After buying a new home with her husband in Villanova in 2016, Julieann Shanahan hired Berwyn-based Peter Zimmerman Architects to help her renovate the structure and fulfill her pavilion dreams, writes Nancy Keates for The Wall Street Journal.

The family purchased the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom stone home for $2.8 million. It was constructed in 1999 on land that was once part of the legendary Ardrossan Estate of the Philadelphia Story fame. 

The renovation cost a million dollars and lasted for more than two years. The majority of the work on the house involved “reorganizing,” as Zimmerman called it, or changing how the rooms were defined and closing off a balcony, among other things. 

“We gave it a good sense of order and got rid of all the peculiarities,” said Zimmerman. 

While renovations on the main house were underway, Shanahan focused on the outside. She had recently become obsessed with pavilions and wanted to add a pool pavilion. The free-standing, 500-square-foot building was also designed by Zimmerman. 

With enough room for two more structures, Shanahan opted for two more pavilions, one of which cost $1.2 million to build and was completed in January 2023. 

Read more about the home in The Wall Street Journal.

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