It may be one of the more unusual jobs Ellsworth contractor Ralph Doubrava has accepted in a career that spans more than three decades.

For a little more than a year — through the heat of summer and the cold of winter — he drove the dozen or so miles from his home to eight cleared lots in the village of Carneiro to build Gretchen Griffith’s house from the ground up.

This wasn’t just any house.

This was a home designed by Griffith using a mix of southwestern and other styles she found during four years of research. From the road, Kansas Highway 140, the house looks huge. In fact, it’s only 2,800 square feet. In the middle, surrounded by bedrooms, a sun room and other features is an open courtyard. Adding in the porches on three sides of the house and the garage brings the home’s total footprint to more than 5,000 square feet.

Beyond the house are grass and roaming space for the horses Griffith was never able to have in the 45 years she lived and worked in Denver, Colo.

“I’ve always wanted 40 acres and two horses and I ended up with 60 acres and three horses,” Griffith said.

Her relationship with Kansas goes back to her childhood. She grew up in Wichita, where her parents lived until their deaths several years ago.

Returning home to visit them, she would often stop in Kanopolis, to spend the night with a friend from elementary school. That’s how Griffith discovered Carneiro and the “for sale” sign planted by Herbie Harris, who at the time was chaplain at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility. He originally purchased the land along the old highway for development.

Griffith purchased the land in 2013 and, on the advice of her friend in Kanopolis, selected Doubrava to build the house she wanted.

The two spent days, months, years on planning, always with an eye on aesthetics and maintenance.

“We were involved in everything from start to finish,” Doubrava said of his crew.“I always knew what the next move was — what needed to be done.”

The house contains a number of unique features: the courtyard floor is heated, and heat from the fireplace in the family room provides warmth to the sun room through the duct work Doubrava installed. Griffith considers the fireplace with its maintenance free stucco a work of art. Nearby is another special piece, the custom bookcase Doubrava made at Griffith’s request. The kitchen cabinets also are custom made — as are the ceiling beams in the family room and the recessed lighting.

“As you walk through, it’s just a really, really nice house,” Doubrava said.

Griffith said she especially enjoys the flow of the home — and it is a home. Walls contain family photographs and paintings and other pieces of art, many of them souvenirs from her travels. A guest bedroom features her father’s childhood bed.

“It’s truly a family heirloom,” Griffith said.

The exterior of the home also is unusual. Two tiers of landscaping surround much of the house. Perhaps the most outstanding feature is “Domingo,” the bronze horse Griffith purchased in San Francisco. “Domingo” means Sunday in Spanish and that was the day of the week the sculpture was delivered to the Carneiro house.

It’s almost as if “Domingo” — with its front hoofs pawing the air — stands guard over Griffith, her two dogs and their home.

She said this spot in the Smoky Hills of Ellsworth County appealed to her because of its feeling of openness. She can see the beautiful sunsets, look out over the pastures to a building thunderstorm or watch as the grass dances in the wind.

The landscape in Denver was mostly filled with people and buildings.

Griffith, who is retired after helping companies improve their efficiency between departments, also is an artist, something she will have more time for in retirement. She hopes to offer lessons once she settles into her life in Kansas.

And then there’s the house.

Griffith considers her new home and the land that surrounds it a work in progress.

“I’m not a farmer. I don’t grow anything but native prairie,” she said of her future plans for the property.

Griffith moved into the house this past fall; however, it continues to draw attention. Doubrava said travelers would stop along the highway and watch as the house was being built. Others were bold enough to ask questions.

“One guy wanted to know if we were building a restaurant,” the builder said.

Doubrava laughs at the memory. Both he and Griffith said they enjoyed working together.

“It was a lot of fun to do,” Doubrava said.“It’s fun to look at it and say,‘I did that.’”