Choosing a place to live can become overwhelming and stressful pretty quick. Especially if you’re trying to find a place before your lease runs out. But it doesn’t have to be and that’s where we come in.

The ownership behind Franklin West Apartments understand the struggles of apartment hunting. Here’s what makes us unique and your hunt for an apartment less painful.

Family Owned

Franklin West Apartments has been in the real estate industry and Pittsburgh housing market since 1965. That’s 54 years of experience to be exact. In other words, we know what we’re doing.

Between over beloved Shadyside and surrounding Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Butler, Oakmont, and Gibsonia, the Franklin West Family manages approximately 1000 apartments and townhouses.

With our experience, you can rest assured on the strength and stability of Franklin West.

Charming Victorian Homes

One of the most attractive aspects of living in Shadyside is the gorgeous Victorian homes that line the neighborhood. We recognized the beauty early on and decided it was our obligation to maintain the character and charm of these homes.

Over the years, we selected and carefully restored buildings of historical value. We paired contemporary interiors like high ceilings, fireplaces, and hardwood floors all while preserving the original characteristics of the home.

One of our most treasured Victorian homes is located at 260 Shady Ave. This brilliantly structured home was built-in 1864 by the Hasting Family! Read more on all of our Victorian homes on Shady Ave!

Check out Arcadia Publishing’s list of historic Pittsburgh mansions. It mentions many of our favorites like the Clayton at the Frick Pittsburgh.

The Best Pittsburgh Neighborhood

Yes, the houses in Shadyside are breathtaking, but there is so much more to this Pittsburgh town. Location is everything! Our Shadyside apartments are minutes from downtown and major universities like the University of Pittsburgh, Chatham, and Carnegie Mellon.

What more can we say? Shadyside’s tree-lined sidewalks are a runner’s haven. It’s a shopper’s paradise with the many, many locally owned businesses. Plus, finding something to do is never too hard with the community’s many events!

See which businesses were selected as the best in the Shadyside neighborhood!

We’ve built a reliable reputation over the years and we take pride in our business of providing the people of Pittsburgh luxury apartment services. Interested in looking at our latest listings? Click here!

Don’t forget, keep an eye on our social and blogs for apartment listings, local events, and so much more!

It’s Restaurant Week in Pittsburgh. Food lovers, rejoice! Yes, it’s officially the most delicious time of the year. If you’ve never heard of this celebration then get ready to get your socks knocked off.

Restaurant Week is 7 days of the best meal deals in the Burgh. We rounded up the Shadyside eateries participating in Pittsburgh’s Restaurant Week.

The Twisted Frenchman

The Deal: $35.19 Dinner

Let your taste buds go wild at the Twisted Frenchman. Chef Andrew Garbarino calls the shots here. This modern French eatery on 5925 Baum Boulevard will take you on one delicious experience.

Fujiya Ramen

The Deal: $15.19 Lunch & $25.19 Dinner

In the mood to give authentic Japanese cuisine a try? Pittsburghers know this is where you go to get your ramen fixing. Fujiya Ramen encompasses tradition, flavor, and with a 4.9 rating on Facebook, how can you want to go anywhere else during Pittsburgh’s Restaurant Week?

Pino’s Contemporary Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar

The Deal: $28.19 to $34.19 Dinner

Using local ingredients, Pino’s Contemporary Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar is led by Chef Joseph Mico. On 6738 Reynolds Street, this fantastic eatery is serving up the best Italian cuisine. When visiting, you can expect a knowledgeable wait staff and one deliciously fresh meal.

Click here for the Restaurant Week menu!

Muddy Water Oyster Bar

The Deal: $35.19 Dinner

We can’t say enough good things about Muddy Water Oyster Bar! Getting a 4.5 rating on both Facebook and Yelp, this eatery on 130 South Highland Ave is a must visit during Restaurant Week. At a glimpse, Muddy Waters pairs the finest shellfish America has to offer with the best Cajun food this side of the Mississippi!

Spoon

The Deal: $35.19 Dinner

Cooking up the best of American cuisine, Spoon is celebrating Restaurant week with a three-course meal for $35 bucks. Now that’s our kind of deal! With a title of “Pittsburgh’s Premier Dining Destination,” Spoon keeps things exciting by reinventing their food and drink selections with the highest quality in mind.

Keep tabs on their Instagram page all week for snapshots of the delicious food they will be serving up.

BRGR

The Deal: $20.19 Dinner for Two

You can’t go wrong with BRGR. Traditional American is the game at this eatery with plenty of gourmet burgers and handmade milkshakes to go around. Their 4-star rating on Facebook says it all.

Paris 66

The Deal: $20.19 Lunch & $35.19 Dinner

On 6018 Centre Ave, Frederic and Lori Rongier transform a slice of Pittsburgh into an authentic Paris experience. Relax and enjoy the charm of Paris 66, which offers more than the everyday French cuisine. Receiving a 4.5 on both Facebook and Yelp, you can discover this eatery knowing it’s already amazing.

 

Happy Eating!

Though it’s on everyone’s to-do list, cleaning isn’t exactly the most exciting task. Unless you’re Monica Geller from Friends. Regardless if you like it or not, cleaning is a necessary evil and there’s no better time than at the start of a new year.

We know what you’re thinking. You’re looking around and wondering how you can possibly find the time to declutter your space. We hear you, but we have a challenge for you and it’s inspired by Marie Kondo, the Netflix star of Tidying Up. Marie says, “The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”

Here’s your challenge. For one week, designate two new hours to divide and conquer each room in your apartment. Based on an average 2 bed, 2 bath apartment layout, you’ll be ready to start fresh in less than 10 days. Two hours of cleaning for 10 days.. now that’s manageable, right?

Here are a few tips to get you started so you don’t get overwhelmed with the process.   

Start Small

One thing you don’t want to do is overwhelm yourself. Compared to two-story houses, decluttering an apartment may seem like a pretty manageable task. But it’s important to take it one step at a time.

Here’s a quick tip. If you normally clean midday, try cleaning during the early morning or during the evening. Simply switching up your routine could make the chore easier on your mindset.

Like we said before, dedicate two hours to cleaning one room and come prepared. Nothing is more annoying than being elbow deep in cleaning a bathtub then realizing you forgot the lavender scented soap that washes away the chemical smell of the cleaner.

If the bathroom is your first target, grab a bucket and fill it with everything from the multi-surface cleaning spray to your favorite sponge. Same deal with all the other rooms too.

Once one room is 100% complete, then move on to the next. Apartment Guide created an amazing list of essential cleaning tools to keep your apartment in tip-top shape!

Divide and conquer

After you decide what room to start with, dedicate five separate areas to keep, donate, sell, recycle, or throw away.

Keep

More than likely your keep pile will be your biggest unless you are really on a mission to declutter your room. To make sure your keep pile doesn’t become your only pile here are some questions to ask yourself.

• Has this item been of use to me within the last year?
• Has it expired?
• Am I making up far-fetched excuses just to keep it?

Just remember what Marie said about what you own is actually a reflection of how you live your life.

Donate/Sell

What to do with the items that are still in good shape but could be cut out of your life? Donate them! Things like clothes are super easy to donate. Plus, the start of a new year is the best time to purge a few items you haven’t worn since last January. If you’re on the fence about which clothes to donate make sure to use the 3-question Keep Test above.

Other items like kitchenware, decorative knick-knacks, books, furniture, tools, or electronics can also be donated! Deliver your items to the Goodwill on 5993 Centre Ave. You can also go to the Salvation Army or the Vietnam Veterans of America, where you can even schedule a free pick up.

Now let’s say you have lightly used items, but they’re taking up too much space in your apartment. Sell them! Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist make it super easy to get extra cash off of items you don’t use anymore.

Recycle

You know all those random papers that pile up in your cabinet? Or the mountains of plastic that hide in every nook and cranny of your living space? Well, it’s time to do something about them. We challenge you to reduce your recycling footprint this year.

At Franklin West, our partners at Republic Services make recycling too easy with the mandatory All-in-One Recycling program.

Click here for guidelines to recycling in the Shadyside area.

Throw it away

If you don’t want to keep, donate, sell, or recycle items, then you need to pitch it! It’s as simple as that. Purging items can be difficult, but just think of the extra room you will have once it’s gone.

Get Crafty

After you mine through your apartment on what stays and what goes, the next step is finding a place for the things that are staying.

One key tip is to clean first, then go out and buy the extra storage after. You don’t want to jump and buy any old, clucky storage bins. Look for different ways to store items whether that’s vertically, or in hanging cubes. Unless you have a knack for labels, using clear bins will help you easily identify internal items.

There are a ton of tricks to declutter your apartment. From stylish woven baskets to multi-purpose furniture. Woman’s Day has awesome organization tips that you can easily use in your apartment.

 

Alright, now you know what steps to take for a clean and decluttered apartment. Do you accept our challenge?