Paradise Found

An East Coast couple swaps the bright lights of the big city for lake views and slow living in idyllic Eden

Photos by Lindsay Salazar Photography

In a world driven by the perpetual sense of rush—same-day delivery, fast food, high-speed internet—it turns out there’s nothing more refreshing than life in the slow lane.  Just ask Scott and Kim Best, who moved their family from the frenetic energy of the East Coast to the pristinely peaceful mountain town of Eden, Utah.

The couple, who met in Boston while Scott attended MIT and Kim attended Harvard, (their roommates were dating, and the rest, they say, is history), yearned for a calm retreat far from the hustle and bustle of Wall Street, where Scott worked as a bond trader. Their first child brought about a move to New Jersey, but ultimately, they wanted to be closer to family—and farther from the sound of wailing sirens. 

While the family often spends summers vacationing in Scott’s birthplace in the UK, Kim (who grew up in Bountiful) deemed it too rainy for permanent residence. Instead, the couple fell in love with Eden’s serene landscape: “It reminded me of the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District where I grew up,” recalls Scott. “The lake, the rolling hills, the rocky outcroppings, the trees…I thought, okay, I could move here.” 

After securing their patch of pastoral land, eight acres adjacent to Pineview Reservoir, they embarked on a new build—but one that would evoke an established air. “We wanted to build a brand new ‘old’ home,” Kim explains. 

They were enamored with Dutch Colonial style, popularized in New England where the couple spent their university days. To help bring their gambrel-roof dream to fruition, they teamed up with Derek Mecham, a local designer who specializes in historic design. 

“Derek is brilliant and has an incredible eye,” says Scott, a fellow history buff with a passion for restoration.  “He is such a rarity.”  They had worked together previously to restore the old J.M. Wilbur Blacksmith shop in town (built in 1895) and its neighboring storefronts. The building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Choosing to work without an architect, the couple and Mecham designed the nearly 6,500-square-foot house themselves and hired general contractor Justin Pack of Ogden Valley Homes for the five-year project. 

“Justin was maybe the only contractor in Utah with the creativity, tenacity and attention to detail needed to bring the highly bespoke design to reality,” says Scott, who noted Pack had also worked on the Wilbur Blacksmith project.

The Bests partnered with Euclid Timber Frames in Heber for the timber framing and engineering of their project, where they discovered the innovative Interlocking Cross-Laminated Timber (iCLT) construction. This method, according to Euclid, offers superior structural integrity while being free from mold and condensation. iCLT combines 100% solid wood with interlocking dovetail joinery, allowing the walls and roofs to “breathe” and enhance indoor air quality.

Not only do solid wood homes tend to have less household dust, but they are also shown to be significantly more energy-efficient and manage temperature naturally. There are additional claims that living in solid wood environments fosters tranquility, lowers heart rates, boosts immune function and improves sleep quality. 

In the Eden abode, the exterior walls are constructed from twelve-inch-thick solid wood and assembled without the use of glue or chemicals. There is no sheetrock or oriented strand board (OSB) present, which results in a completely VOC-free home, down to the paint. The roof insulation consists of natural sheep’s wool, and the home operates on a geothermal system. “We don’t use any fossil fuels to maintain warmth in the winter and coolness in the summer,” Scott emphasizes.

The interiors are cozy and timeless, with a cottage-like, Cotswolds-inspired aesthetic. “If we lived back in England, we would live in the Cotswolds,” Kim explains. To realize their vision, the couple worked with local interior designers Emily Hogg of Iris and Emily and Lauren Oviatt of Lauren Oviatt, Inc. 

Elements throughout the home pay tribute to Kelmscott Manor in the UK, the historic estate where 19th-century designer William Morris resided. As the founder of the Arts and Crafts British heritage brand, Morris & Co., his former home—now a museum—has been a continual source of design inspiration for the couple.

English farmhouse details flourish throughout the Best’s home: a traditional AGA Range in a rich red hue that matches the red front door; cheerful shades of paint such as the pantry’s butter yellow from UK-based Farrow & Ball; hand-pressed tiles from Devol Kitchens in England for the laundry room; and furniture and walls dressed with fabrics and wallpaper by, of course, Morris & Co. 

These days, the only thing that moves fast in their neighborhood is Scott’s beloved red 1964 Jaguar XKE. It’s slow living indeed, and the couple couldn’t be happier in their quiet little slice of paradise.

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