped accessible.

For more information and registration, call 724-238-6818 or 724-879-4241 or visit lhhc.org or compassinn.org.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .