East Coast Meets Ozarks

In life, you either have style or you don’t. And when building a house, you either have a vision or you get lost along the way. Luckily, high school sweethearts Debbie and Bruce Stolle have enough style and vision to last them several lifetimes, and this fact is obvious when you set foot on their property in Saddlebrooke. “We had a long checklist of things we wanted in this home,” says Debbie. “Like a screened-in porch, all the trim work and the rotunda. We really designed the whole inside and tried to incorporate all our favorite things.” The Stolles especially love how the rotunda turned out. They worked with Brett Godfrey of Built by Brett Custom Homes on the space that features elegant curves and a swirling staircase. 

Driving up on their Hamptons-style exterior is like a breath of fresh air. The Stolles have a deep love for the ocean and the coast, but they were used to the log homes and French country styles of the Midwest. “We just thought, why not a Cape Cod–style home in the Ozarks?” says Debbie. “I want to live like I’m on vacation every day.”  

With three grown children and seven grandchildren, the Stolles are used to having a housefull. “All summer we are fully booked!” Debbie says. Saying Debbie is the “hostess with the mostest” is an understatement. She has meticulously planned spaces for guests to feel at home and cozy, yet she wanted her home to still feel casual and not too fussy. 

“I want people to feel like they can come and curl up on the sofa,” she says. The main living area of the home is open but still feels intimate. It features two kitchen islands, so the Stolles and their guests can all cook together—a big kitchen that doubles as a gathering space. 

In many of the home’s gathering spaces, the Stolles opted for a color palette of bright whites and cool grays, but in other spaces you can see Debbie’s love for color at play. She says she likes a happy house, and there are certain areas where you can play and have fun with it and people won’t bat an eye. Debbie loves cheerful patterns and wallpaper, and she says her inspiration in life is Lilly Pulitzer. “I think it’s so important to know who you are and just make yourself happy in your home,” she says. The Stolles’ pink laundry room with the Dutch door and their colorful green and pink butler pantry are playful examples of Debbie’s love of color. The study is another color-drenched space with a moodier undertone. It was the first space where they experimented with painting everything, including the ceiling, and they love the result.

Upstairs, upon entering the primary bedroom you first pass through a sitting area with a curved balcony. The views from that space are gorgeous. A cozy fireplace in the primary bedroom can be found burning on most evenings in the winter. “We had a fireplace in our very first home, and I remember I thought it was so romantic,” says Debbie. The other bedrooms upstairs include a room for the grandkids with bunks and their own bathroom. 

The lower level has a different feel than the rest of the house, with tropical tile in one of the baths and bright coral painted shelves. “We were going for a bit of a British West Indies look downstairs,” says Debbie.  

That colorful lower level is set up perfectly for family and guests with two more guest rooms, a living area, a coffee station and a show-stopping bar area with a built-in saltwater fish tank. When Bruce graduated with his undergraduate degree, Debbie gifted him a fish tank. Since then, he’s always wanted to have a built-in fish tank. Debbie designed the space but the fish tank was all Bruce. “That’s his baby,” she says. Debbie’s contributions include a unique refrigerator that they both agreed was perfect for the bar. Debbie thinks it looks like an old icebox, but guests tell her it reminds them of a vault. 

It’s not surprising that the Stolles are a fun couple with a love for entertaining. In the summer, they host big breakfasts for their guests beside the infinity pool, sitting for hours and enjoying the view. Last year the couple invited Saddlebrooke neighbors over for a Kentucky Derby party. “We did non-alcoholic mint juleps, Kentucky browns, races and prizes,” says Debbie. “We served Kentucky fried chicken, which people thought was a riot. It was just so fun!”

Debbie has more than just an eye for design and a knack for hosting. As a decorator by trade and with a large following on YouTube, “Your Home Your Happy Place,” which focuses on decorating and entertaining, you could and should call her a pro. She even hangs all her own wallpaper, which is no easy feat. Debbie’s message is clear in her home and to her YouTube channel. “Do what makes you happy.”