Most people associate the revered Modernist architect Louis Kahn with his enduring institutional buildings, such as the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, the National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. But Kahn designed houses, too—extraordinary dwellings filled with natural light and beloved by their owners. One of the nine in existence, the 1967 Fisher-Kahn House in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, was deeded to the National Trust in 2011 through an agreement with its original owners, Doris and Norman Fisher.

The National Trust created a strict protective easement for the property and found a preservation-minded couple, Charles Firmin-Didot and Bianca Sforni, to buy it. A story in the Winter 2015 issue of Preservation magazine takes a closer look at the house’s past and present, but here we’ve included some reflections on what it’s like to be there from those who know it best.

Nina Fisher, daughter of Doris and Norman Fisher: “It’s a very livable house. Its moods shifted with our own moods, almost like the set of a play. I remember putting on music in the living room and lighting a fire in the fireplace. I’d have candlelight or low lighting and listen to music, lying on the sofa while looking out at the red maple tree. You could create a mood that suited you at that moment. Other times it was more playful and treehouse-y, poised at the edge of the outdoors. It’s very malleable. We often would have family dinners at the coffee table in front of the fireplace, and a whole other mood was created. The ceiling was so high, the mood could be contained. You could create little pods of light."

Bianca Sforni, co-owner of the Fisher-Kahn House: "This is a house of light; it always changes perspective. All the seasons are good here, because it changes so much. It’s a classical house in the purity of the design, the lines, in the geometrical relationships. It’s classical in that it will not pass—we will always recognize it. It’s very much like a boat, this house. It’s a place where I can think. It’s a wonderful place to write. You have just the birds that surround you. The space changes according to the time of day or night; the space around you, it expands or shrinks according to the light."

Charles Firmin-Didot, co-owner of the Fisher-Kahn House: "It takes time to cover the walls, but I am not even sure we want to put too much [up], because we are enjoying the contrast between these lime [plaster] walls and the wood and are enjoying the space as it is. The house is so comfortable for the eye, meaning every corner is a pleasure and is calm as well. There is nothing irritating your eye. Early in the morning, when you wake up, the light is magical. You sleep really well here. There is this great fireplace, like a column of a temple inside the room. It heats the room so well. The big windows are facing almost north, to receive the forest. It’s like being in a Monet painting."