Several months ago, I received an email from a reader named Vanessa who lives in Paris, France.  Vanessa was inquiring about the lakeside rental home Spencer and Lara shared in last year’s movie Like Cats & Dogs.  While I had scene the movie when it first aired, I couldn’t remember too much about the locations, only that it filmed in White Rock.  I specifically recalled this detail because my cousins used to live there prior to relocating to the Murrayville area of Langley.   This movie was part of the Spring Fever 2017 line-up, starring Cassidy Gifford and Wyatt Nash.  From Hallmark:

 “Spencer is a cat person. Lara is a dog person. Spencer is headed to a beach town to work on his thesis. Lara is coming to the same beach town to escape the shambles of her life. Their personalities couldn’t be more different, but when a reservation screw up lands them – and their pets – in the same vacation rental house, they all have to figure out how to get along with each other”.  

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you already know how intrigued I become when I receive an email about a specific location, especially if its whereabouts are unknown to me.  And that is exactly what happened when I received Vanessa’s email.  So, Vanessa…this post is for you!!!

The first thing I did was re-watch the movie, just to see if I recognized anything.  Over the past year, I have become much more familiar with areas like Langley, Abottsford, and Maple Ridge.  During Christmas in July, I was able to figure out the location of a house used in The Christmas Ornament, even though they never showed the front of it!  There was a large picture window in the living room, and I recognized the picket fence on the house located across the street, which told me exactly where they had filmed.  (what can I say….we all have our talents!)

After watching the movie, nothing specific jumped out at me, but I was very curious about this lakeside home.  Since I had just tracked down Will’s lake house from Hailey Dean: A Will to Kill at Rees Lake in Langley, which I wrote about here, I decided to begin the search there.  It had lots of homes around it, but this location was going to be a tough one.  You see, they never really showed the front of the home in the movie.    That doesn’t necessarily mean it cannot be found, it just means it can be a little more difficult and time consuming.  But hey, I was up for the challenge.

I took some screen shots of the home from the movie and made note of several indicators.  Indicators are what I refer to as any clues that can help identify a specific location such as a tree, roof line, signage, roads or sidewalks, numeric address, streetlights, anything that stands out.  Eventually, I began studying every lakeside home via Google Earth, which meant I was searching from above.  Ever tried that before?  I have and let me tell ya, the houses all tend to look the same!  Using the indicators, I was able to determine the house was not at Rees Lake.  However, I continued searching for lakes in B.C. and eventually hit the jackpot.   I found another potential lake and it was there that I was able to match up my clues with Google Earth and voila…I found it!!!

I reached out to Vanessa to let her know I’d located it and added it to my list of places to photograph on my next trip.  I figured, even if you couldn’t see the house from the road, I wanted to snap a picture and write a post.  But then something extraordinary happened……please, read on!!!

While up in Canada on an overnighter back in June,   I stopped by the lakeside home to snap some pics and at the precise moment I was taking my photographs, a car came down the driveway towards me.  The driver stopped and commented to me about it being a great day to take pictures and I immediately asked if he lived in the house at the end of the driveway, to which he responded yes.  I introduced myself and gave him my card and quickly explained about the email from Vanessa and my website.  He told me he was on his way out but maybe I could come by later and he would show me around!   As I’ve mentioned many times before, I don’t typically come in contact with homeowners, so I was very excited at the possibility of getting an up-close look at this sprawling lakeside home.

The next morning, I received an email from Peter, the homeowner, inviting me to come by so he could show me around.  I could hardly contain my excitement!  As I said, I don’t usually get an up-close look at a Hallmark home so when it does happen, it is always very thrilling.  For me, locations in a film are more than just a building, they are like another character.  I understand not everyone “gets” that but trust me, location buffs around the globe feel exactly the same way I do.  And that is why there are websites (like this one) and several books (I personally own 6) on the subject.

The home is very impressive in person, even more so because we only got to see a fraction of it on screen.  The lakeside views are dazzling and the day I visited the skies were blue and the sun came out to play.  Peter showed me around the property and introduced me to his wife.  They have been in the area over 20 years, having lived just across the lake prior to building this new place.  The grounds are meticulously landscaped and quite expansive.  The patio that was featured in the movie looks just as it did on screen.

Peter invited me inside the house for a quick look around and allowed me to snap a few photos to share with my readers. The interiors look very much as they did in the movie.

Production painted the living room a sea glass blue color for filming and changed some of the lighting, but it is very recognizable.  I asked Peter how the house got in the movie biz and he said a scout contacted him after driving by.

A very special thank you to Peter and his wife for inviting me into their home and allowing me to share it with you.  Thank you to Vanessa, for emailing and inquiring about this property.  What a fun experience it turned into for me!!!

What I’m Watching This Weekend:

There are lots of great repeat movies airing this weekend on the Hallmark Channel but we won’t have a new premiere until next weekend.  On Sunday evening, Chesapeake Shores season 3 is back with an all-new eppie for us!  Be sure to check your local listing for time.

August has been a record breaking month for me here at I’ve Scene It On Hallmark and  I am grateful for your support each week.  I will be back soon with an all new Hallmark location.

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