On The Market: Mid-century modern masterpiece in Wallingford for $599k

On the Market profiles homes for sale in the Philadelphia region.

It took a hundred strangers on a driving tour of mid-century modern homes to convince Bobbie Tilkens-Fisher that her talent for design could be more than a hobby.

In November 2011, the home she owned with husband Matthew Fisher was a featured destination for a crowd of mid-century modern enthusiasts. When the tour group saw the Wallingford home, people immediately started asking Tilkens-Fisher for design help.

"My husband and I laughed," she said. Fisher had been telling his wife that she should turn her eye for design into a business since they bought the house in May 2010.

"We looked at each other and said I should have had business cards," she said. "That is really the day my business started."

Since then, Tilkens-Fisher has created the At Home Modern empire, which includes personal shopping, an online store with mid-century modern furniture and accessories and interior styling. At Home Modern is also a staple at antique shows and the Franklin Flea and Clover Market.

"This house really changed my life," she said.

Their home on South Providence Road was built by famed architect Irwin Stein, who designed the home in collaboration with its original owners in 1958. Tilkens-Fisher and her husband are the second owners.

"All of the details that matter in a house are still here," Tilkens-Fisher said. "The architect's fingerprints are still all here."

When the couple purchased the four-bedroom, 3,200 square-foot home, they had inherited just three or four pieces of furniture from the era during which the house was built. Tilkens-Fisher said it was difficult to find other pieces appropriate for the very particular style in which the home already existed.

"The house dictates what looks good in it," she said. "I really wanted to try to keep it original but also with a bit of a sense of humor – sometimes modern houses can feel a little cold and that's not our vibe."

Over the next decade, they did little to transform the home's interior, but the exterior required some work. The couple ripped up the yard entirely and put up a privacy fence. They planted evergreens and other shrubs.

"Once you're on the other side of that evergreen tree, you see the house," she said. "There's nothing growing up against it or obstructing it."

Among the most striking features of the home, currently on the market for $599,000, are the enormous windows. The home features more than 90 of them. Tilkens-Fisher said it was important for her to preserve the natural light while maintaining privacy.

"My favorite thing in this house is the light and the space," she said. "There's something wonderful about the way in which the light moves around the house during the day and how the trees cast shadows."

In addition to the windows, the home includes another unusual feature: a 600-square-foot office zoned for professional use. The original owners used it as a dentist's office.

Tilkens-Fisher said when she and her husband moved in, the couple didn't have a plan for the space. After the fateful design tour, she started using it to house inventory for her business.

The couple has decided to sell the home because they feel like it's time to move back into Philadelphia, where they lived before moving to Wallingford. Fisher's interactive design firm is in the city and Tilkens-Fisher said she thinks there may be some interesting business ventures ahead for the couple there. Plus, it's where their friends and family live.

"The city is calling us," she said. "For two people out in the burbs, I feel like we should be back in the city."

Tilkens-Fisher will be holding an open house Sunday, April 19 from 1 - 3 p.m. Click to view listing >>