Now Open for Reservations: Experience Homesteading Elegance at the Backyard Billet, Your Ultimate NW Arkansas Vacation Home
- Melissa Lockton
- Feb 2, 2024
- 3 min read
It's with incredible excitement that we officially open the doors of the Backyard Billet to guests! While we hope your event or stay with us feels as though every inch of our NW Arkansas Vacation home was designed with you in mind — we thought we'd share a bit of how we got here.
Our dream of the Backyard began back in 2016. After our girls starting riding horses, we decided it was time to own our own property and make a go at the homesteading lifestyle. Little did we know what an adventure it would be!
Rick and I both had corporate jobs with Walmart and the kids were attended schools in Rogers, so being close to town was the goal. Similar to many others, our first attempts of acquiring real estate didn't pan out, leading to more... irrational behavior? I'm not sure we really knew what we had signed up for when we put in an offer for over 80 acres of land on Sugar Creek Rd. While it checked all of our boxes, I don't think we quite realized what was in store for us.
The first few years included a few side projects, but mostly cleaning up the place and deciding how we wanted to develop it over time.
After a few years, we were ready to start building, but the bank required us to sell our old home before construction could be begin. In an attempt to speed up the process, we decided on a whim to buy a 900sf mobile that we could live in while construction took place. The plan was to make a small sacrifice for a year or two, but begin to enjoy the great outdoors and our new property.
After months of planning, we finally broke ground in Feb 2020. The land was cleared and the foundation had just begun when the world began to shut down. While living out of town during COVID was in part a blessing, we never could have imagined two working adults and three children attending remote schooling in a 900 square foot mobile home! To say we were ready for construction to finish is an understatement!
We weren't more than a year into the build when Rick learned his role at Walmart wasn't meant to continue. After taking a job in Florida, he traveled nearly every week while the kids and I kept an eye on the construction and tried to keep life as normal as possible. The full home build took almost two full years to complete.
When we started this process, I had the vision to create a space that would bring my family and friends together and create memories and a property that could be passed down through the generations in our family. As happens, life had different plans for us. I'll admit, leaving my dream home in a dream location didn't initially provide me feelings of gratitude, but as with most things in life, time cures all, and I'm so excited that we are now able to share our dream of the NW Arkansas backyard with so many others.
Our hope is your stay at the Backyard Billet feels as if you are a member of our family coming to visit. In fact, I designed the home and interior myself, with the intent of hosting parties and events for our family and friends. All of the furnishings are designer and often custom, the wall decor is the same as when we were there. The Steinway piano is even my grandmother's, passed down to my kids who learned to play on it. I promise, you won't find a more warm and personal lodging experience in the area.
Rest, relax, take in the energy of this place and feel better than when you arrived and sharing our gift will be so worth it. I hope you enjoy your stay as much as I enjoyed designing it!
Sincerely,
Melissa
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