A sanctuary to ‘reconnect with nature’
The Cecilian family made their 12-acre property in Ottsville, Bucks County, into a home for more than 27 animals.
As a moving van delivered John and Jennifer Cecilian’s furniture to their new Ottsville home in early 2024, a truck rolled up carrying four donkeys. These new additions joined Daisy, a senior pig, and Chip and Potato, two baby potbellied pigs, who had already settled in.
Three Pigs Farm, a sanctuary on the Cecilian family’s property, was taking shape.
“John and I are both big animal adoption advocates, and with our business, we were both feeling incredibly stressed,” recalled Jennifer. She and John are CFO and CEO, respectively, of Cecilian Partners, a real estate software company.
“We were looking for something that was going to give us a reconnect with nature,” she said.
As soon as they saw the property — 12 quiet, peaceful acres of rolling hills with a barn structure and a house they could renovate — they immediately felt a connection.
The sanctuary is now home to more than 27 animals, including steers, heifers, Katahdin sheep, and the Cecilian family’s four dogs. The farm animals are housed within a 1,500-square-foot barn, three fenced paddocks, and a 25-foot run-in shelter.
“We bottle-fed the baby steers, and now they’re almost 3,000 pounds,” said Jennifer. “We realized we could make a small but material difference in these animals’ lives. It became a passion project.”
That passion is shared by their daughters, Stella, 9, and Delilah, 5, who adore their unusual pets.
Many of the animals were adopted from other sanctuaries across Bucks and Montgomery Counties, including Rose Bridge Farm & Sanctuary and Ross Mill Farm. The property is enrolled in Pennsylvania’s Act 319, a conservation program offering tax benefits to landowners committed to keeping their land undeveloped and dedicated to agriculture, open space, or forestry.
“This initiative not only preserves the rural character of the area but also combats urban sprawl, maintaining the environmental health of the surrounding region,” said John.
But the two-story house, built in the early 1980s, needed updating when they bought it. They hired Wolstenholme Associates in Doylestown to help with the architecture and interior design, and Ernst Brothers based in Spring House.
“The goal of this renovation was to make the home more functional for the Cecilians,” said Joe Ernst, partner at Ernst Brothers. “Extending the first floor with an 8-foot-by-16-foot addition allowed us to relocate and expand the kitchen and create a new breakfast nook and beverage bar, which works much better for this young, busy family than the previous floor plan.”
The six-month renovation also included replacing the roof, overhauling the landscaping, and adding new windows, a wooden front door, and board and batten siding. The 3,300-square-foot house has four bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms, and lots of windows with views of the animals out back.
“We painted the home Sherwin Williams Natural Choice white, a color that screams French country, with black gutters and copper accents on the roof for a Bucks County heritage aesthetic,” said John.
The couple aimed to design a beautiful yet functional kitchen, to make cooking easy and fun. The centerpiece is the large butcher-block island where friends and family gather while the couple cooks. Sage green custom cabinets with unlacquered brass hardware and fixtures, and a white subway tile backsplash are bathed in bright sunlight from a wall of windows.
The kitchen includes a 48-inch Wolf range, a 36-inch Shaw white ceramic farm sink, a Bosch refrigerator, and a Sharp drawer microwave. The family often eat in the sunny, custom-built breakfast nook. The kitchen flows into the family room where the Cecilians enjoy watching football in front of the wood-burning fireplace.
Jennifer’s garden provides fresh vegetables for the family and the animals, including lettuce, kale, bell peppers, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and jalapeño peppers. Their hay comes from one of their neighbors.
“The beautiful thing about living in farm country is the networking and neighborly dynamic we have here,” said John.
The farm requires a big commitment of time and money. Beyond the financial costs, the couple spend two hours each morning and afternoon caring for their animals.
“We have certain moments where we’re beyond grateful and can’t believe what we’ve been able to create, and certain moments when work-life, parent-life, and life itself make it hard,” said John.
But they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“The girls spend hours outside every day connecting with the animals,” said Jennifer. “That opportunity brings a level of appreciation for life that you might not get otherwise.”
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