MANSFIELD — Karen and Bruce Beck are bringing their bed and breakfast back to the Olde Stone House at 291 Stewart Road North in Mansfield.
First, they must find a new owner for their one-of-a-kind Candlewood Lake dome home located along Rochester Way.
The Becks live in a unique architectural gem nestled back in the Candlewood Lake community. The property’s distinctive character reflects the couple’s own remarkable lives.
Selling the dome is the key to unlocking their dream of moving back to the historic stone house in Mansfield, where they plan to transform it into a bed and breakfast.
A life of adventure for the Becks’
Some homes are more than brick and stone. For Bruce and Karen Beck, the iconic stone house on Stewart Road is a place of calling — a place they are now returning to for the third time.
The couple first purchased the house in 1996. At the time, it had been vacant for nearly a year and was in poor condition. But Karen Beck said they envisioned its potential. The couple put in an addition and began renovations, for themselves and their young children.
As their children grew and the demands of full-time jobs increased, the couple sold the property in 2001.
Nearly a decade later, Karen said they found themselves driving by an open house.
“After the open house, we sat in the driveway for maybe an hour or more thinking, are we crazy?” Karen said. “But we felt called back — it felt like home to us from the very beginning.”
The Becks repurchased the house in 2010, transforming it into a bed and breakfast, aligning it with a passion for hospitality.
“We really love serving people and opening the home to them,” Karen said.
In 2014, their path led them across the Atlantic, to Europe.
Known as the “Pedal Pushers,” Bruce and Karen had just completed a four-month cross-country tandem bike trip when they learned about a Christian ministry opportunity in France through their church.
They sold the olde stone house once again, this time following their passion as innkeepers at a 13th-century castle-turned-Christian retreat center in rural France.
“We both assumed the door would be officially shut on the olde stone house after this,” Bruce said.
But in January, the home’s current owners — facing life changes — invited the Becks over one evening to share that they would be selling the house.
After negotiations, the couple is now on a contingent sale to reclaim the property once more.
“It’s home for us there,” Karen said. “We just love the people that come there that we can serve.
“We knew we needed to be there and bring it back as a bed and breakfast.”
Karen said they are looking forward to going back to the glory days of reviving their bed and breakfast ministry.
A dome built with creativity and care
(Photos from Karen and Bruce Beck’s Candlewood Lake dome home. Photo credit: Hannah Martin)
But first, they must sell their “dome home” in Mt. Gilead.
The creative and eclectic dome home is a one-of-a-kind creation, built in 2017.
“I am not the creative one — she is,” Bruce Beck said. “Everyone always assumes the dome home was her idea, and we have to tell them, ‘actually, it was me.’”
He discovered the concept while researching energy-efficient housing. Karen Beck immediately began sketching blueprints tailored to their needs. Built with the help of friends, the structure features 10 sides and 130 triangular roof panels.
A big inspiration for their dome home stemmed from Karen Beck’s creative background, with one section of their loft serving as her in-home art studio.
For almost five years, Karen Beck toiled with Carousel Works, painting horses, figurines and many other detailed projects.
The home includes two bedrooms, 2.5 baths baths and two open lofts that can easily be converted into more bedrooms, Karen said.
Large windows fill the space with natural light, bringing the outdoors inside the home.
“We love the outdoors,” Karen said. “So, we created that in mind with a lot of big windows for natural light.”
The dome house also has numerous built-in storage areas. Karen said they planned it that way so they still had plenty of space, while allowing the house to feel open.
“There is a lot of hand-made work in the finishes here,” Karen said.
Everything was done strategically, she said. She didn’t want a pattern; she just wanted to create something with many different finishes.
The wood walls, flooring and stained glass windows throughout the house all have her special creative touch on them.
She even painted a mural on the kitchen wall consisting of branches and leaves.
“I was going to add birds to it but just never got to it,” she said.
While they love their dome home, the Becks admit that the olde stone house still holds their hearts.
“When we heard it was available again, nothing else mattered,” Karen said.
For Bruce and Karen, the story of the olde stone house isn’t just about real estate — it’s about purpose, building community and answering a call that always seems to lead them home.
“We want to get this out there so we can return to the olde stone house and do what we love,” Bruce said.
Connie Schubert with Century 21 can be contacted at 614-204-1804 with any questions about the Candlewood Lake property.
(Video sourced from Connie Schubert with Century 21 Reality.)