LIVING SPACES
By Nancy Peevy | Photos by Chadwick Turner
Retirement Retreat
Local builder helps translate dream into reality
Glenn Galton and Noel McDoniel lived in the Dallas area for more than 40 years but decided to build their retirement home in Northwest Arkansas. McDoniel is originally from Newark, Arkansas. He graduated from the University of Arkansas and has close family in the area, so settling in the state seemed logical. Because they wanted to live on the water, some friends suggested looking in Benton County. They found a lot on Loch Lomond in Bella Vista and enlisted Oliver Kiesel with O.A.K. Homes & Landscape to build their custom home.
When it came to designing the house, “Noel had a vision in his head about the type of house he wanted,” Galton said. Throughout his career at the Design Center in Dallas, McDoniel kept a book of hand-sketched designs, ideas from magazines and other concepts, and these became the basis of the house.
During his career, McDoniel said, he worked with some of the best designers and “with beautiful products and some of the most luxurious lines in the design industry.” Twice he was tapped to work closely on redesigns of the White House, both for President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.
McDoniel was good friends with Little Rock interior designer Kaki Hockersmith, who did the extensive renovation of the White House during President Clinton’s time in office. She asked McDoniel to help with the renovation. At the time, he was working with The House of Scalamandré, a luxury textile brand.
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​“To go to the White House to events and see your fabrics in such an incredibly beautiful setting, it’s really inspiring,” McDoniel said. “It’s like, wow, to go from being a kid who grew up on a quarter horse and a John Deere tractor in Newark, Arkansas, to working at the White House. That’s a long path and a very unexpected one.”
He also had the opportunity to work with Texas interior designer Ken Blasingame, the Bush family’s designer, while with the George Cameron Nash interior design showroom. “I had the opportunity to select some products for that administration as well,” McDoniel said. “I did tons of work for them for the Bush Presidential Library at SMU.”
When it came to his own home, McDoniel wanted the design to include two structures, similar in style, connected by a glass breezeway that had a private atrium in the entrance for a Zen garden. Because guests can’t see the lake from the street, “I wanted it to be a big surprise when you open the door and have a wall of windows looking out on the lake,” he said.
He also wanted floor-to-ceiling windows in the 2,500-square-foot great room. “I wanted windows to wrap around almost like in a glass box,” he said.
Having enough space to display their art was also key. “I designed the house around an art collection that we’ve accumulated over 40 years,” McDoniel said. “We wanted to be able to see it all and not be jammed together.”
The collection includes art bought from the places they’ve traveled. “We try to find a local gallery or get something to remember the place by,” McDoniel said. “And many pieces are by artist friends of mine or gallery owner friends of mine I’ve bought in supporting them in their craft.”
McDoniel’s favorite pieces are by Fayetteville artist Donald Roller Wilson, whom he described as quirky and funny. “He’s very collectible in Hollywood and the tech industry,” McDoniel said.
One of Roller Wilson’s biggest fans was actor Robin Williams. “I was aware of (Wilson) back in college, but I had no thought that I could ever afford his work,” McDoniel said.
The downstairs lounge area is “dedicated to Roller Wilson, and I call it the Holy Roller lounge,” McDoniel said, laughing. “Our art looks better in this house than in any other house we’ve lived in.”
McDoniel and Galton credit Oliver Kiesel and his father, Tony Keisel, a builder and architect, with making McDoniel’s design come to life. “With Tony’s help, we translated some of my crazy ideas to make it work with the lot size and what would fit in our budget,” McDoniel said. “Tony was a master at taking some of the ideas I had and improving and adapting them and putting them on paper and making them work. And Oliver was great at translating those ideas.”
For Oliver, “This was truly a one-of-a-kind design and project,” he said.
The house design “creates a unique blend of modern and traditional elements,” Oliver said, pointing out the house features an open concept with large floor-to-ceiling windows with trapezoid windows in the gables to allow for an amazing amount of natural light to pour into the living spaces. “This also allowed us to bring the beautiful views of Loch Lomond and the Ozark Mountains into the house.”
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Oliver remembers it as one of his most enjoyable projects.
As for everyday living, Galton and McDoniel enjoy the lounge areas in the house where they can sit and watch wildlife. And the screened porch on the lower level has automatic screens that raise and lower to allow the pool area to become a part of the home.
Home Pros Used:
Appliances: Metro Appliances & More; Ferguson
Builder/Landscaping: O.A.K. Homes & Landscape
Cabinets: C&C Cabinets and Granite
Doors: Quality Millwork
Electronics/Electrician: Elegant Electric; Complete Audio Visual
Fireplaces/Stoves: Kozy Heat Fireplaces, Inc.
Fixtures: Ferguson; RH
Flooring: ProSource Wholesale
Garage Doors: Elite Garage Door Services
Granite/Marble/Tile: Pacific Shore Stones; Townzen Tile
HVAC: H&K Heating & Air, Inc.; Elegant Electric
Interior Designer: Noel McDoniel
Masonry/Bricks: Diamond Petra Stone
Mirrors/Shower Doors: Bentonville Glass Inc.
Painting: Dre Painting & Construction; Sherwin-Williams
Plumbing/Fixtures: Ferguson
Pool: Luxury Pools by O.A.K. Homes
Roofing: ABC Supply
Windows: Pella Windows & Doors
Galton loves the efficient kitchen with an open butler’s pantry, deep drawers for pots and pull-outs for appliances. “I’m a cook and a baker, so the really well-laid-out big kitchen was the main thing for me,” he said. “The entire cooking process is so pleasant, and it’s a pretty place to work in.”
Galton and McDoniel have had a lot of company since moving in and plan to entertain more. “When we have company, we eat at home,” Galton said, “and it’s just a lovely environment to sit and have a relaxed, casual meal, drink as much as you want and just enjoy being together in a really beautiful setting.”
