How a Lake Highlands couple transformed their ranch-style home

Amber and Keir Simon have transformed their Lake Highlands Estates ranch-style into a home that will grow with their family. 

As Keir and Amber Simon stepped into their now-home in Lake Highlands Estates for the first time, they immediately saw the potential of the clean slate offered by the ranch-style’s layout.

In their previous homes, Amber hadn’t had the opportunity to mold the family’s space for their needs and wants. So, when Amy Timmerman showed the Simons the house, they jumped to make an offer.

“So when we purchased the home, nothing had been touched,” Amber says. “It was in basically its original form, since when it was built and when we walked in, we knew it was truly a blank canvas for us to really dream and create a space that could be our forever home. And the whole idea behind the home was, “Let’s build a space that’s really beautiful and elevated and curated.’”

After purchasing the home, the Simons spent 18 months gutting, renovating and adding on to the house. Walls that previously separated much of the primary living area were knocked down to create an open, breathable space, and a rustic wooden beam was added along the zenith of its cathedral ceiling.

Each space in the home is accented by a mix of designer, vintage and reproduction pieces, which allowed Amber to create the “curated” feel she was looking for.

“What I really love is using designer pieces, but also mixing them with more budget friendly pieces,” says Amber, who has an interest in interior design. “And then also, maybe items that have been handed down over the years, or antiques or things that have been collected throughout time, and that’s really the whole hope of what we wanted to do with the home, and purchase art and furniture from places that helped to tell that story and was really unique to this home to create that cohesive feel. So I would say our design esthetic for the home is more of this, like modern, organic, you know, buzz words are a thing, and interior design, of course, but I would say that probably art is like the best kind of genre to define our home.”

They built on to the back of the home, consolidating their garage and a walk-in cubby/laundry area, and adding a comfortably-sized master suite. The suite comes with a large bathroom featuringa freestanding bathtub and a spacious walk-in closet.

“We knew we wanted to add on to the home.” she says. “We built a master suite in the back that’s really perfect for us in terms of everything that we hoped that a master suite would feel like, from the large bathroom and the walk in closet and it’s being kind of separated from the other side of the house, which includes the kids bedrooms and the playroom and a space that really can feel like the kids’ own, especially as they grow.”

The kids’ playroom opens out to the backyard and pool, and the boys have been known to use it as a driving green from time to time. Inside, there’s a TV for football, a play teepee and plenty of room for activities.

Keir says it’s his favorite part of the house.

“I think I will always reflect back on the times that we had in the playroom with the kids younger, and most of the time, when their friends are over, it’s a combination of being in the backyard and being in there,” he says. “And even just being in here and listening to them and their friends and their interactions and their engagement, it continues to remind you of how they’re getting older and maturing and growing into young men.”

Close to the boys’ bedroom is a large guest suite — perfect for visits from Keir’s mom or Amber’s family from Buffalo.

Last Christmas, the family was able to host 13 people comfortably, they say.

“It was perfect, there was plenty of room for everybody,” Amber says. “The kids would spend most of the day outside or in the playroom, and we’d be here cooking or hanging out in the backyard or whatever. And it was just, honestly, that was the moment that we’re like, ‘This was worth every stressful moment, every investment, every sweat, whatever we invested.’ It was just perfect.”

As you step onto the home’s covered patio area, the backyard is centered around the family’s pool, which was completed in November.

“Amber grew up in a house where they had a pool, and people were over there during the summer, and it just was like the hangout house,” Keir says. “And so wanting to recreate that fact, right? As a parent, when your kids are younger, they’re always around you. But as they get older, they start to spread their wings a little bit, and so having a space that they could spread their wings and allows them to want to bring their friends was a big component of this. We wanted the fact that when our boys are 10,11, 12, 13 years old, that they still wanted to bring their friends over, because they have a pool.”

While substantive changes have been made, Amber says she isn’t quite done making tweaks.

“Ultimately, we’re so happy with how everything turned out in the space, we really tried to thoughtfully select every piece to create a space that feels comfortable yet put together and elevated for us to enjoy for years to come. I think the only other thing is there’s probably a few things that I still want to work on. There’s some areas I want to add some wallpaper and just some a little extra touches to really make this space our own, but that’ll come over time.”