A Sense of Movement

Nona Yehia provides a glimpse into her inspiring mountain home — complete with her trademark movement-based style and surprises at every turn.

Architectural designer Nona Yehia provides an intimate tour through her modern mountain home.

What do a gray owl, an ocean skipper and a Jackson architect have in common? If you’re Nona Yehia of E/Ye design, it’s Nona’s house. Nestled atop a long slope down to a lake amid prairie grasses and pines in the Butler Creek subdivision, the 5000-square-foot home is at once pleasantly startling and intimately soothing. Sleek, spare, warm and, well, swooping, the interior space is as organic as a nest, trim as a trimaran and sports the creative touches only an architectural designer could envision.

It all starts with the interior columns; smooth steel sprouts that support the roof and help define the interior space. At first glance, they’re no more than the posts they appear to be. But closer inspection proves that each one is a different height, allowing the cedar-paneled ceiling to tilt and soar as each new living area is revealed. Or consider the traffic flow from the main entry, a kind of Mobius strip of stairs rising to the kitchen, dining and main living areas, passing on both sides of stairs that descend to the family room. And don’t miss the wrap-around deck that travels from level to level, finally providing a turn-around at the al fresco fire pit and outdoor dining area. The resultant effect is one of wave-like movement, beckoning the visitor to mosey and probe, discovering surprises at every turn.

“Movement is the key to my style,” Nona says. “I try to bring movement to all my work, and the landscape here is something I wanted to have continue within the house.”

And it does, utilizing the passage of light through the house’s many windows. Thanks to the interior columns, no exterior wall is load bearing, so clear views abound. The property takes great advantage of its view of the Teton Range with articulating floor-to-ceiling window walls that can be thrown open in good weather to provide immediate — and intimate — access to the view. Yet a turn to your right provides a warm sun beaming through south-facing clerestory windows. The light here seeps into the cement floor, a virtual Trombe slab that provides warmth well into the wee hours of the night. And in the family room downstairs, it’s hard not to pause at the view out this large, square window; the effect creates an Impressionist painting of the sylvan landscape outside.

Designed with her New York partner, Jefferson Ellinger, and built by Howard Henderson and his crew, the house’s only interior walls shield bedrooms and bathrooms. And even the features there — the closets, sinks and shower stalls — represent conscious choices in design: there are no right-angle corners, just
a series of gentle curves that lead to a door here or a wet area there. “Motion is really important to me, especially in design,” Nona continues. “It provides a sense of energy and vitality. And that’s how the house makes me feel, alive and vital.” Her intent is evident at every turn; there’s always an architectural element waiting to act as a guide to the next discovery.