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Although Dorothy and Leon McCullough first visited the Lake of the Ozarks in the late 70s, they were amazed at the changes they encountered 10 years ago when they visited friends in Old Kinderhook. The two began spending time at the Lake and soon bought a lot and began building their dream Lake home.
The McCulloughs live in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where Leon is executive vice-president of McWane, Inc. He runs the family-owned businesses, which includes four domestic foundries and one each in Canada and China. The main product made in the foundry is fire hydrants.
Their first Lake house was completed in April 2005. And although they enjoyed the home, they decided they wanted to build again.
“We would look across the cove at this lot,” Leon said. “It was larger and had much more shoreline.”
So work began on the second, larger home that took 24 months to complete. An intricate roofline is the first detail one notices upon approaching the front of this outstanding home. The roof, which is a composite of rubber and plastic, is called DaVinci Slate. Two double-car garages, which feature cedar garage doors, flank the cobblestone brick courtyard driveway. The garage floor and baseboards boast industrial tiles.
The magnificent eight-foot mahogany front door is framed with glass panels and crowned with a three-foot glass transom. The open floor plan of the first floor showcases the 18-foot ceiling of the great room, an octagonal dining area, enclosed bar and spacious kitchen.
The customized woodwork is alder wood and the floors are cherry.
The greatness of the home is reflected in the masonry. Leon comes from a long line of bricklayers. His grandfather, father and older brother were brick masons. Working his way through school, Leon worked summers and holidays to earn money for his education as a brick mason’s helper, i.e. laborer.
When he first reviewed the house plans, he sat down and looked at every exterior and interior wall and added natural stone wherever he felt was appropriate. The home used more than 250 tons of natural stone from three quarries in Fond du Lac, Wis.
The McCulloughs like collecting eclectic pieces.
“We enjoy things that are out of the ordinary,” Dorothy said.
And throughout the home are beautiful antiques, exquisite art and sheer whimsy. There are several bronze castings on the property which are reproductions of items Leon found on his travels. He would give the items to the foundry artisans and have a limited number produced each year.
“We would give them as Christmas gifts for friends and customers,” Leon said.
In the front yard is a fire hydrant, which was a gift from Leon to the Lake Ozark water district. He had L&D McCullough cast into the hydrant as a personal touch.
Asian Influence Asian warriors stand guard atop the shelves that flank the stone fireplace in the great room. The two terra cotta statues are actual size reproductions from XiYang village in China. This is the site of the Mausoleum of Emperor QinShihuang, the first emperor in Chinese history. Excavation unearthed an estimated 8,000 pottery warriors and horses dating back to 210 B.C. Also displayed on the shelves are several bronze sculptures by Mexican artist Sergio Bustamante.
The kitchen features a boxed-beam ceiling and v-shaped breakfast bar with granite counters and stainless steel Wolf appliances. Behind the kitchen is the laundry room and walk-in pantry.
Off the great room is a small deck. Another door opens onto the screened porch with a beamed cedar ceiling.
The first floor also features the office, powder room and master suite.
The office has been faux painted with gold and bronze accents. Against one wall is a tall buffet from Belgium, circa 1850, made of hand-carved walnut. The office also features a walnut writing table, circa 1880 from France, with acanthus scroll throughout and two hand-carved lion heads.
The powder room is also painted with a faux finish using deep ruby with gold accent.
“I always wanted a red room,” Dorothy said. The Renaissance revival walnut washstand has acanthus scroll along the top. The piece, circa 1870 Italy, has been altered to accept the sink and plumbing and also was raised 12-feet to accommodate today’s average height.
Leon speaks highly of his wife’s decorating acumen, noting that “Dorothy is an amazing, talented person. The house was professionally decorated by her.” She graduated with a degree in marketing, but her true desire was fashion and interior design.
In the hallway outside the master suite is a bench with a huge bronze cat hanging over the side staring at a tiny bronze mouse placed just beneath the bench.
The master suite is light and airy with a 14-foot ceiling, crown molding hiding the indirect lighting with several windows offering views of the Lake. There is a sitting area near the windows. One bedside table features an ornately scalloped tin topper. The master bath has raised paneled custom cabinets in glazed antique white, crown molding and a travertine floor. The rug, which was made by hand in Nepal, Tibet, is in gold tones of woven wool and silk. There is a corner jetted tub and a large travertine-tiled shower adorned with metal medallions. Both the master bath and powder room have artwork by Erte©.
Upstairs is a bonus room that the McCulloughs finished into a guest suite. The suite offers a sitting area and vaulted ceiling with dormers for added light. The bathroom is split with the shower in one room and the water closet in another. The landing of the upper floor features a balcony overlooking the great room. Against the wall is a hand-carved walnut vitrine, circa 1890 Italy. The mannerist style of the display cabinet has glass shelves and a mirrored back.
The lower floor features a family room, powder room, an exercise room, laundry room, wine cellar and three guest suites.
Throughout the family room is custom-made paneling, shelves and cabinets. Above the stone fireplace is a 60-inch television. The floor is heated travertine, and the billiard room is delineated from the rest of the room with an area rug and the unique light beneath the framed faux finished ceiling. On the wall are nine paintings by Hisashi Otsuka depicting the Legend of the 47 Ronin-Samurai. Each stroke was painted with a single horse hair.
There is a kitchen area which has chiseled-edged granite, a copper sink and refrigerator and microwave drawers.
The exercise room has a full bath and steam room. The powder room has an Umbertino-style rosewood washstand, circa 1880 Italy, with a hunter green marble counter. It has been raised 12 inches.
The wall showcasing the wine cellar is covered with Fond du Lac stone. Inside the wine room is a Vitrine of hand-carved walnut put together with only pegs. It was meticulously disassembled by Jim Hicks, construction foreman, and reassembled in the cellar. The cabinetry surrounding the display case was customized to store bottles of wine. There is a beverage center in a nook near the guest suites.
Capturing the View
Each suite also features a view of the Lake.
“All we asked (of Thomas Construction) was that each guest room be large enough for a king-size bed and a view of the Lake,” Dorothy explained.
“Thomas Construction is famous for placing the house perfectly on the lot,” Leon noted. “You have a wonderful view of the Lake in every room.”
The suites feature such custom details as “light coves” (rope lighting tucked into crown molding), shades within windows and custom-poured showers. Dorothy decided to make one of the suites different from the rest. All of the bedrooms in the home are painted in various shades of earth tones. However, she varied from the palette by painting one room in a robin egg blue. And true to her attention to detail, she placed a nest on the nightstand replete with tiny blue eggs.
There are numerous pieces of art throughout the home. A few pieces were painted by Leon’s father and aunt. There also is some still-life art done by Al Jackson. Leon has collected several works by Michael Parkes. He bought the first piece from a gallery in Amsterdam.
“As I learned more about Michael Parkes, I discovered that although he has resided in Spain for a long time now, he was born in Sikeston, Mo.”
Off the lower level of the home is a covered, cultured stone patio with a cedar ceiling, an outdoor kitchen with its own fireplace, hot tub and pool. The pool area is surrounded by a cool deck. A bronze goose is perched at the side of patio spitting water into the pool. Two lighted metal palm trees stand at one end of the deck. A gate from the patio leads to the stamped cart path and a view of the waterfall. At the edge of the Lake are steps leading down to the water.
“I was tired of having to tend to our old dog and companion,” Leon said.
Reese, who is 14 and Heinz 57 mutt, could jump down from the ledge but was unable to jump back up. Leon would have to lift her out.
“It was easier to pour the steps,” he said. “Reese certainly deserves them and she does so love the water.”
In addition to their beloved dog, the McCullough family includes two daughters: Meagan, who lives in Des Moines and who is an industrial engineer for UPS; and Morgan, who lives in Denver and is a
social worker.
Although the McCulloughs just moved in November and have yet to enjoy the pool, they are looking forward to spending time inside and out with their friends and family this summer.
The McCulloughs’ attention to detail, the uniqueness of the home’s accessories and amenities and the spirit of the building process elicited kudos from Dan Lind, one of Thomas Construction’s partners:
“We have built two houses now for Leon and Dorothy and we would love to build 20 more. They are truly a joy to work with.”
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