2012 Homestead Cover Revealed!
By Alex Schott , February 3rd, 2012

We are so excited to reveal the cover of our 2012 edition of Homestead! With all of the beautiful architecture, art, and interior design featured in this year’s book, picking our cover photo was certainly no easy task. But this stunning photo of the Shooting Star Ranch home by Stephen Dynia Architects and Dynamic Custom Homes shone through as one of the most extraordinary of the bunch.
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With a Little Paint, This Timber Frame Home Feels Fresh
By Alex Schott , January 31st, 2012

Timber frame homes seem to be universal. They’re practically the standard here in rustic Jackson Hole where you can’t walk up a flight of stairs without them being made of knotty pine.
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Slope Side Living in Style
By Alex Schott , January 25th, 2012

Much to everyone’s excitement, the big storm last week left Jackson covered in 5 feet of snow, and got us all out on the slopes after a dry start to the season.
All this fun at the resort got us thinking about our favorite places to relax après ski. And at Homestead, you can bet we prefer the luxury and solitude of a beautiful slope side home to any bar.
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Ben Roth Takes Outdoor Showering to a Whole New Level
By Alex Schott , December 15th, 2011

There’s nothing quite as glorious as an outdoor shower. You’re naked. You’re outside. The air is warm and the water is warmer. When you’re coming in from a long day spent in the sun, even rinsing off in a tiny space made with driftwood walls feels like luxury.
But this outdoor shower by local artist and designer Ben Roth takes the experience to a whole new level. Jackson couple Scott and Sandy approached Ben to design this shower as part of an addition to their private residence on North Gros Ventre Butte. The addition, designed by Carney Logan and Burke, was Sandy’s gift to Scott; as a lover of outdoor showering, the feature was his top requirement for the renovation.
Scott wanted an outdoor shower that would allow him to view the Tetons while he bathed. And while he didn’t want to offend his neighbors, he loved the idea of his head and feet being visible to passers-by. So Ben took measurements to tailor the shower specifically to Scott’s body, and came up with a chic elliptical design that provided privacy without compromising the Tetons. The carbon steel screen is also meant to rust over time, allowing the shower to blend into its surroundings while requiring zero upkeep – so Scott could shower nearly camouflaged by his surroundings (except for his head and feet of course!).
But when Sandy asked that her measurements be incorporated into the plans, the ellipse became much shallower and the design lost its original appeal. Realizing that she’d probably never use the shower, she asked that Ben return to the Scott-specific design. With that, the shower became Scott’s completely custom personal outdoor shower. Now that sounds pretty glorious to us!
Bringing Design to Life: Spotlight on B&B Builders
By Alex Schott , December 5th, 2011
While architects and designers can dream up beautiful buildings and spaces, it’s the builders who are responsible for bringing these visions to life. That’s why Homestead is spotlighting B&B Builders. With a portfolio that ranges from remodels to complete custom homes, B&B Builders have become synonymous with the luxurious spaces in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Utah.
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WRJ Design Associates: Refined Taste Finds a Home in the Tetons
By Alex Schott , November 17th, 2011
With clients ranging from Sotheby’s in New York to Julien’s celebrity auction house in L.A., and with high-end corporate, residential and landscape projects around the globe, jet setting and city-living have been the norm for Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer of WRJ Design Associates LTD.
So when the designers chose small-town Victor, ID as the home-base for their first retail store, WRJ Home, this past May, you’d never expect it to feel like such a perfect fit for their refined tastes.
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Four Daughters: Not Your Typical Jackson Kitsch
By Alex Schott , October 20th, 2011
Four Daughters: another western collectibles store on Town Square? One more shop that sells Jackson Hole souvenirs and gifts?
Not so fast say Lyle and Jesse Gestal, owners of Four Daughters, one of the newest additions to Jackson’s town square. Down the wooden steps and across from the Boot Legger, this sister duo has brought to life their unique vision for a store selling Western inspired memorabilia with a big wow-factor.
“We wanted to sell art and one-of-a-kind collectibles without the typical Jackson kitsch” Says Lyle, the youngest of the four Gestal sisters. “We’ve both worked in retail here, and wanted Four Daughters to stand out from the rest of the Jackson crowd.” So after securing their new retail space, the sisters spent their off-season making road trips across the American west, finding inspiration in Taos, and unique items in antique shops throughout Utah and Wyoming. Thus the store became a collection of Western-inspired items from vintage belt buckles and old-fashioned pocketknives to restored antique furniture and worn leather saddles.
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Filterpave
By Alex Schott , October 2nd, 2011
These days it seems like the “green” movement is permeating every aspect of home design – from biodegradable wallpaper to eco-friendly cleaning products and composting toilets; there’s an earth-friendly or energy-saving option for anything you could hope to design, buy, or build.
In Jackson, we are especially aware of these green options because of our proximity to several of the country’s most beautiful national parks and forests. We want to keep our cherished national parks and beautiful landscape as pristine as possible, but it can get tricky when the farms that are so important to our region produce non-point agricultural runoff and groundwater pollution.
That’s why we’ve been so intrigued by a new technology we’ve seen popping up around Jackson. Filterpave, a hard-surfaced porous pavement made from 100% post-consumer recycled glass, offers environmental benefits that touch many of the issues that impact this region. The material in Filterpave is a mix of elastomeric binder and glass fragments that would typically be landfilled. Then, the porous consistency of the material results in a reduction of storm water runoff, allowing groundwater to be replenished and filtered- an imperative part of sustaining our eco-system.
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The Cat Room
By Alex Schott , October 1st, 2011

Trauner Designs, Inc. is known in Jackson Hole for designing some of our town’s most iconic spaces. From the Snake River Grill, Jenny Lake Lodge, and country clubs like Teton Pines and Golf & Tennis, to some of the finest residences in neighborhoods throughout Jackson, Trauner Designs sets the deluxe Wild West tone that makes our town so unique.
That’s why when one of Trauner’s clients asked them to design a cat room for their new home, the company approached the project with their usual panache. The result is an entire playroom designed in Trauner’s signature rustic style, where some very lucky cats can spend their days jumping, hiding, scratching, and chasing. Plus, the views from one of the windows features Sleeping Indian… how purrfect for a feline who’s been jumping around all day and in need of a cat nap.
Hotel Terra Gets Local
By Alex Schott , September 25th, 2011
+ Story by Jennifer Dorsey
+ Photography by Latham Jenkins
With two national parks in the Jackson Hole area, wildlife and ranch animal themes naturally crop up in local art collections. Even so, the Nine Francois photos at Hotel Terra prompt a double take.
Wielding a wide-angle lens, the Texas-based photographer scoots in super-close to her subjects and snaps them from oddly intimate angles. Later, she strips surrounding details from the image until just the animal—be it deer, elk or bison—remains.
“For the viewer, there’s a sense of play, an intimacy in the photos,” says Francois, whose work can be found in Jackson at RARE Gallery. “The plain background lets you concentrate on how beautiful the forms are.”
It’s not surprising that animal photographs with a twist would hang at Hotel Terra. The property’s entire decorative scheme plays on the idea of the unexpected: Materials and shapes associated with Jackson Hole’s rustic side come together in a way that’s sophisticated and contemporary, an apt description of the valley as a whole.
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