Life on the Coeur d’Alene River is a Life Well Lived
Ken and Debbie Smith chose this location for Bull Run Ranch over 30 years ago. It was the ideal spot for their home: scenic, private and equidistant from Coeur d’Alene and their car dealership.
“We built our dream place both inside and out,” said Ken. “This can never be duplicated.”
At 7,843 square feet, the home has four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, a great room that converts to home theatre, and a five-car finished garage with a Tesla charging port.
The home’s front entrance is dramatic; a beautiful gate grants entry to the estate, while black slate steps embedded with copper dragonflies lead to the driveway.
“Of course it’s all heated, so you don’t ever need to shovel,” said Ken.
Wood is featured throughout the home creating warmth and elegance. Debbie spent three and a half months designing the home’s woodwork. She and Ken chose Santos mahogany for the heated floor, and alder for the doors and kitchen.
The great room is designed around a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace – sourced from Ken’s rock business – that provides the backdrop for a 110-inch movie screen that drops down from the wooden mantle, creating a versatile entertainment space.
Automatic blinds and surround sound support the drop-down, 11,000-lumen Laser projector so that movies can be enjoyed at any time of day.
“We put everything we ever wanted in this home and spared no expense,” Ken said. “It’s the most comfortable home ever to live in and share with friends.”
The home has several private seating areas that overlook either the Coeur d’Alene River or mountains (In some spots, both), making it the perfect place to host large gatherings and still maintain a sense of intimacy among guests. For those who can’t take the grand stairs to move between the home’s three levels, the Smiths installed a discreet elevator.
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The 95.28-acre lot has 3,700 feet of river frontage with a covered boat dock and private beach. It takes roughly 30 minutes to boat to Harrison from the property or to drive to Coeur d’Alene.
The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes runs through the property for easy access to activities such as biking, winter Nordic skiing and snowshoeing, hiking, birding and wildlife viewing. Several moose are fans of the apple trees, and the Smiths enjoy watching the wood ducks and geese babies each year.
A 2,592-square-feet barn houses both horses and a workshop. Fenced and cross fenced pastures provide ample space for horses to meander and graze, while the huge outdoor riding arena provides a lovely riverside area to hone equestrian skills.
Areas such as the gazebo and the koi pond create more intimate spaces for those seeking a little privacy on the vast estate.
Ken said he and his wife have many fond memories of all their years at Bull Run, from the joys of hosting family gatherings to the pleasant solitude of sitting by the pond hearing the waterfall.
“Cutthroat trout fishing right off your dock and almost a mile of your own private river frontage. It doesn’t get better than that,” he said. N
As Featured In: Winter/Spring 2021 Edition
By Michaela Delavan
Photography By Joel Riner