HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — In a small Missouri town, among the stately homes of a beloved neighborhood, a cottage sits proudly against the conventional local architecture, as if it were ripped from the pages of a fairytale.

You can find it on Pearl Street, just a few blocks from the revitalized downtown district of Harrisonville, in a neighborhood lined with mature trees and historic Colonial, Victorian and Craftsman properties that have graced the town’s streets since the 1800s.

The home is quite impossible to miss. At first glance, it may appear as nothing more than a bright and quirky residence cared for by a pair of whimsical and free-spirited homeowners.

But, if you look a little closer, you will realize the home is much more than just a patchwork of pastels and storybook facades. It’s the embodiment of a hometown couple’s hard work, love for their community, love for their family, and of course, love for a popular film cherished by many over the last decade.

Patricia and Heath Forester purchased the “Up” house in 2024.

Heath is the owner and CEO of HP Home Solutions, a construction company that specializes in home repairs and remodeling. Patricia is the co-owner and co-CEO of the company. However, she spends most of her time volunteering at her local church and working as an administrative coordinator at REHOPE, an organization that helps victims of human trafficking.

Each, in their own way, has made an impact in Harrisonville, and since purchasing the property, the “Forester” name has only continued to grow.

Initially, they were known as the couple who renewed their vows each and every year. But now, they have earned the reputation as the real-life Carl and Ellie.

“We really enjoyed the movie. We kind of started with the ’50s theme, and then [Patricia was] like, ‘Oh, wait, hey, this is kind of like this,'” Heath said, referring to the house.

“The movie is so wonderful,” Patricia added. “It’s such a good movie about relationships, you know? About different relationships between a husband and wife, or children, or neighbors. And that is our priority — our relationship.”

Before creating the (now) local attraction, the Pearl Street property sat as an overlooked structure, begging for attention from someone unafraid of getting their hands a little dirty.

And it turns out, Heath and Patricia were the perfect people to take on the challenge.

“We moved on July 25 of ’24, and it was done pretty much by October,” Heath said.

He recruited some workers from his team at HP Home Solutions to help with the project, and according to the Foresters, despite all the work that needed to be done, the “Up house job” never actually felt like a job.

“We’re good with timelines and scheduling, and our guys loved the project. They loved working on this. They were having a good time, and were like, ‘It’s hard to be in a bad mood and work on this house,'” Heath said.

If you were to step into the home yourself, you would understand why.

From the baby pink and butter yellow interior to the retro appliances to the “Up” memorabilia to the bright pink bear head adorned with fake eyelashes, lipstick and a string of pearls, everyone who walks into the Forester home is transported into the colorful world of Heath and Patricia.

Before the project, the couple had already tackled a large renovation project on their previous home in the town.

The couple owned a 5-bedroom, 5-bath historic property, built in 1888. It stands at a whopping 2,775 square feet and features a wrap-around porch, wide eaves, carved brackets and wooden dentils, all of which were meticulously maintained by the Foresters during their time inside the home.

According to historic city records, the Walnut Street property is the only “Italianate” structure in all of Harrisonville. Under the ownership of Heath and Patricia, each and every update merely highlighted the intricate details of the home’s almost 140-year history.

Despite its seemingly perfect size for their large and growing family, though, the Foresters said it was beginning to feel too big.

Both Heath and Patricia agreed it took away from the one thing they cared about most: being close and spending quality time with their family and with each other.

“It was too much to take care of, and then, what was the icing on the cake? Our grandkids,” Patricia said. “Four of them came over, and they were all in the master, on the floor sleeping, and I was like, ‘This is ridiculous. We don’t need all this space.'”

The pair then went on a mission to find a house with a similar charm and character, but significantly smaller. And on a random day, after driving around the neighborhoods near the downtown square, Heath and Patricia stumbled upon an old Queen Anne cottage complete with peeling paint, deteriorating siding and a crumbling foundation.

But rather than seeing something worth tearing down, they saw it as something they could grow into with their family.

“I drove by here one day and saw a lady putting a sign out that it was for sale, and I took a picture of what looked like a haunted house and sent it to him, and I said, ‘I hope you like this. We’re going to buy it.’ And we did,” Patricia added.

By June 2024, the Pearl Street property was finally theirs. The next step: a complete home renovation unlike anything the town had ever seen.

“We’ve tried to stick with the color themes of the movie since it matched the house, and then inside, just little different things — characters from the movie, and then the same pastel, whimsical, fun vibe, as well.”

Finding the correct colors was the hardest part for the couple. They said matching real-life hues to the cartoon was far more difficult than they expected. But it all worked out in the end.

For the most part, Heath and Patricia said the reaction to their home has been positive. Even though they have received a few raised eyebrows, people mostly go out of their way to stress how much they love the home and how it makes them feel happy.

“We’ve got a lot of messages that people just feel joyful about the house,” Patricia said. “It’s a life of its own.”

“As we did one thing, I would see a car pull up when we were working, and then there’d be two cars the next day — or the next week, there’d be three or four. And I was like, ‘Hey, this is kind of turning into something.'”

By Halloween that year, the Foresters decided to take the theme to a whole new level by dressing up as the main characters of the movie, Carl and Ellie.

According to the couple, thousands of kids and families showed up that day, excited to take a photo with them and with the house.

But even though the home has become a sight for locals and travelers, that was never the intention.

“We didn’t start out with the plan to create this. It just kind of happened,” Patricia said.

Heath added, “We just kind of called it the ‘Up’ house between me and her, and then put the little up stuff up. But then it really took off.”

When asked why they think the home means so much to people, Heath and Patricia said they believe the labor of love exudes the love that they have for each other. They call it their own “Paradise Falls.”

Now, after a little more than a year, the Foresters are still chipping away at their dream home, one project at a time.

Through all the ups and downs, the couple says the house has only cemented their relationship, not just with each other, but with their community — proving that “adventure is out there” for those who are willing to look for it.

“I believe our home gives people hope,” Patricia said. “No matter how difficult life may seem, things will get better. Just keep looking up.“