When Giuliana and Bill Rancic decided to buy a vacation house in Idaho, they didn’t just scoop up a ready-made McMansion — they created a dream home.
“The house was not our style [when we bought it] and had these tiny windows so that you couldn’t see the amazing view,” Bill, 47, tells ArchDigest.com of the 4,900-square-foot, 5-bedroom property on Lake Coeur d’Alene. “We completely changed everything.”
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The biggest renovation executed by the couple — who also have a home in Brentwood, California and a Chicago townhouse (the latter was put on the market for $6.8 million in March) — and their designer, Lonni Paul, involved knocking out the back wall and replacing it with an expanse of glass to show off the home’s spectacular water views.
“People have no idea what they are getting into because you can’t see the view from the street,” he explains. “Then, when you walk in that front door and turn your head it’s like, wow . . . We keep those back doors open most of the time, so the indoors really just flows outside.”
Early riser Bill will have his morning espresso “and watch CNBC out there” on the big-screen TV. Giuliana, 44, joins in later.
“Bill and I chat for a while before Duke gets up,” the E! News host says of their six-year-old son. “Then once he does, we have breakfast out there together.”
The glassy addition didn’t make the house feel too modern, however. “I wanted to have that cabin feel,” Giuliana says, “but we wanted to keep it really clean, beautiful, and simple.”
Inside, the great room’s showpiece is a rustic installation of stacked logs, that has become a hotspot for selfies.
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“When we removed these big built-in bookshelves near the fireplace, we were left with a hole,” says Giuliana “I thought it could be fun to fill it with logs.” They found logs on Etsy and spent days sanding and gluing them into place. “Now, when people first come in, they ask to take a picture in front of the wall.”
“This place is really special, and we’re so happy with how it turned out. It’s one thing to see it in pictures, but to actually live in it, be in it, and breathe it—it’s just an incredible feeling. We are truly creating beautiful memories as a family.”
To read the full story and see more photos visit archdigest.com.
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