Read the latest post on our newest resident, The Meadows Family, written by Shelby Skrhak at CandysDirt.com, an award-winning site for the truly real-estate obsessed in Dallas and North Texas.
Tell Us Your Real Estate Story: Beacon Hill Drew This McKinney Couple to the Light
by Shelby Skrhak at CandysDirt.com
Jacqueline Meadows, 54, and her husband Mark, 62, were among the first to finish building their custom home at Beacon Hill, a master-planned luxury lake community on the northwestern shore of Cedar Creek Lake off Highway 175 in Kaufman County.
Ease of access was a key differentiator when they were considering building a home at Beacon Hill, which is up to 30 minutes closer than many other lake developments at Cedar Creek.
Mark is retired after 26 years in the Marine Corp, but Jacqueline commutes almost daily to her office in Grand Prairie. “It’s an easy drive for me, an hour or so,” she says.
Jacqueline compares that to their previous home in McKinney, where the growth of SH 121 and incoming corporate headquarters to Collin County was gaining momentum.
“As building started to escalate, that travel from McKinney to Grand Prairie was awful. It took me an hour and a half to drive one-way,” Jacqueline says. “The growth was just tremendous. That’s when we started looking.”
The Meadows looked at Lake Palestine and Lake Richland Chambers before coming to the iconic blue light beacon at Beacon Hill on Cedar Creek Lake. “We’d just spent three days in Athens looking. On the way home on Highway 175, we happened to see the Beacon Hill signage. We stopped, took a look around, and really got interested.”
When Jacqueline went up on a riser to see what her view would be from the home, she was sold. “In front of us, it’s the lake as far as you can see. We’re situated on a hill and we’ve got a pasture off to the side of us,” she says. “We love being able to enjoy the lake life and serenity of it on a daily basis.” 
That serenity comes from the rolling hills, waterfalls, rock-strewn creeks, wooded areas, and bird sanctuary at Beacon Hill. At night, the blue beacon helps light up a 900-foot jetty/observation pier on the marina at shore, where bridges and walking paths light the way home.
Beacon Hill also has a private marina with boat concierge exclusively for residents with state-of-the-art floating boat slips with stationary lifts in the roof and luxury party rooms designed and furnished by renowned Dallas interior designer Cheryl Van Duyne.
The Meadows selected local Amber DiLane as their home builder. At Beacon Hill, there are no pre-determined homebuilders to choose from, so you can bring your own builder or architect of choice. This allowed Jacqueline and Mark to be completely involved in the building process without pre-set color finishes or floor plans to limit them.
“It wasn’t like going into a new builder neighborhood, picking a few things out, and getting a house up in a few months,” says Jacqueline, who divided up who’d take the lead on decisions about home exteriors and interiors with husband Mark.
A crafty man himself, Mark incorporated some reclaimed wood into custom floating shelving in the kitchen and is hand-crafting patio furniture from Cypress wood.
Now Jacqueline can host the entire family for what she calls ThanksChristmas. A combination of Christmas and Thanksgiving meals, it’s the annual gathering she and her family celebrate at their Beacon Hill home on Cedar Creek Lake.
She and Mark host 20-30 guests including their six grown kids and four grandkids, with another on the way, at their four-bedroom, approximately 3,000-square-foot ranch-style home on the lake.
Turkey, potatoes — fixed a few different ways — and pies have Jacqueline cooking all day in her open kitchen with her favorite Kitchenaid high-grade appliances. “Plus, I fix a big breakfast with homemade rolls, cinnamon rolls, and everything,” she says.
“In a past life,” as Jacqueline calls it, she was a chef at some of the finest hotels in Europe. Having cooked on many different professional-grade appliances over the years, Jacqueline names Kitchenaid and Whirlpool her favorite and chose the brands for her large custom kitchen.
There was one particular indulgence Jacqueline was absolutely sure about. She says laughing, “I want a six-foot bathtub and you can build the house around it.”
“The Meadows family have joined a growing number of Metroplex residents who have selected homesites at Beacon Hill this past year,” says Joe McGinley, Director of Sales and Marketing at Beacon Hill. “As inventory dwindles in those suburbs, traffic congestion and longer commute times continue to become a concern. Beacon Hill has become the sensible choice for folks wishing to use that precious time to enjoy all the amenities of Lakeside living while driving less.”
Find more information about Beacon Hill and schedule a tour at LiveAtBeaconHill.com. 903-498-LAKE (5253)
