Family centered

It sits on a quiet street in Haddonfield, this house with the look of a small castle in the French countryside, complete with a massive arched front door and turret. There's a grove of trees in the front yard, and an expansive backyard.

It all feels solid, welcoming.

Like many athletes, Danny Briere, the boyishly handsome Philadelphia Flyers center, yearned for that sense of stability after too many moves. He may be a long way from his birthplace in Gatineau, Quebec, but Haddonfield is definitely starting to feel like home.

"We learned about the town from some of my hockey teammates and discovered this house when it was still under construction," Briere says. "It was just what we were looking for when we arrived in the summer of 2007."

Custom builder Peter Greenberg had begun work for another athlete who ended up leaving the area, so Briere and his wife, Sylvie, still had a chance to tailor the five-bedroom house to their own needs. With three active sons, that meant creating a totally family-friendly space within walls that already existed.

Step inside the domestic world of the Briere family, and you're in a warm, enveloping, informal place.

An open-design downstairs allows unobstructed views of nearly every room, with a dramatic curved stairway as a centerpiece. Uncarpeted, the stairway's wood gleams - and is, Sylvie Briere notes, blissfully low-maintenance. Not a small issue with Caelan, 10, Carson, 9, and Cameron, 7, running up and down it, sometimes with Zoe, the bulldog, and Zora, the Boston terrier, in tow.

The obvious gathering place is a large family room with beamed ceiling and chocolate-brown walls. When the massive pecan-wood entertainment center that has relocated with the family many times happily found a perfect fit against a side wall, Sylvie celebrated.

"Wherever we go, it goes," she says, "and the fact that there was this wonderful, unbelievably perfect spot for it meant that we really belonged here!"

With a fireplace crafted of the same stone as the home's facade, there is a natural and striking focal point in the room. Underfoot stretch hand-carved planks of walnut flooring. "And the nicks and scratches don't even show," says Sylvie.

Danny credits his wife with most of the decorating, though he takes a bow for the spectacular sectional sofa in the great room. He selected its muted tapestry fabric, a handsome blend of toasts and beiges.

"I'm not much on decorating," he admits. "But this time, I got lucky."

Then there's the ultimate "guy" recliner in the family room, a black-leather beauty complete with built-in massager that Danny says is very well used - by him.

With their casual lifestyle in mind, the Brieres rethought the space that might have been the dining room and transformed it into a game room, dominated by a classic pool table with a Tiffany-style light fixture above it.

At one end of the "pool hall" is a definite conversation starter - a framed trophy case. Sylvie says it took some convincing for her husband to agree to display the piece, which chronicles his first all-star game in Dallas in 2007, where Danny was named most valuable player.

Within the case are Danny's first-period hockey stick, the score sheet from the game, and the keys to the Dodge Nitro he received as MVP - and handed over to his sister.

Just beyond the game room, sharing its two-sided stone fireplace, is a cozy den that doubles as Sylvie's reading nook. Two of the family's favorite pieces are there: a handsome globe that makes for great geography lessons, and the bronze sculpture of a hockey player that Danny received as a gift from his wife one Father's Day.

One necessity, of course, was a place where three active boys, all hockey players, could be free to romp. The basement has become a hangout for the kids, who love its freedom from most house rules.

Danny Briere will tell you that he never wanted a fancy, formal house. He always wanted one that felt easy and livable, comfortable and comforting. One not in a city, but in a town like Haddonfield.

"And now, when I step inside that wonderful front door," he says, "I know that I'm really home."