"We always liked Moorestown, and when the builder showed us this lot, even though it was pretty bare, we saw its potential," says Pat, a cardiologist at Hahnemann Hospital. "We were ready to make a change from our home in Cherry Hill, and ready to build the exact home we wanted."
A trip to New Orleans persuaded the couple to add porches to the exterior of the house, and the late John Olivieri, the architect who worked with them through custom builder Gary Gardner of Medford, often spent long hours with them planning the design.
A decision they've never regretted: placing the master suite on the home's first floor. "The upstairs space can be closed off and used for guests, and we still have all that we need," says Pat.
Neither Mary nor Pat could have imagined that 20-plus years down the road, the home would still be a work in progress. "There's always something to change," says Mary, who credits Moorestown designer Anita Bowman of Ambiance Interiors as their patient mentor and guide. Over the years, she's also become a close friend who shares the couple's notion that change invigorates.
One week there may be a new piece of furniture where none was the week before. A picture may be relocated, a rug repurposed. Life is never dull when it comes to Procacci decor - inside or out.
Today, gardens bloom, towering trees and abundant shrubs are everywhere, and from almost every one of the 122 house windows, you can see something beautiful growing. A backyard pond adds more beauty and interest - the best vista comes from sitting in the sun porch on its rattan furniture - along with the English garden and handsome maples that march across the front of the home.
