A few years back, Brian Niles wanted to live in a rural area with his wife Adrienne and their five-year-old son, writes Paul Jablow for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Brian owns a Havertown-based coffee roasting business, while Adrienne is the enrollment director at Malvern Prep.

But whether it was existing homes or empty lots to build, nothing matched their needs.

Even when they found a perfect location in Chadds Ford, they didn’t like the house.

So they remodeled. The conversion won an award from the Home Builders Association of Chester/Delaware/Bucks and Montgomery Counties.

Architects John Marshall, Julie Bruner, and others at the Marshall-Sabatini firm opened up the entire right wing of the home for a multipurpose great room 50 feet long.

The remodeled house now has a modern farmhouse appeal.

“At the front facade,” Marshall said, “symmetry and balance are greatly improved with the addition of a new porch, wider dormers, and a more prominent entry with stone arch.”

There’s an expanded kitchen and pantry for entertaining and an attic converted to a yoga studio.

The finished basement has gaming and media areas, a bunk room, kitchenette, and wine cellar.   

Read more about the Chadds Ford home in The Philadelphia Inquirer.