Mountain Panorama

Berlin Architects, Headwall Construction, and Redpath Constable Interior Design collaborated to create a light-filled custom home that blends traditional details of Mountain West architecture with modern living.

A snowball’s throw from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s base area, in an exclusive neighborhood bisected by creeks and with sweeping views of several of the mountain ranges that surround Jackson Hole, is a Minnesota-based family’s ski and summer retreat. But this 6,000-square-foot residence with its 1,000-square-foot guest cabin is more than a getaway—it’s a commitment to contemporary mountain living rooted in the vernacular of the Mountain West.

Interior designer Katie Constable, who is based in Minneapolis and had previously designed a lake house for the family, says her clients desired a home that was mountain modern and classically elegant, yet comfortable and cozy. “They wanted it to feel welcoming and did not want it to be intimidating,” she says. Part of this was ensuring the home wasn’t so contemporary that it lacked a sense of place.

These goals resonated with architect Larry Berlin, who founded Berlin Architecture in 1984. “The custom spaces we create speak in a profound way to the mountain lifestyle and to the unique character of the individuals who live it,” he says. “We always want to bring a sense of the history of the vernacular of the Mountain West. In this case, we wanted it to feel like a cabin at the base of the Tetons, but open to the spectacular views available from its site at the base of the mountains.”

“The architecture embraces the surrounding landscape with a flowing, light-filled floor plan and expansive views. Inside, there is minimalist detailing, floor-to-ceiling glass, and clean lines.”

— Larry Berlin, Architect

Responding to the Site

An inspiring force for Berlin was the exceptional quality of the southern light and long views downrange. In response, most spaces, including the bedrooms on the home’s second floor, are oriented in this direction. “On this site, you can look all the way down the Tetons to the south,” Berlin says. In contrast, the great room boldly faces northwest, up toward the energy of the slopes and lifts rising steeply at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

As the design was taking shape, Berlin also factored in what might be built in the future on adjacent lots, which were vacant at that time. “Our site plan development was informed by where we thought neighboring houses might be built,” Berlin says. “That is always something we look at very closely. We don’t want light and views to be lost to structures that come later.”

While Berlin considered how future buildings might impact the house, Constable, who founded Redpath Constable Interior Design in 2005, and Colby Bancroft, president of Headwall Construction, had their own challenges. Constable was considering how she might create interiors that didn’t distract from the light and views. “I was looking at windows and the views they framed as art and decided on an organic color palette with texture. This would allow your eye to go through the furniture and focus instead on the view,” she says. “Loud color would distract from the beauty outside.”

Teamwork

Bancroft, who is a former structural engineer converted to contractor, focused on bringing Berlin’s design to life efficiently and in a way that would last in the long run. There were bump-outs in the main public space—a living room/dining room/kitchen/family area where each of these areas flowed into the next—that Bancroft saw as places where the home would lose heat. “We worked with Berlin, framing crews, and insulators to make sure we would resolve the thermal concerns,” he says. “Every single project has its own challenges, and I look at it as part of my job to find ways to solve these in practical ways that don’t compromise the quality or look of the project.”

But Bancroft didn’t have to solve problems solo. “It was a great team on this project, and the clients really benefited from that,” Constable says. “Everyone came in with different past experiences and different things they were focused on. This meant that when we were trying to solve a problem, we had the benefit of a variety of approaches. We also had each other to lean on.”

Bancroft found Constable’s deep understanding of what the clients wanted invaluable. “Her knowing exactly what they would want was so beneficial,” he says. Berlin’s job was made easier because the Headwall crew intrinsically appreciated the attention to detail required to make a minimalist space successful. “Spaces that look simple are the hardest to build,” Berlin says. And Constable and Bancroft say Berlin’s design challenged them to do their best work. “I was so proud to hand this finished project over to the clients. It started off with the ultimate design and ended with it looking and functioning phenomenally,” Bancroft says.

Blending Traditional with Modern

Paradoxically, a fresh interpretation of exterior board-and-batten siding, common in traditional Mountain West architecture, gives the home a more modern look among its reclaimed-wood-and-stone-clad neighbors. “Board-and-batten is something you’d traditionally see on a lot of houses in the Mountain West,” Berlin says. “We used it here to give the house a sense of history in a unique way, where this traditional element has a modern twist.”

The vertical battens are overscaled, and the pattern alternated, accentuating the textural quality and rhythm of the wooden skin. In contrast, subordinate components of the building are clad with a smoother horizontal siding to emphasize the dynamic interaction. The standing seam metal roof reinforces the home’s modern pedigree. Window proportions are bold, simple, uncomplicated, and clean. All this contributes to a masterful balance of traditional form rendered through modern detailing.

The home has baseboards, but instead of being stained, they are enamel. “A modern twist on a traditional detail,” Constable says. The rustic white oak on the ceilings of some rooms strikes a similar balance. White oak is traditional, but the Headwall team worked with Constable and Berlin to come up with a finish that makes it read crisp, clean, and contemporary. “It was exciting and interesting to play with traditional elements and materials and see how they could work together to create a mountain modern home,” Bancroft says.