A House Built with Heart
How the Schultzes blended ranch heritage, modern style, and a courageous family story
Kayleen Goggins Schultz stands in front of the timbered grand entry of her newly built two-level home and points across the road in the direction where her parents live. “I grew up out here,” she says, of the sweeping Vermilion Ranch near Shepherd. “My grandparents live over there where you see the white barn.”
It’s a spectacular sight overlooking the countryside from atop the knoll where Kayleen and her husband, Corey, decided to build their 5,200 square-foot home. It took some unexpected twists and turns, including a medical emergency involving their youngest daughter, for this young couple to make it to this point in their decade-long marriage, but the wait has been more than worth it.
Architectural features, like 20-foot rough-sawn timber from Grand Lumber at the front entrance and 12-foot timbers at the back of the house, embrace the pastoral beauty of this bit of Montana paradise.
Massive black-framed Pella windows from Pella Windows and Doors enhance the interior’s modern look, while natural elements such as stone and wood and “a lot of arches” provide the “Anthropologie vibe” Kayleen says she favors.
“Kayleen had a vision,” says Kristy Ferguson, co-owner of Beyond the Box, a local cabinet, design, and organization center. Kristy and co-owner Debbie Ferguson worked with Kayleen in designing a functional and simply stunning kitchen. The design center supplied all of the cabinetry in the home, as well as the luxurious quartz countertops manufactured by Fabricators Unlimited. “She knew what she wanted,” adds Kristy.
Thoughtful details seamlessly blend the heritage of this ranch family with the overall modern farmhouse aesthetic. “It’s a big space,” says Justin Graves, draftsman for Impact Drafting & Design. “I like the flow and openness from the great room to the kitchen.”
With blueprints in hand, Kayleen and Corey met with homebuilder Jerry Capp in the summer of 2023. “We didn’t break ground until the next June,” Kayleen says.
That’s because of a medical emergency that sent the couple to Denver with 5-month-old Gabby, the youngest of their three daughters. “When we left, Jerry said to us, ‘Take care of that little girl.’ It meant a lot,” says Kayleen.
Gabriella Hope had been born in Denver with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, a severe and congenital heart defect. “We had relocated to Denver three weeks before Gabby was born as the defect was caught in utero during her 20-week anatomy scan,” Kayleen says. “We were told she would live about three weeks.”
On Gabby’s fifth day of life, she underwent the Norwood procedure — open-heart surgery for infants, part of a three-stage palliative surgery plan. “After 38 days we came home,” Kayleen says. “They wanted us to stay five or six months during interstage, the time between the first and second surgeries.”
The couple returned to the children’s hospital in Denver during interstage for a checkup. “Gabby had a stent put in to balloon her pulmonary artery,” explains Kayleen. “It bought us some time.”
As it turned out, that time away turned out to be brief. Kayleen and Corey were forced to cut short their homebuilding plans with Jerry and head back to Denver for five-month-old Gabby’s second heart surgery.
“She was in the hospital for 58 days this time,” says Kayleen. “We brought her home and the next year (January through August 2024) she hardly gained a pound. There were a lot of complications with the second surgery.”
Kayleen, Corey, and Gabby’s older sisters Daisy (now age 8) and Della (now 6) persevered through Gabby’s varied therapy sessions as they reignited their home building plans.
“We broke ground in June last year,” Kayleen says, “and in the midst of housebuilding, we had a big scare in October.”
Gabby had developed digoxin toxicity from the drug used to treat heart problems. Health struggles ensued, as did the family’s commitment to see Gabby survive and thrive. Their determination paid off.
Today, two-year-old Gabby toddles through the house after her two big sisters. Dolly, the family’s goldendoodle, runs close behind. A third surgery looms in the future, however, the Schultz family takes it one day at a time as they settle into their new home. “We moved in this June,” beams Kayleen.
“The home is very intentional with its warm heritage,” notes Kristy, of Beyond the Box. “When Kayleen came to us, she had her blueprints and inspiration pictures. We asked how she wanted her space to function. We ask the right questions so we can get the right results. It’s a comfortable, homey, curated home.”
White-oak kitchen cabinetry delivers timeless style and the versatile foundation for the warmth and elegance of brass hardware. The golden hue of the faucet arching over the white farmhouse sink adds an extra touch of glamour.
“We carried through into the butler pantry with cabinets, quartz countertops, flooring (luxury vinyl plank with hickory look), and a window,” says Kristy. A fluted glass door panel complements this space with distinguished flair.
Black-framed windows above the kitchen sink allow unrestricted views to the western landscape beyond. Kristy points out the windowsill’s wide ledge. “It creates a bay window effect,” she says. “And see how the quartz backsplash comes up under the cabinets? There are glass doors on the top cabinets and under-cab lighting.”
A handcrafted arched niche creates a dynamic focal point and serves as Kayleen’s space to cook on her induction cooktop. Light-color quartz — the same as the 10-foot island countertop and kitchen countertops — covers the inside three walls of this finely crafted cooking area. A flush inset fan mounted in the ceiling above the cooktop stays hidden from sight.
“It was a production,” shares Kristy, regarding the meticulous rock arch skillfully fitted to the front of the niche. “It’s framed with underlying mesh. The cabinets were then installed, the countertop, and then the backsplash. It was a series of layering with all the pieces coming together.”
Schwarz Brothers Masonry fashioned the natural stone arch as well as the arch surrounding the quartz-topped coffee bar. Long, sleek, and flush with the wall, the coffee machine sits close to the cherished family photographs carefully arranged on open shelving detailed with a fine-brass railing.
Corey, Kayleen and their children enjoy living in their new home, as their lives change and adjust.
“I was assistant basketball coach in Shepherd and a family portrait and ‘sometimes’ wedding photographer,” says Kayleen. “Since Gabby, I’ve stayed home with the girls.”
Corey continues his work as a sales associate for Premier Land Company. He is also manager of Public Auction Yards and a sales rep for Northern Livestock Video.
The family’s journey through hospitalization and home building is one of sheer tenacity and inspiration. It’s also been rewarded with deep community ties.
Kayleen credits her cousin Becky Anderson for helping her with the home’s interior design. She commends everyone at Beyond the Box for being “understanding and easy to work with while navigating the journey of ups and downs of CHD (congenital heart defects) with Gabby. They were very patient with us and I think most importantly I could feel they had empathy to our situation.
“I sat in their office one day a few months into the project and filled Debbie and Kristy in about Gabby’s heart condition because I had missed a meeting due to hospitalization. Debbie sat across from me, tears rolling down her face. It meant a lot to me and they helped not only sponsor our Yellowstone Brave Hearts Run but came out and joined the walk that day.”
The third annual Yellowstone Brave Hearts Fun Run and Walk took place this year on the last day of May at the Vermilion Ranch. Kayleen and Kristy agreed about four-hundred enthusiastic supporters showed up.
Kayleen eagerly became a “heart mom” soon after Gabby was born. “Kalee Plowman and Ashleah Hall, (directors of Montana Brave Hearts and moms to little ones with congenital heart defects), heard about Gabby and reached out to me,” Kayleen says.
“We’re the heart moms and the kids are heart warriors,” she says. “I’m a board member for Brave Hearts and so is Corey’s mom. I help run our gala that raises money for research and helping families.”
Kayleen enjoys working from her home office situated off the grand front foyer. It’s a well-designed space filled with textural interest.
Kayleen and Becky painted the walls in deep gem-like colors. The wallpapered ceiling in a vintage pattern drifts dreamily above. A photograph of Gabby draped in her Brave Hearts “beads of courage” graces the wall.
More family photographs adorn the shelves of built-in arched cabinetries in the great room that flank the fireplace, balancing organic appeal and a practical solution to this exquisite living space.
“I wanted a rustic piece for the mantle on the rock fireplace,” says Kayleen. “It’s not stained, just sealed.”
It’s the details such as this, the vibes, and the craftsmanship that reflect the unique individuality and creativity of the Schultz’s new home.
It’s the love and heart that went into it that makes a very special home for this Brave Hearts family.
MONTANA BRAVE HEARTS
Empowering Families & Raising Awareness for Congenital Heart Defects
Montana Brave Hearts was founded by Kalee Plowman of Polson three years ago after her son was born with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome. She soon teamed up with Ashleah Hall of Billings, when Ashleah’s daughter was born with a heart defect.
Their mission was to raise funds for life-changing research. Today, the nonprofit organization also offers support and resources to Montana families with children affected with congenital heart defects.
“One in 100 babies is born with CHD,” says Kayleen, “and there’s no place in Montana for these kids to receive care. Our options are to go to Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake City or Texas.”
According to the Center for Disease & Control, about 40,000 babies born in the United States each year are affected by CHD.
For more information about Montana Brave Hearts please visit: www.montanabravehearts.org
