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By Cheryl Rade

Scott Reese had a definite vision when he and his wife, Susan, purchased their ranch home near Coburg back in 2018. He took one look at the countryside structure and immediately decided that a massive remodeling project was in order. And although he could have opted for a total demolition, he chose to preserve the house’s original integrity with a heavy-duty makeover.

“I knew right away what I wanted it to be, and I knew it could be done,” says Reese, who subsequently enlisted the help of his longtime friend and architect Dan Hill of South Arbor Architecture and Construction. “Dan had worked on several properties for me, so I knew his work and I had all the confidence in the world that he could pull this off.”

And, indeed, he did. Situated on 10 acres with stunning views of the Coburg foothills, the remodeled home is a configurational work of art that combines elegant lines and wide-open spaces. The dwelling encompasses more than 4,000 square feet and features four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a fitness room, a sizeable kitchen with pantry, a dining room and spacious living area with vaulted ceilings, an office, a laundry room, and a pool room. There’s even a dog washing station for the three Maremma Sheepdogs that watch over the Reese family’s herd of alpacas.

Three acres outside are landscaped to the nines with trees, plants and Rhododendrons. There’s also a 17-yard swimming pool, a cozy firepit and a stunning array of outdoor furniture. A sport area offers pickleball and basketball courts, a trampoline, and a putting green. The yard is enhanced with speakers and evening lights, which are operated with a phone app. “There’s a lot of tech in this place,” Reese says.

 Other structures include two guest houses, or accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and an alpaca barn. The property also has its own septic system and two wells. A concrete masterpiece of a driveway branches off in multiple directions and makes you feel as if you’re driving through a lavish resort. The driveway is lined with what Reese calls “little pucks,” which are similar to airport runway lights.

Reese’s primary goal in the remodeling process was to maintain the ranch house style, but with serious upgrades. “I didn’t want to build the Taj Mahal; that wouldn’t look right here. The ranch house fits the property,” he says. “We wanted a big house, but with a single footprint. So, we opened up a lot of vertical space as opposed to horizontal space.”

A retired businessman, Reese recently came out of retirement to manage a memory care facility that he owns in Greeley, Colorado. He also owns Echo Assurance, which sells senior living insurance for similar establishments. His wife works as an account executive for a commercial insurance firm out of Alabama. Together, they have five grown children and one grandchild.

His large family played an important role in the purchase and remodel of the Coburg home, according to Reese. “We love it here. We’re never bored, we can play pickleball, we can golf — it’s like being in a park,” he says. “I had never lived in the country before, but I really love the mentality of it. There’s always something that needs to be fixed or repaired.”

Reese says his favorite spot is the fitness room, while his wife and kids enjoy the kitchen. “Susan is a great cook, and the kitchen is what brings everyone together,” he says, noting that the room’s focal point is a center island with seven chairs to accommodate the entire family.

Hill, the designer/owner of Arbor South Architecture, says having the Reeses as clients was a wonderful experience. “The whole thing was designed around creating this inviting environment, to make this a place where people want to be,” he says. “We used a lot of timber framing. It’s definitely a hybrid of a design, and because of the timber, I would call it a modern Northwest farm/ranch house.”

Hill says he agrees with most of the Reeses when it comes to his preferred room in the house: “Their kitchen is one of my favorite places — the natural light and the way it connects to the great room and out to the patio. It has a really nice flow.”

Whenever you remodel an older building, there are always challenges involving infrastructure, plumbing, and electrical systems, Hill notes. The swimming pool required a huge retaining wall and the house itself was built on a slope, which required special accommodations. The entire construction project took about 15 months and, according to Hill, it went smoothly and resulted in a magnificent home.

“Scott and Susan aren’t just clients,” he says. “They’re great friends, and when you have clients that have a lot of confidence in you, it makes the process a ton of fun.”

“The goal is when you’re done with these projects, you want to remain friends,” Hill adds. “When the collaboration is solid and the communication is thorough — these are the things that make a project like this successful.”

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