The Marvelous Miles Home

Story by Deb Peterson. Photographed by Kathryn Miles and Deb Peterson

When Kathryn Miles decides to make a dream come true, she leaves nothing to chance.

Absolutely nothing.

The marvelous home you see on these pages is her vision, her design, her insistence. Not only did she draw the blueprint herself, she was on site every single day supervising its realization.

It wasn’t always easy, from the very beginning.

In 2003, Kathryn was perfectly happy in her home in the woods of Arkadelphia. She had retired from teaching anatomy and physiology at Henderson State University and was busy loving life.

When husband Joe came to Mountain Home as president of First National Bank & Trust Company, she wasn’t exactly on board with the idea.

Joe’s coworker, Dwayne Hickman, took Joe on a drive around Baxter County and stopped at the home of Forrest Cotter, his brother-in-law, to show Joe a stunning view of the White River valley. There happened to be a For Sale sign on the lot next door. Joe could hardly wait to show Kathryn.

“Upon seeing the lot, and the view, for the first time,” Joe recalls, “Kathryn said she would move to Mountain Home without reservation if we bought the lot.”

Done deal.

Kathryn spent the next several years envisioning the best ways to bring her gorgeous Arkansas view inside their home.

“That’s Matney Mountain,” she says, pointing across the valley. Push Mountain Road crosses the White River just downstream. “We see eagles and coyotes, and we’ve had a roadrunner on the deck.”

But she couldn’t find a house plan that suited her dream.

“How do you get a dream out of you and communicated to the people doing the building?” Kathryn asked.

She bought a CAD (computer-aided design) program and taught herself to use it.

“Her biology background coupled with an innate attention to detail delivered a fascinating design,” Joe says. “She was determined to have the beautiful Ozarks scenery as the central focus when you enter our home. The windows emphasize the outdoors and allow us to enjoy the changing of the seasons in little bits each day.”

“It just came out of me,” Kathryn says. “I started the project and it consumed me.”

Once her design was ready, site preparation took 18 months, with Rip Gresham as consulting contractor. The building of the home, which has geothermal heating and air, and solar hot water, took another 14 months.

Every day, Kathryn was there.

“I want big windows,” she stressed.

“Well, you’re talking about commercial windows,” the builders replied.

“Yes! If that’s what it takes.”

She wanted the kitchen to be open to the rest of the house for entertaining.

She wanted the railing on the deck to be open so it wouldn’t block the view.

She did not want to look into the bathroom and see the toilet.

Kathryn went in search of Arkansas materials and artisans who fit her vision. “I wanted it to be Arkansas all the way,” she says.

Tim Sutterfield built the massive rock wall in the foyer, and laid all the exterior rock, using Arkansas stone.

Shannon Clements forged the bronze M door handles and the steel railings.

Greg Davis created the many built-in bookcases and trimmed the entire home, including the stairway.

“All are artists,” Joe says.

It was November 2010 before Joe and Kathryn finally moved in.

When you walk in the front door, you see straight through the house and into the valley. The south wall of the master bedroom is glass, too.

“I stand here and stare in awe that it can be so beautiful,” Kathryn says. “Before we even get out of bed, the world is beautiful.”

And the storms!

Kathryn’s photos of roiling black clouds and lightning bolts surely only hint at the spectacular show. The couple turns off all the lights and delights in watching.

“And we can see fireworks from everywhere,” Kathryn says.

The Inspiration

Kathryn and Joe both appreciate the architectural style of Frank Lloyd Wright and his Arkansas protégé Fay Jones.

“It’s Frank Lloyd Wright with a twist,” Kathryn says.

She calls it organic modern.

“It’s contemporary prairie to me,” Joe says.

They agreed unanimously on a name for their new home: Milestone. Kathryn designed the cornerstone.

“Moving into the home was indeed a milestone in our lives together,” Joe says.

The couple shares a love of art in all its forms—painting, design, music, and theatre.

Their home is filled with art that has special meaning to them—many pieces were painted by Kathryn’s students, some are gifts from their children (they have four daughters and three grandchildren, with another due in October), some are from friends, and some from artists they met in the places Joe and Kathryn have lived.

Some of their art was commissioned, and some is just plain cool. They found botanical art from 1798 in Eureka Springs. Joe, a big baseball fan, has a Josephine Graham painting of Stan the Man his dear friend Margaret Vandyke willed to him. He also has Elvis drummer DJ Fontana’s drumsticks.

Creativity abounds in other ways at Milestone. Joe, a passionate reader, has a wall of books that is already completely full. Kathryn loves sewing, and made many of the textile pieces in the home.

It’s About Heart

“Kathryn poured her heart and soul into our home,” Joe says. “It’s serene here.”

Sally, the couple’s red hound dog, Jackson, a Westie, and a tabby kitten named Maxwell Smart clearly agree.

“Unconditional love is abundant at our house,” Joe says.

The experience of building her dream home has changed Kathryn.

“It pulled something out of me,” she says. “I want women to know they can do this themselves. If they want to build a home and can’t afford an architect, or want to create their own design, they can do it.”

M! October/November 2011

Milestone Gallery:

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