Perched on 35 acres of mountainous terrain just outside Lyons, Colorado, Tina and Tim Schmitt’s circular home is a custom oasis surrounded by horses, chickens and roaming elk — and was born from their dream to live off the beaten path.
The 3,532-square-foot home at 2118 Dry Creek Drive has three bedrooms and two and a half baths. It is round and wooden with a metal roof, a basement, a loft and a $1.1 million asking price. It just underwent a $100,000 price drop, according to Homes.com.
The couple wanted a unique home, so they built one.
“I feel like I live in a birdhouse,” Tina Schmitt told Homes.com.
Schmitt, 62, said she recently retired from healthcare as a patient liaison. Around 2020, she and her husband, Tim, 66, decided it was time for their next housing adventure — and her next challenge.
“We had a beautiful, magnificent home down in Westminster,” she said. “I'm a doer, and I had already done basically anything I could do to that property.”
After five years in that home, she and her husband of 45 years wanted to try a different lifestyle.
“We just looked at each other one day and said, ‘We've never built a house. We’ve never really lived out of town,’” she said.
The conversation was brief, and so was the hunt. “I am like a hound dog when it comes to tracking stuff down … and I spotted this property,” she said. “I felt like it was a misprint because the land was $250,000, and it’s 35 acres.”
The property was also in the ideal location — just 20 minutes from Lyons in a secluded area with a seven-mile drive up a mountain.
“Every single time we would drive through Lyons, I would say, ‘Oh, my God, look at those beautiful red cliffs,’” she said. She loves the landscape because it reminds her of a John Wayne movie. She has fond memories of watching those films with her father.
When the mother of three first visited the property in person, she was “gobsmacked.”
“'Gobsmacked' is literally the best word most people have about my property,” she said. “They can't believe it exists.”
There are miles of red cliffs to the east, acres of land to the south, and the well-known Longs Peak to the west, Schmitt said, adding that the land is surrounded by rolling hills and pine forests with no neighbors in sight.
The couple visited the site the day after Schmitt found it.
“We went from a cutesy little conversation to, within 24 hours, owning 35 acres,” she said.
Starting the next phase of the journey
After finding the right land, the couple had to figure out what to build.
“We've lived in every type of Susie Homemaker house out there,” she said.
They wanted something unique and smaller, so they discovered Smiling Woods Yurts, a company in Washington that makes round houses. When Schmitt saw the round design, she hesitated at first, knowing circular homes can sacrifice space. But she eventually embraced the idea, drawn to its open layout and uniqueness, and chose the largest design offered.
Their architect told them to draw “a circle and start drawing little rooms in it.” “That's exactly what we did for about three weeks,” she said.
The couple took a phased approach to construction and moved in a few years ago.
“We lived in an RV with two huge Akitas [Mika and Tyson] and two cats ... and I basically ran the show,” she said.
Schmitt’s home now features 25 expansive windows, many over 6 feet tall, that flood the space with natural light. With 14-foot ceilings and no need for blinds or curtains, the house offers uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape.
“It's just 100% my oasis,” she said.
Considering the next owner and adding personal touches
While building the house, Schmitt often had the next owner in mind. That mindset influenced many design choices (like installing three ovens) — not out of necessity, but to create a bold, impressive feature.
Schmitt also included her passions and personality in the design.
“I'm a 'plantaholic,'” she said, adding that the abundance of natural light is one of her favorite aspects of the home. “I have three 12-foot trees in here. I have probably 70 hand-grown, purposeful houseplants that I propagate and make bigger.”
Her outdoor landscaping is also filled with plants she nurtured. “My joy is to be outside and play in the dirt,” she said.
She called her Gator utility vehicle the best money she has ever spent because it helps with mountain living. She and her husband often take rides around the property.
“I have [Mika and Tyson] — we strap them in the back — and we literally drive this mountain. You can be gone for an hour, just one way, and it's just joyous,” she said.
A unique home needs a unique owner
For Schmitt, the next owner of the property needs to be someone who can see how special it is.
“I'm that in love with this land and what we've created,” she said. “It deserves someone who's going to take care of it and appreciate it.”
Schmitt said the ideal buyer is someone who embraces the lifestyle that comes with it. “You need to want to be here,” she said. “You have to want to be isolated. You have to want to be out of town.”
What is the next adventure?
“We are of the age now where we're becoming grandparents,” Schmitt said.
Their three grown children live in Nevada, Arkansas and Colorado.
When they sell the house, the Schmitts will move to Arkansas and most likely have a condo in Colorado so that they can travel to see their children and grandchildren.
“If someone were to tell me, ‘Would you rather have 35 acres and an oasis versus grandkids?’ Grandkids win,” she said.