Frazier home

A limestone exterior and two-story entry porch offers a welcoming warmth to Brandon and Cathy Frazier’s home overlooking the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

Stunning inside and out

Family builds home on hillside with view in mind

Views from Cathy and Brandon Frazier’s hillside home south of Vian go on for miles.

The Arkansas River flows along the southwest, becoming Sally Jones Lake, then the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir toward the east. The panorama takes in nearly all of the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. Far beyond, lining the horizon in gentle blue waves, are the Sans Bois Mountains and, even farther, the Ouchitas.

Cathy Frazier, who manages rentals in the area, said the family was attracted by the view several years ago — or at least what they hoped would be a view.

“We bought 900 acres here, and we were going to build a house out here, but we never could find a spot,” Frazier said.

By Cathy Spaulding • Photos by Cliff moore

Trees blocked the view of the water.

“One day we were just riding, and my mother pulls all these trees apart and says, ‘you have a water view’,” she said. “We cleared all the land. We actually dug the mountain out.”

Frazier said they designed and built the house mostly on their own.

“We took two houses, split them in half and put them together, she said, adding that they drew from builders Chance Parker and K.C. Sullivan.

“We had somebody come in and frame it, we had sheet-rockers do their part,” she said. “Other than that, we kind of did it ourselves. Every night we’d be working for a full year.”

She said much of the work was done by her husband, who builds swimming pools and does concrete work, and their son, J.T. Frazier, who does construction.

The 6,400-square-foot two-story white limestone house can be seen from the wildlife refuge, observers say. The Fraziers live there with J.T. and their 14-year-old daughter Jayden.

LEFT: A limestone fireplace rises two stories in the Frazier living room.

BELOW: Two floors of windows show a panorama of the Arkansas River, Robert S. Kerr Reservoir and Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

The Arkansas River surrounds the exterior view from the Frazier’s dining area.

Wood beams reaching two stories support roofs for the front and back porches.

Inside the entry, visitors are greeted by a see-through gas fireplace and the living room beyond.

Frazier said the fireplace, which can be ignited using a remote, originally was along a living room wall, but they decided that made the living room too big.

“Then I thought, ‘can I have a see-through fireplace.’ Then we shifted it right to the middle of the room,” she said.

The entry features unique decor, including a tree made with driftwood slats, which Frazier said came from Morning Star boutique in Vian.

In the living room, massive, two-story bay windows offer the house’s most dramatic panorama of the river, refuge and faraway mountains.

Two accent chairs from T.J. Maxx sit by the window.

A stained cedar beam stretches across the kitchen entrance. The kitchen island has a quartz countertop and a phone charger.

“You lay your phone on it and it will charge,” Frazier said. “Or if you need a plug-in, you can have a plug-in.”

The kitchen also features a farmhouse sink and stainless steel Frigidaire

ABOVE: A see-through fireplace features a limestone hearth and wood mantle.

RIGHT: The same see-through fireplace greets visitors entering the Frazier home.

BELOW: The kitchen offers a variety of dining options at the table or at the island bar.

The sun sets dramatically through windows on the second-floor gameroom.

appliances from Bates Appliances in Poteau. Tall swinging doors open into a walk-in pantry.

The laundry room is big enough to live in.

Frazier recalled having a laundry room so small the dryer door bumped the washer. The huge new laundry space features a sink and a movable island. There’s plenty of shelf space and cabinets. A built-in bench and shelves, similar to a mud room, is by the entrance to the garage.

The house has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, plus two offices. Frazier said such space has come in handy.

“When we had snow last year, I had 17 people in this house when it snowed for four days,” she said. “We all just hung out and played in the snow.”

Three bedrooms are downstairs.

Obviously, the master suite has the best view from a bedroom. A sliding door opens onto a back patio and looks out onto the refuge.

White cabinets reach high behind chairs in the living room.

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ABOVE: The upstairs gameroom has spaces to play, snack, chat and unwind.

RIGHT: Candlelight lamps brighten a corner table.

BOTTOM LEFT: A conversation area in the upstairs gameroom features an electric fireplace.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Nobody will feel cramped in a laundry room this large.

The bedroom furniture came from Ashley Furniture.

The bathroom has a freestanding tub. The shower has a his-and-her entrance, two wall-mounted shower heads, a spray hose and ceiling rain shower head.

The master bath also has his-and-her walk-in closets. Her closet has a window, bench vanity and a double-decker washer and dryer. His walk-in closet is lined with cedar and can be used as a safe room, because it is completely poured in concrete.

Jayden’s room has a cubby hole under the stairs, which can be used for storage or as a personal space with pillows for chilling out. A gray storage bench is built in by the window. The bathroom has a spa tub, separate shower and a walk-in closet.

Another downstairs bedroom has threequarter bath with a walk-in shower.

Three more bedrooms and a game room are upstairs.

The game room has an electric

fireplace, plus a corner kitchenette with a mini refrigerator and sink. Barn doors open onto a view of the living room.

One bedroom has cedar plank walls and the head of a deer J.T. shot in Texas, Frazier said.

Another bedroom, used by Frazier’s parents, has a clawfoot tub.

The sixth bedroom is across a catwalk.

The second floor also has a deck, which has not yet been furnished.

The first floor patio has a limestone brick fireplace and furnishings from Ashley.

The views are not the only sights the Fraziers see.

“Refuge animals come right through the yard,” Frazier said. “We get deer, we have a fox that stays and watches us.”

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