After raising their family in their longtime home in Medina, Terry and Peggy Kingston decided it was time to move on to another house.
But unlike many empty-nesters, they weren't looking to downsize.
"I wanted something with a big view," Terry said.
He spent a couple of years researching local lakes, rivers and hilltops, finally narrowing his search to the St. Croix Valley.
"It's such a scenic river," he said.
The couple looked at plenty of properties before finding a home for sale on a bluff in Hudson, Wis. "I went right to the backyard," said Terry, to check out the vista. "It was jaw-dropping!"
Smitten with the view, the Kingstons bought the place, intending to tear down the existing house and replace it with one that made the most of its spectacular riverfront setting.
Terry, a self-described "frustrated architect," designed the house himself, working with an architect to create buildable plans from his sketches, then hired Robert Craig Homes to oversee its construction.