Scharelant offers place for ‘peace and pause’

Lois Miller has sought and found healing at Scharelant whether she was living in a rented fifth wheel or in her magnificent Craftsman home. Now that her dream home is a reality, she is moving on to stage two of her dream: opening her space to the community for healing, relaxing, gatherings and retreats.

Fifteen years ago, Miller, a Spokane Valley native, bought 15 acres overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene, with the dream of someday building a “cabin” on the square of forested land. Early on, before breaking ground, she would rent a fifth wheel or a motor home, run a phone line through the trees, figure out water and a septic system, and spend summers on the land, purely for its healing value.

“Underlying, in the earth itself, there’s a healing presence,” she says. “This feels like sacred ground. We all need to heal to some degree or other, and this has always felt like a safe place, a healing place, to me.”

What was initially conceived as a two-bedroom log “cabin” turned into a spectacular home, with log accents and huge columns of basalt taken from the surrounding mountainside. The home offers an unobstructed, 180-degree view of the lake, stretching from Arrow Point to Tubbs Hill. It features walls of windows and massive fireplaces both inside and on an outside deck. The design is open and inviting, the furnishings lush and oversized, the materials earthy and rich – tile, rock, natural wood and wrought iron.

Miller designed the home and worked as general contractor in its construction. She has a flair for interior decorating and an innate gift for helping guests feel at home.

She describes herself as having a nurturing gene, but no children on whom to lavish attention. Instead, she offers “peace and pause” to the community in the form of Scharelant.

Scharelant means shared land, a name Miller and her brother created to reflect her desire to share her special place with the community.

A massage therapist, Miller sees Scharelant as an extension of her massage studio.

“It really feels like a little nest,” she says.

Miller hopes to maintain her green square forever, to save it from development at all costs. The home is available for holiday functions, reunions, corporate or day retreats, business meetings or workshops. Miller also offers rejuvenation packages that include workouts with a personal trainer on state-of-the-art equipment, and full-body massages.

Guests can enjoy walks along the nature trails through the 15-acre site. There are five decks on the land, each providing breathtaking views of the lake. Deer, elk, quail, wild turkeys and raccoons share the land with their human counterparts. In the future, Miller plans to install several yurts (small, circular tents on a collapsible framework) on the property for overnight guests.

In addition to renting Scharelant, Miller donates the facility to select nonprofit agencies for fundraising events. At Christmas, she staged a benefit for the local food bank and plans to continue the tradition.

“Scharelant offers ease of access, but it feels remote,” she says. “Folks live such busy lives these days, but here the pace slows. It’s quiet and soothing. One can pause. In an hour, everything falls away.”