How and Where the ‘Practical Magic’ House Was Re-Created for the Sequel

The Owens sisters are officially back — and so is their gothic, magical Victorian-style house.

Twenty-eight years have passed since fans were introduced to Sally and Gillian Owens in “Practical Magic.” Now, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman have reunited for the highly anticipated sequel out Sept. 10.

While getting back into character appeared to be quite natural for the two actors — who are now joined by Joey King and Maisie Williams as Sally’s grown-up daughters, Kylie and Antonia Owens, respectively —the Owens’ home was a little bit more difficult to conjure up again. It had to be built from scratch.

“Practical Magic 2” producer Denise Di Novi, who was also involved in the 1998 film, tells TODAY.com the house was re-created across the pond.

“It was a re-creation because the movie is set in London, so we built the house in London,” Di Novi shares. “The original house we had to tear down.”

Though the films are set in a New England town, the original home was built in Washington’s San Juan Island by duo Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of design firm Roman and Williams, according to Architectural Digest.

The pair built the original Owens home based on features described in the 1995 novel by Alice Hoffman. They also drew inspiration from late-19th-century scrollwork, East Coast lighthouses and Victorian homes.

The Owens house in Washington was only used for exterior shots before it was torn down. The interior scenes were filmed on a soundstage in Los Angeles.

This time around, the “Practical Magic 2” house was recreated by production designer Tom Burton on a soundstage at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England. Unlike that of the house in the last movie, the first floor was fully furnished and used for filming, as was the vegetable garden outside. Bullock said that the crew was able to take advantage of the “vast” piece of land on the backlot.

“We were able to build it and make the first floor practical, which meant you can walk inside and outside, in the kitchen, through the solarium, back outside,” Bullock said in the press notes. “And we planted apple trees that then started giving us fruit by the time we shot the film—crew members were eating the fruit.”

Kidman added that as an actor, the actual home gives you “something you can really exist in.”

“I think it’s a beautiful thing to be able to say, ‘That place, that was in existence,’” she said.

The “Practical Magic” home is a character in and of itself, achieving cult status as the perfect space for midnight margaritas.

Di Novi tells TODAY.com that bringing the sequel to life was “a dream come true.”

“It’s one of my favorite movies I’ve produced in my entire long career, and I’ve had the dream for many years to do a sequel,” she says. “This is a unique situation because the fans demanded this movie for the last 10 years.”

And as the Owens sisters and the new generation tackle their treacherous family curse in “Practical Magic 2,” their beloved Victorian abode remains a special place of gathering, family and love.

“That house was emotional; I don’t know how to explain it, it had a soul,” Bullock said. “You can’t have this film without that home.”