Lakeside Living in Little Wichita

A Kansas couple finds retreat in a house on Table Rock Lake, in an area nicknamed “Little Wichita.”

A passion for southwest Missouri’s beautiful lakes is what led Wichita natives Craig and Dalene Nelson to build their dream vacation home overlooking Table Rock Lake, near Shell Knob. “We all affectionately call this area The Knob,” says Dalene, who guesses that Wichitans make up about 75 percent of the neighborhood.

For Craig, president of Conco Construction, the four-hour drive to The Knob, or “Little Wichita” as it’s known to Wichitans who spend their summers in the area, is part of the relaxing experience. “You drive those rolling hills leading into town, and you just feel the stress melting away,” says Craig. Spending long weekends and holidays at the house has brought special memories for the Nelsons and their extended family. Today, their two grandsons spend warm days with them at the lake, much like Craig did as a boy during the late 1960s and early 1970s. “I have fond memories of this whole area and the water,” he says.

When Dalene and Craig decided to purchase a second home at Table Rock Lake in the mid-’90s, they settled on a townhouse. Eight years later, the two-bedroom home “got a little cozy,” says Dalene, so they began looking for a larger place. After an unsuccessful search, they talked to a local realtor who suggested building. The Nelsons zeroed in on local builder Danny R. Street after touring a home that he had built on the lake. “They liked the feel of the house but wanted to make some changes to the layout,” says Street. “So we just modified an existing plan, took it to a draftsman and had it built in about eight months.”

A Gathering Place
Entering the home today, visitors are welcomed by a wall of windows that leads to a 16-by-20-foot deck that overlooks the lake. A gathering room with 22-foot ceilings and a fieldstone, wood-burning fireplace anchors the space. Family photos on a wooden coffee table reflect the home’s spirit as a gathering place. A dining table beneath a caribou-horn chandelier stands at one side of the great room. A copper plate from EureKan Gallery in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, hangs above the hearth. The home is dotted with art and decorative pieces that the Nelsons have picked up while traveling throughout the region. “We love going to the symphony or visiting galleries in Springfield or Eureka Springs,” says Dalene.

The woodsy theme is carried into the kitchen, where a massive cedar log defines the hearth. “I wanted to bring a local flavor to the home, so we went into the woods, found and peeled the log and placed it horizontally in the kitchen,” says Street. The kitchen’s tumbled stone countertops are a rustic complement to the state-of-the-art, Sub-Zero refrigerator. Custom-hued glass fixtures made by Kansas City artist Gary Smith hang over the open countertops.

A bar with additional cedar log accents stands next to the kitchen and adjacent to the Nelsons’ bedroom. With another commanding view from their master suite, the getaway-within-a-getaway takes a vintage twist with a claw-foot tub inside the master bathroom. Cedar closets and double sinks complete the space.

On the other side of the house, Jack-and-Jill-style bedrooms provide a respite for Craig and Dalene’s grandsons. Sinks in the bedrooms offer added privacy. “Their biggest complaint is that we don’t have enough toys here,” says Dalene. “But they love to get out and help drive the boat,” referring to their 27-foot watercraft anchored at the nearby community dock.

Clever Art, Big Fireworks
The home’s lower level boasts an 1870s-era antique pool table, which is flanked by an extra long church bench. The Nelsons picked up the bench at an auction in Derby, Kansas. “We sat on that bench until it was ours,” jokes Dalene. A sitting area with a television and another fireplace make up the main space, which is at walkout-level to the dock and lake. A 4-foot Santa Claus figurine, nicknamed the “Table Rock Lake Land Santa,” stands near a fireplace. The Santa welcomes up to 30 guests during many holidays. In one corner of the room, the Nelsons display their wine collection in a hand-forged copper art piece by Eureka Springs artist John Stalling. A suite with an additional bathroom for guests rounds out the downstairs.

Standing guard outside the Nelson’s brick and stone home is a wood carving from a 10-foot oak tree that the Nelsons refer to as LENA—short for Lovely, Elegant Native American. “We were losing a tree and decided instead of chopping it down to make a piece of art out of it,” says Daylene. The result is a statuesque carving crafted by Rod Hamon, another Eureka Springs artist. A lakeside fire pit and hot tub outside provide recreation for the Nelsons and their visitors. “On the Fourth of July, there is a huge fireworks show, and several thousand boats float on the lake,” says Craig. “It’s so much fun. We just love it.”

Such a sight is one reason so many Wichita natives are flocking to Table Rock Lake. “I would say that 60 to 70 percent of the part-timers in Shell Knob are from Wichita,” says Street, who is currently building several homes near the lake for the Kansas crowd. “There is not much of a real estate bust going on around here,” he says.

The Nelsons understand why Shell Knob and Table Rock Lake are such magnets for the Wichita crowd. “They are the people with whom you share similar successes and interests,” says Craig. “One’s true friends are on the lake.”


Resource Guide

Builder
• Danny R. Street, 417-343-1747

Art & Decorative Pieces
• Gary Smith – Glass Artist
5111 W. 64th Terrace, Prairie Village, 913-432-8086, garysmithstudio.com

• EureKan Gallery – Copper Plate
150 North Main, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, 479-253-0928

• John Stalling
Wine Cabinet Metal Artist
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, 479-253-9083

• Rod Hamon – Wood Carving Artist
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, 479-981-1783, pale-ndn-art.com

Fireplaces
• Crown Heart – Mason
205 Holiday Point Rd., Shell Knob,
417-880-8422