There comes a point in some homeowners' lives when they've simply had enough: of the maintenance; of the space; of the clutter.

Trial attorney Mark Homyak's realization that he was ripe for a change came a few years after his divorce, as his sons hit puberty. The McMansion they shared in Washington County was lovely, but as the boys got older, they tired of having to travel from the country to the city to see their mother.

"They were like, 'Dad, you're far too cool to live in a 724,'­" he recalls, referring to the area code. "You have to get to a 412."

In 2002, Mr. Homyak obliged his sons and moved to a three-bedroom rowhouse on Pittsburgh's South Side. But the Scott native didn't really live up to the "cool" part of the equation until six years later, when he bought a 1950s single-family house two streets over on South 19th Street -- and reimagined it according to the ancient principles of feng shui.

So unusual, and inspired, is the whole-house makeover that judges of the Post-Gazette's 2009-10 Renovation Inspiration Contest chose it as a runner-up in the large project category ($50,000 or more).

The two-story house was constructed in 1952 as a parish home for the now-closed St. Matthew Church in South Side Flats. It was its two L-shaped lots that actually sealed the deal: Honking-big backyards are a rarity in the South Side. Almost as sweet was its two-car garage, even though the concrete-block building was practically falling down. (Off-street parking is off-street parking.)

But why feng shui? Strange as it might seem for a hard-nosed lawyer to embrace something so spiritual, the 6,000-year-old Chinese art was something Mr. Homyak had been mulling for a while, ever since reading Jayme Barrett's best-selling "Feng Shui Your Life."

Practicioners believe it's only in a mess-free environment that one can reduce the stresses of everyday life and increase productivity. In other words, you have to clear the clutter.

"It's not just an architectural style or philosophy," he says. "It's a way of life."

It took contractor Gary Shanahan of American Log Homes of Pennsylvania more than seven months to bring architect David Morgan's plans to life. Along with updated mechanicals and new windows and doors with shoji-like inserts, the remodel included a new gourmet kitchen with cork floors, open shelving and leather-finish concrete countertops by Nicole Santella of Take Pride Construction and Design in the South Side.

They also reworked a cramped and dark entry to make it more welcoming. According to the book, if your "mouth of chi" has bad feng shui, the energy entering and exiting your house will suffer. Mr. Homyak's solution: paint the trim and front door a "fortunate" red; dress the stoop with ornamental railings by Groll Ornamental Wrought Iron and heat the steps; and decorate the front door with carved lion ornament by artist Elizabeth Pallack.

Smooth-flowing chi is equally important inside the house. So down came the arched stucco wall that divided the living and dining rooms into two cave-like spaces. Upstairs, they raised claustrophobically low ceilings by shortening and elevating the existing cross beams and adding ceiling fans.

Now that it has been faux-painted by Mr. Homyak's son in shades of blue and rust, the first floor is harmonious as it is funky. Contemporary glass and upholstered pieces from Perlora and Weisshouse share floor space with Asian pieces, like a distressed Chinese screen bar from Furnitureland South in High Point, N.C. Setting the original red- and white-oak floor aglow is a fiberglass floor lamp with a geometric design.

More walls came down upstairs, and Mr. Homyak turned a "nun's cell"-sized bedroom and small bath into a spa-like black slate bath with a ginormous solid-nickel slipper tub and walk-in glass shower. A water closet is cleverly concealed behind a shoji screen handcrafted by Tadao Arimoto of Arimoto Design & Woodworking in the South Side.

A second bedroom became a walk-in closet with floor-to-ceiling shelving and more cubbies for shoes and sweaters than a kindergarten classroom. The serene master bedroom, meanwhile, is warmed by a drystacked stone Lopi gas fireplace.

Perhaps the most surprising space is the basement. By taking down two walls and putting up a cedar ceiling, Mr. Shanahan transformed its dank, dark rooms into the ultimate man cave, complete with faux-finished plaster walls and a 300-bottle wine rack from IKEA.

Outside, Mr. Homyak replaced an ugly cyclone fence with stained cedar walls and tore out the grass so Jim Lampl of Lampl Landscaping could create a Japanese-style garden. A spiral staircase on a far wall of the new garage takes friends to the roof, which later this year will be made green with grass and plants.

"It will be a great place to gather," says Mr. Homyak.

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