“Written In Stone” By Ross Freake | Photography By Kristi Kroeker, Courtesy Of K2 Stone

There is almost as much stone in Sandy and Karen MacDougall’s home in Predator Ridge as there is in some Scottish castles. Sandy should know. He is, as the name implies, of Scottish descent and has seen a castle or two. “Everything here is stone: the pillars are stone; the back is stone; the outdoor kitchen is stone; the copping on the pool is stone.” The four-bedroom, five-bathroom, two-powder-room, 5,500-square-foot house also has a media room, wine room, bar and terrace area, and 12 x 8 bifold doors that open to bring the outdoors in.

“One of our favourite things about our home is the stone,” Karen said. “Darren Kroeker of K2 stone and Mike Sommerfeld, our mason, worked with us to design the terrace-room fireplace, the pool, fire pit and outdoor kitchen. We love the grounded look the stone gives our home.”

While both were raised on Vancouver Island – where K2 got the stone for their house. Sandy spent a lot of time in Vernon, his mother’s hometown, and hiked the terrain where he now works on his three handicap.

“My favourite golf course in the world is Pebble Beach, but this is my second favourite,” Sandy said.

After their son and daughter were grown, Sandy, who had worked in downtown Vancouver as a stock broker and mining executive, got tired of the rain, so they bought a lot on what was then a dirt road at Predator in 2006. While they had a designer, most of the ideas for their home were Karen’s. “I had an archive box of 10 years (of ideas) I had collected of what I wanted my home to be and I have 2,000 pictures on my computer. I was well prepared.” The upstairs is elegant with hardwood floors, cream-colour paint and millwork, while the downstairs is more traditional. “We built both levels with 10-foot ceilings and the basement was an extension of upstairs,” Karen said.

“Everything is light and bright and open.”

“We have an outdoor kitchen that has a fabulous view of the golf course and makes cooking entertaining, rather than a chore.” And working has become less of a chore for Sandy since technology allows him to a walk downstairs to his office. Instead of seeing rain falling in a concrete canyon, he looks out over the infinity pool, fairways and mountains.” “This,” he said with the peace of someone who only vaguely remembers stop-and-go traffic on a congested highway, “is our dream place.”

– View the original article on the Okanagan Home Website