Grand Lake O' the Cherokees
More at Home than Home
A second home becomes the first for a couple who found perfection by the water.
BY
Jeanene Moore
PHOTOGRAPHY
Matt Kocourek

Six years ago, Steve and Deena Ridenour moved to Grand Lake to relax and play with their family. They spent the first few years in Megan Cove, as Steve puts it, “either building or remodeling something” before settling into this Melody Point home, a two-story Craftsman filled with design details.

Architect Brian Kirk modified an existing home plan for the Ridenours while builder Doug Hulse presented them with the 3,850-square-foot manifestation of comfort and style. The home’s cedar shingle and stone exterior and flower-bedecked, covered front porch seem to roll out the welcome mat. “I’ve never owned a house I felt more at home in,” Steve says.

The home was built around the functions of eating, entertaining and relaxing. An open living space spreads across the back and connects with the dining room and kitchen. A dramatic floor-to-vaulted-ceiling fireplace highlights one wall while another wall frames the trees and park-like backdrop just outside a bank of windows.


A striking vaulted covered deck just beyond overlooks a multilevel stained concrete patio. This outdoor entertaining mecca includes a grill built into a semi-circled, granite-covered counter, a wood-burning stone fireplace standing sentinel and surrounded by a sumptuous seating arrangement, and a ‘spool’ — a cross between a spa and a pool. It’s the grandkids’ favorite hangout.

Since the home was meant to share, Deena spent considerable time balancing looks with comfort. “I wanted this home to be pretty but not so much that you would be afraid to put your feet up,” she says.

Amber Benson of Nuance Décor in Grove helped facilitate the furniture placement, decorative treatments and accessorizing in an Old World theme. Special features include an iron claw-foot tub in the main-level guest bathroom, a 16-foot-tall red and gold damask-covered headboard in the master bedroom, and for extreme convenience, a stackable washer and dryer in the master suite’s walk-in closet. Sixty freestanding lamps softly light and enhance the artfully selected furnishings.

Delicious-looking milk chocolate walls throughout the home and hardwood floors on the main level warm up the interior while white-painted Country French kitchen cabinets with a brown rub complement those choices. Rich granite countertops and backsplash complete the look. Mark Norris designed, built and installed the carpentry, including the 8-inch baseboards, crown moldings, crossbeams in the vaulted ceiling and stately china hutch in the dining room, as well as inventing some pretty creative storage solutions for the kitchen and pantry.     

Every room is special, but Deena’s favorite is the main-level guest room containing family heirlooms and memorable things from her past, such as her first toy horse. She also spends much time in a craft room downstairs where she grows African violets and does custom embroidery.

The Ridenours’ shih tzu, Molly and Murphy, keep Deena company while Steve works in Tulsa several days a week to oversee the family business. “Most people have a home in Tulsa and keep a house at the lake,” Steve says, “but we decided to do the opposite and have our home at the lake and keep a house in Tulsa.”