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During the design process, the couple focused on the home's natural setting. Floors were created from ash that was cut from the homesite. David Hague oversaw the milling process, taking the wood from its raw state to finished floorboards. The dining room table is made of maple, also cut from trees on the site. At right, the stone fireplace is a dominant feature in the open floor plan. Photo by Todd Yarrington.
A driveway meanders through a plot of land just south of downtown Pickerington. The paved entry is nearly hidden and the homeowners like it that way. It passes over two bridges, past a crisp, white barn and through a field golden in late fall with Indiangrass and other such plants.
Before you arrive at the wooded homesite, you’ll pass by hidden security cameras along the way. The man of the house chuckles about waking up in the middle of the night recently when he was alerted there was a car on the property. It turned out that local police didn’t realize that the homeowner would be awakened by an alarm system well before they turned around to leave.
Welcome to the dream home of David Hague and Tammy Miller, situated on 56 rolling acres. The couple was living in a typical suburban neighborhood in Reynoldsburg when they decided it was time to have more space.
Miller used Google Maps to investigate parcels of land for sale. When they visited one plot—about 10 acres—Hague said it wouldn’t do. He could see through the trees; there just wasn’t enough privacy.
Finally, they bought this Pickerington plot from an aging owner who had refused to split the acreage. They started discussing where they would build their house and eventually came to a spot at the rear of the property deep in thick woods and well hidden from neighbors and the passing highway.
The process began with the help of an architect, but took off as the builder made adjustments with Hague’s input along the way. The homeowners adore their design, featuring a modern home that incorporates wood cut from the property in its flooring and furniture.
To this couple, naturalists as well as environmentalists, saving trees was an important part of building their home. “We agonized over every tree we had to cut,” explains Hague. In the beginning, the house site was shifted two feet to the left to save a large ash tree that sits in the front yard.
Before the home could be built, though, there appeared to be insurmountable challenges. The road to the site needed to be installed, including the two bridges that crossed over a flood plain. Miller and Hague embarked on research that ended with a 50-page bridge impact study to convince local authorities that the project was doable. Miller then Googled “old bridges” to begin learning how they would purchase such constructions and have them delivered to their site. Eventually, small bridge beams were purchased from United Precast of Mount Vernon and bridges were built by Double Z Construction.
The couple had other, more personal, concerns, too. They decided that the ash lumber cut from the woods on the homesite could be used for flooring throughout the structure. Hague became the facilitator for this project, ensuring that freshly cut timber got to a couple of different mills and came back in the form of floorboards to be installed by builder Lem Tschappat of Victory Homes. “Lem’s attention to detail in the building process and forever trying to make sure we were happy were vital to making this project a truly pleasurable experience,” says Hague.
From nearly the moment they purchased the parcel, the couple simultaneously planned their house and began to rehabilitate the one-time farmland where soybeans and corn were grown. Even though neither are trained biologists, they’ve made a hobby out of ridding the land of invasive plants, such as garlic mustard, and of preventing infestations such as the Emerald Ash Borer. “We both shared the longing to take something back to its original state,” says Hague.
As the home was built, though, interior details were just as important. The living room ceiling soars to three floors, past two bedrooms on the second level, where a circular stairway is evident as it goes to a third-floor loft. “We designed the house around the fireplace,” says Hague, pointing out the natural stone structure in the living room area. The couple decided to install only electricity, forgoing the need for gas lines. In case of an outage, a transformer can be hooked up to the tractor in the barn to create power.
The couple—who travel into and around the city for their jobs—love their lodgelike retreat. A neutral color tone is used throughout the home, which features massive windows with views of the woods. Scioto Kitchens created cabinetry from maple for the kitchen area, but most other wood used in the home’s furniture was harvested on site. Black appliances by KitchenAid integrate well.
Furnishings are sparse in this home, and the couple is happy to admit to that fact. They are patient as their furniture makers take months to create custom-designed pieces for nearly every room in the house. Mike and Emily Kincaid of American Artisans Woodworking and Mark Rasche of Rasche Cabinetmakers have created many of the pieces with wood cut from the home’s site.
For example, an elaborate cherry armoire highlights the living room. The adjoining dining area accommodates a table made of maple. (Matching chairs were made by Amish craftsmen.) Nearby is a spacious screen porch and additional French doors lead to a patio.
The homeowners’ master suite is on the second floor, along with a guest room. For this space, a bedroom set was created from local hardwood. The peaceful sea mist color tone selected here enhances the home’s resortlike feel, while allowing the natural background to prevail.
Another custom-created cherry armoire houses elaborate technology that senses the weather and shows views from the property’s four security cameras. In addition to intruder alarms, the homeowners receive alerts for severe weather, which is important since their bridges could be flooded. Thus, they would have enough time to pack a car and head out.
The spacious walk-in closet and a master bath adjoin the bedroom. The bath features an oversized shower, neutral décor and maple cabinets. Coordinating with the light blue-green tone of the master bedroom, the tundra-ocean floor tile is by American Florim. The bathroom’s countertop is CaesarStone’s rosemary. Skylights were added. “We wanted to walk through the house without turning on lights,” explains Miller.
Outside the master suite, a circular stairway winds its way to the third level. Large windows provide awe-inspiring views—especially in winter when wooded shadows and rolling hills are more evident. A creek—dry for most seasons—begins gurgling as the snows fall and waters begins to fill it. The couple uses this area as an office.
The planning of this home’s construction is evident here, as Hague ensured that furnishings could be installed by designing a piece of the loft’s railing that is removable. The couple has ordered custom desks from their furniture makers to eventually fill this space.
The lower level of this home features yet more living space. A cozy family room incorporates a large, walnut entertainment center that accommodates a 52-inch flat-screen television. Through sliding glass doors, a covered patio features stone arches and pillars supporting a towered structure that adds more architectural detail to the rear of the home.
In the front of the house, the couple enjoys pointing to their favorite trees, the covered walkway from the home to the garage, which was positioned to save more trees, and the unique façade of the dwelling. “We do have a sense of angular,” reports Hague. This modern-style house seems perfectly situated on this parcel of land, on a knoll in the midst of deep woods.
Hague reminisces about two years of construction and the thrill of having his father, who drove big equipment as a teen, assist the builder during excavation. To honor his parents and the support they provided throughout this lengthy development process, he and Miller have added a plaque on a huge boulder found near one of the bridges. “I would be a bad son not to recognize their valuable support to our project,” says Hague. “They provided us with much practical and emotional support.”
The couple has named their property Kingfisher Farms, after the Kingfisher birds they’ve spotted on the land. Through the few years they’ve been working and living here, they’ve found arrowheads on the site, seen coyotes and horned owls, and heard screech owls. Additionally, they’ve consulted biologists at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, who have helped identify 178 native plant species and 28 native tree species on the property. And the homeowners ordered a prairie seed mix native to Ohio from a company in Nebraska to create the glowing field through which their lane passes.
Certainly this is a couple that really lives on their entire 56-acre plot. And they are equally pleased with their unique dwelling. “It has more of a vacation home feel,” says Miller. “That’s kind of what we’re going for."
Sherry Beck Paprocki is the editor of Columbus Monthly Homes.
This story appeared in the January 2010 issue of Columbus Monthly Homes.
