A few years back, Brian Niles wanted to live in a rural area with his wife, Adrienne and their 5-year-old son, writes Paul Jablow for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Brian owns a Havertown-based coffee roasting business; wife 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 at The Philadelphia Inquirer about this refurbished home in Chadds Ford.