THE GREAT INDOORS: Touring the <i>Marley & Me</i> home in Chadds Ford, Pa

Reporter Meg Augustin takes you inside some of Philly's most fab dwellings to showcase our city's unique grasp on design and architecture.

Living in Philadelphia, one might forget that the city and its suburbs are nestled within the sprawling Pennsylvania countryside. And a picturesque one at that. Rolling hills and thick forests are dotted with Dutch barns and stone homesteads. This perfect country seclusion was exactly what Lisa and John Ennis were looking for when they moved back to Brandywine Valley. Always wanting to live in a stonewood farm house, Lisa couldn't pass up the chance when she came across her dream home. When they bought their Chadds Ford home in 1996, it was an ancient remnant of what it once was. The roof was in shambles, the plumbing had to be replaced and the land's out buildings were unkept. Yet, there was something about the home — its antique, fireside glow — that pulled the Ennis family in. After countless repairs, the couple refurbished the home to its original glory — outfitting the five bedroom, three-and-a-half bath abode with antique accoutrements, an enormous dining room fireplace and a homey glow that provides the perfect home to raise a family.

The Ennises weren't the only people to take notice of the house. Ten years after first opening their front door, Lisa came home to find a note in it. Her home had been noticed by a location scout of a major motion picture company. Being an arts photographer herself, Lisa was used to using her picturesque abode as a fashionable landscape. So when they were approached to use their home as the site of a Hollywood film set, the couple took it as a compliment and agreed. During Christmas of 2008, all of America could get a glimpse of her cozy Pennsylvania home in the movie Marley & Me. The production company wanted a home that presented homey, family-style warmth where the reality-based couple could raise their three children.

As it happened, the home they found didn't have to change much to become silver-screen ready. Having three children themselves, the Ennis' home was already family-friendly and Lisa's collection of antiques proved to be the look the movie studio was looking for. "They didn't change much", says Lisa. "They brought in fake plastic trees for the fall and covered the lawn with 'snow' for the winter, but the inside stayed the same." The film shines light on the charisma of the home, focusing on the stone exterior, the enormous original fireplace in the dining room and the beautiful kitchen with its hanging copper pots.

It's the kitchen that Lisa will miss the most when she leaves her home. After fifteen years in Chadds Ford, the couple has decided to leave. With their youngest moving out a few years ago, the house seems too large for just the two of them. "I will miss the house so much, but I want another family to enjoy it," says Lisa. The wish comes from years of quality family time spent in the home. The couple would often invite family and friends, who would sit in the dining room around the great wooden table with its mismatched farm chairs and revel in the home's beauty and comfort. "We had millions of dinner parties there. There isn't a lot of electrical lighting in that room so we would light all the candles, which would just add to the warmth."  When asked, Lisa speaks of countless good memories of her children playing in the steam behind their home, of her candlelit Christmases and the meals she made in her beloved copper-clad kitchen. Few homes are able to fulfill the Hollywood imagery of family-filled warmth, but the Ennis' home was one that actually inspired it.

Want to show off the home you've worked so hard to put together? Email Meg at megan.augustin@citypaper.net.

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