It’s a classic card game for young children. Let’s say a child is asked if he or she has any sevens. Instead of answering “no” the proper response is “Go Fish.”
Maybe it’s because she’s a grandmother to 13 children, but more often than not, when Frank Dunkin asks his wife Joy what she wants to do that day, her answer is “Go Fish.”
Fortunately for Joy, the solution is an easy one. Just outside the front door of the couple’s new Wilmington home is the family’s private three-acre pond which is stocked with traditional bass, striped bass, catfish, blue gill, and hybrid blue gill.
It’s catch and release sport here—the fish are safe. And just in case predatory birds are on the hunt for dinner, four life-like floating swan decoys patrol the pond and act as deterrents.
Outdoor options
The pond is just one of many attractions the couple offers to entice their six grown children and their families to visit. Even though the home’s elegant exterior and gracious front entry hint otherwise, this is a home that was built for fun. Out back there’s a spacious outdoor living area perfect for family gatherings around the grill, pizza oven, or Green Egg. There’s a free-form pool with water features, heated from the first of March to the end of November. Plus, three four wheelers and two mini-bikes are at the ready should anyone want to take a spin around the nearly 15-acre property.
Inside, off the kitchen, in the walk-through pantry, there’s a restaurant-style soft drink dispenser and popcorn popper. Downstairs there’s a pool table, home theater, and two-lane bowling alley. And if that’s not enough, the bowling room features pinball machines, a video game, and a claw machine filled with stuffed toys.
When asked the obvious question: “Did you design this home with grandkids in mind?” Joy answers with an emphatic nod saying, “We’ll get them here one way or another.”
Building the dream
Five years ago, when plans for Frank’s retirement were beginning to percolate, the couple knew they wanted to move from their Springboro home to a place with more land and more options for their offspring. After looking at a few existing homes, they decided to build and began looking for land.
“We stumbled across this land on a Saturday morning,” Frank says. “Joy and I drove by on the way to go fishing at Rocky Fork Lake and a new development caught my eye.” After determining that they could buy three parcels—totaling 14.9 acres—Frank and Joy began meeting with builders suggested by the developer. One of those was HBS Development, Inc. (Homes by Simms).
“When we met with Mike Simms, it kind of clicked,” Frank says.
Putting plans to paper
“We weren’t afraid to go big versus downsizing like most people our age,” Frank says. “I wanted Joy to have everything she ever wanted. She supported me over the years as I worked a lot of hours. I wanted her to have the space to really enjoy our grandkids.”
With that “go big” mentality, the couple came to that first design meeting with a list of specifics. They had previously toured a home that was close to what they were hoping for, so they began with that concept when they first met the HBS team.
“I had some ideas to make the home a bit different, more unique,” Simms says. “I liked that it was going to be a house built for a family. My wife Sarah (who is the company’s service manager) and I have five grown children, and we want to have them visit often. I think that’s why we clicked well with Frank and Joy on the design.”
“Mike really listened to us,” Joy says. “And Sarah was phenomenal.” Frank adds that the HBS team “went out of their way to make time for us.”
A common theme
It was going to be a large home with multiple structures. Making all those buildings have the same architectural style and flow was important to the Dunkins. Shannon Ruby, residential designer with S.L. Ruby Designs, was tasked with drawing up plans and working out the specifications.
Simms is particularly proud that they were able to stay true to the Craftsman style for the entire compound—inside and out. This includes the main house with a three-car garage, a breezeway to another two-car garage, and a detached four-car garage with a guest apartment above it. All those structures are tied together with a motor courtyard.
Laying the foundation
Construction on the 12,800-square-foot home began about three months after Ruby’s drawings were complete. “We made very few adjustments,” Frank says. “We were ready to get underway and knew it wasn’t going to get done fast.”
The first phase focused on preparing the site. For that task, Frank turned to Jim Clark and Sons Excavation. “I researched Brad Clark heavily,” he says. ‘I couldn’t ask for a better contractor or person.”
Jim and his son Brad brought several pieces of heavy equipment to redistribute soil on 10-plus acres. They created space for the pond, compacted soil to elevate the position of the house, leveled out an area for the barn and cut in roads and driveways.
“They must have brought in 150 truckloads of gravel and stone,” Frank says.
After the site preparation was complete, engineer John Magness designed an intricate drainage system to direct water to the pond. Downspouts from the house and drains from the driveway travel underground to feed the family’s fishing hole.
Ready to go
Now it was time for the HBS team to start the two-plus year process of building the Dunkins’ dream home which included several big-ticket items.
“Joy and I both love fishing,” Frank says. “I wanted to stand in every room inside our home and be able to look out the windows and see water.”
Also, Frank wanted a dedicated suite for his father should he need to move in with them. An elevator was installed to make travel between the floors easier—for his father now and for the couple in the future.
Plus, there are the bowling lanes. An annual holiday excursion for the family always led to an afternoon at a local bowling alley. Simms suggested they modify the lower-level plans to include a couple of lanes.
A pool was a must-have as well. And this one has a beautiful setting surrounded by the family’s acreage and farmland beyond. It was important to Frank that there was “no more than one brick transition from the home to the pool,” So the only step down between the great room, outdoor room and the pool is about three inches deep.
While Joy loves to be outside hanging with her three dogs and one chicken, and Frank likes to spend an occasional afternoon tinkering in the barn, the inside of their home serves as a refuge as well. Options include soaking in a spa-like primary bath with its wide-open view of the pond, working out in the lower-level gym, relaxing in the sauna, jamming in the music room, and more.
But when family arrives, the action often moves to the spacious kitchen, where meals are prepped for any occasion that draws them together—birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, Saturdays….you name it.
“They are always welcome,” Joy says. “We just want them to have a good time.
RESOURCES
Builder HBS Development Residential design S.L. Ruby Designs Interior design Sally Cook Windows Pella Flooring and tile JP Flooring Cabinetry and doors Select Kitchen Design Lighting Lamps Plus Appliances Ferguson Countertops Stone Statements Wall and window treatments Sally Cook Fireplace Dayton Fireplace Furniture Arhaus Excavation Jim Clark and Sons Engineer John Magness Dock TimberTech, Jim Clark and Sons Landscape design Escapes, Grunder Landscaping hardscapes, poolside fire urns Ground Scapes Pool Buckeye Pools
Article by Karen Bradner |
Article originally appeared in April 2026