Search Results for: living with nature

“We try not to overdesign,” Lee says. “We try to under-design in a good way, so it feels a little more natural.”

Expansive windows provide views throughout the home. Lee designed the single-level house so that, when doors are open, you can stand at one end of the corridor and enjoy the view at the other end.

Design Associates used reclaimed corrugated metal from old sheds on parts of the home’s exterior. The metal is also used on the roof and complements the reclaimed barnwood that can be seen on both the home’s exterior and interior.

“The views are breathtaking,” he says. “Everyone is so focused on the view up north toward the Tetons, but from her property looking south is just as beautiful. There’s miles of beautiful, open land.”

The homeowner had rented another house on the refuge for years. She loved the home and the location, but never could convince the owners to sell. When a nearby lot came onto the market, she jumped at the opportunity and asked Lee to replicate “all the good stuff” from the house she’d rented and loved—in particular the living room.

The living room is the heart of the home. Lee replicated the size and open feel of the other house with massive windows and a craggy, rustic-looking fireplace. The entire fireplace is done in stone, which complements the exposed barnwood rafter tails. To combat the heavy feel barnwood can create in old cabins, Lee designed big windows to bring in the light and make the home feel airy.

Planned landscaping will provide privacy without obstructing the view—or diminishing the experience—of the master bathroom, which was designed to bring the outside in. “You are just out there surrounded by nature,” says Chris Lee, of Design Associates.

“We went with some really big windows in all the places that counted,” he says.

The living room connects to an open kitchen designed for multiple people to move around it at the same time. The family loves to cook together, and Lee wanted to make the kitchen an anchor in the home. To preserve the airy feel and light of the vaulted space, he did not include upper cabinetry; instead, he attached a massive working pantry to the kitchen, accessed via an arched doorway.

One of the two wings connected to the living room and kitchen holds three bedrooms and a study. The master bedroom, office and a stunning master bathroom are located in the other wing. This bathroom, like the rest of the house, is conservative, in that it is more traditional without a lot of ornate details, but light. The showstopper is the bathtub. The property’s privacy affords it a location in front of a large window that almost gives the sense that the tub itself is outside.

The house is surrounded by stunning views. “We went with some really big windows in all the places that counted,” says Lee.

The homeowner wanted a house with authentic Western comfort and nooks and porches. Lee designed the 5,000-square-foot home in a series of 1,200-square-foot blocks to create a cozy feel. It appears as though one piece was added, and then another, and another, spreading the house out to give a sense of even more space.

“It has a nice charm to it,” Lee says. “It’s like a little compound of cabins.”

The exterior reflects this design, fitting the rambling aesthetic of other homes on the refuge. “We used different roof pitches to make it look like it happened organically,” Lee explains.

The matching reclaimed barnwood inside and outside the house is raw and authentic—Lee even found a bullet hole in one piece. “It all aged together,” he adds. “It looks like it’s been there 100 years. The whole place feels true pioneer rustic, like when you just built with whatever you could get your hands on.”

“We try to under-design in a good way, so it feels a little more natural.”
-Chris Lee

Lee designed this home on the National Elk Refuge as a rustic cabin with a contemporary spin. The house is built with reclaimed barnwood, but he added large, bright windows and clean lines to create an authentic Western home with a modern feel.

The goal was to create a utilitarian, Western feel. Lee also used reclaimed wood for outdoor decks. Private and surrounded with open space, this is a home where people will spend time relaxing beside the outdoor fire pit or watching wildlife from the porch.

“The outside of the house is as cozy as the interior,” Lee says. “It’s not a flashy space; it’s a comfortable, sitting-in-a-rocking-chair kind of space.”

One of the outdoor decks is a small nook just off the master bathroom. This is the owner’s private lounge. “It’s her solace and peaceful place where she gets to take it all in,” Lee says. In this unique spot on the National Elk Refuge, that includes mountains, wildlife and vast open space.

The expansive lodge takes up residence in an upper Teton Village lot that is just under 1 acre. The hillside home captures cohesiveness with landscape and promotes family life unfolding both within and beyond the confines of its walls. Kurt Dubbe, of Dubbe Moulder Architects, explains, “The owners were committed to integrating the indoor and outdoors.”

After all, it would be a shame not to take full advantage of such deep and literal connection to the mountains, National Forest land and skier access in Teton Village. The property features not one, but two ski-in/ski-out points to accommodate a larger family and guests. The first point lies on the first-floor level, allowing access from the ski hill through an outdoor living area and covered porch, which opens into a generous mudroom and master wing. The second ski-in/ski-out point exists on the top floor—a unique addition made possible by the lot’s sloped topography—allowing access directly from the ski slope onto a gorgeous outdoor living space complete with a fireplace, barbecue and ample seating for unwinding and enjoying après-ski libations. In the summer, ski access transforms to out-the-door hiking trails and countless ways to enjoy the surrounding protected, public lands.

Ample space to enjoy the outdoors is a consistent feature of this home. Two ski-in/ski-out areas provide family and friends with a perfect home base for adventures.

A project of this size requires a strong vision from the architects and owners, coupled with a contractor who can be both innovative and efficient. As the architects at Dubbe Moulder began to interview prospective contractors, Dembergh Construction quickly rose to the top. Principal Don Frank and his very capable team were able to manage factors like extreme slope and the lot’s location at the top of a hill smoothly by securing a lay-down site at the bottom of Granite Ridge. This enabled the builders to preassemble wall panels before bringing them up to the site, expediting the construction process considerably.

Custom furniture made from unique, diverse pieces of wood are as eye-catching as pieces of art.

Dubbe explains, “All three parties on the project [owner, architect and contractor] had a great line of communication and a very respectful relationship throughout the life of the project.

Granite Ridge Lodge is one of those projects that, in order for it to succeed, it really does require everybody to be in sync with one another, working together. We needed to put the clients in the position to make timely, well-reasoned, thoughtful decisions without creating any delays during construction.”

Intricate stonework ties both the indoor and outdoor spaces of the home together and contrasts beautifully with other natural materials meant to reflect the mountainside surroundings.

The home went through many design evolutions and was finished with features that mattered most to the owners, including an outdoor spa, soundproof movie theater and game room. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the interior, however, lies in its use of diverse and beautiful wood. Dembergh Construction created several custom wood pieces, including a bar top in the game room made from a curved slab of American black walnut and a dining room table made from a slab of African mahogany with a live edge. Both pieces look more like works of art than furniture. The owners were committed to integrating these diverse wood species and were intimately involved in their procurement process.

Intricate stonework ties both the indoor and outdoor spaces of the home together and contrasts beautifully with other natural materials meant to reflect the mountainside surroundings.

The lives and personalities of the homeowners are indeed captured by this dream lodge from its foundations to its rooftop, including perhaps the most innovative technology the house possesses: solar panels. As solar company founders and executives, it was important to the homeowners to incorporate these panels, which supplement the home’s energy consumption. This commitment to sustainability is a beautiful ode to Granite Ridge Lodge’s astounding alpine environment, and a lasting reminder of the majesty of nature.

The Sourcing Artistry of WRJ Design

Harmony and livability with plenty of light. In the living room, WRJ created this custom silk-and-woolen rug by Mansour to bring all the tones and textures together.

How the story begins: with stocknagels on bentwood hiking canes and trophy roe deer mounts.

In storytelling, the tale begins when the main character walks out the front door. However, it is the philosophy of Rush Jenkins, CEO of WRJ Design, in Jackson Hole, that the story must always begin when you walk in the door.

“For us, design has never been about just fabrics and furniture,” explains Jenkins. “A chair is a chair. Real design is about sourcing the many layers of history, culture, craftsmanship and nature. We’re far more interested in bringing depth and context to the project—and creating real emotion—because that’s who we are, and we seek out a clientele who will appreciate this.”

The faux bois firewood bin and Van der Straeten handwrought bronze tumbleweed mirror are fine examples of Rush Jenkins’ “natural elegance,” the title of the hardcover book to be released in October 2019.

The layers Jenkins alludes to can be found in his partner’s, Klaus Baer’s, Austrian heritage and experience managing international investment production teams, and in their Director of Design Nida Zgjani’s upbringing in Albania, where she studied architecture at the University of Engineering. It is also evident in Jenkins’ own rich history working with Sotheby’s in London and New York.

Additionally, Jenkins continues to thrill as the creator of exhibits; most recently, he received accolades for his show at the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts featuring the one-of-a-kind jewelry of Jean Schlumberger.

“We are more than designers,” adds Baer. “We are curators, collectors and stewards, passing on our passion to our clients. WRJ is about the discovery of wonderful things. This discovery happens for us in Paris and in the auction houses of New York. It happens on Portobello Road and in the streets of London and in the bazaars of Turkey. We’re looking to tell a story, to create real magic, because when that happens, suddenly the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts.”

In this particular home, a collaboration with the clients and JLF Architects, the stories are everywhere.

“I’d be in a meeting,” recounts the owner about the early design stages of her home, “and I’d get this text from Rush in Paris, saying, ‘You have to see this!’ I’d excuse myself to look at a photograph of a set of tables or a lamp with this blue-green labradorite stone mounted on it. I came to trust him because he always seemed to know. And it was so much fun.”

The motto of WRJ Design is: “Inspired by the natural world. Informed by the rest of it,” which is why they’ve always worked so well with JLF, architectural visionaries who’ve also established a reputation for seeking new ways to bring the outside in and nestle their structures within their surroundings.

“The beauty of working with Rush and Klaus,” explains JLF design principal Paul Bertelli, “is that when we start the planning process with them, they get it. The goal posts are clearly defined and we’re all working toward that same uniqueness. They get that our buildings are integrated. They’re one piece. The inside informs the outside and vice versa. A stone wall outside may very well run through the entire house, so those textures and finishes have to be considered. They anticipate this, and it’s magic when it happens.”

The natural world is very much alive in this home, from the living room’s faux bois firewood bin and Van der Straeten handwrought bronze tumbleweed mirror over the fireplace to the porcupine-quill box from Ceylon in the hallway outside the master suite.

Artifacts of beauty and wonder. In the hallway outside the master bedroom stands this finely crafted Syrian chest of drawers inlaid with mother-of-pearl. On top is the porcupine-quill box from Ceylon, circa the late 1800s.

“From the beginning,” explains Zgjani, “we were after an almost zen-like harmony with plenty of light. Take the living room, for instance. We created a floor plan for how the family would interact with the space, whether during a cocktail party or an intimate family game of cards. The owners wanted a real livability, a flexibility, which would allow them to rearrange the pieces. And once we had that, we worked on our textures and tones. The Loro Piana fabrics, the Holly Hunt black-lacquered tables, which threw light everywhere, the blue-green mohair upholstery with its rich, cozy sheen, and the petrified-wooden end tables Rush found in Paris. Then we brought it all together with the custom silk-and-woolen rug from Mansour, with all those soft, neutral textures and tones found in the fabrics and stonework.”

But even within these boundaries, there was room for both whimsy and surprise. Downstairs in the hallway, for instance, there is a collection of mock historical photographs of Indians downing a fighter plane with bows and arrows. And in one of the daughters’ bedrooms, there are wonderful pink beads sewn into the white linen of the canopy.

When the architect brings you light … The homeowner’s wishes were contrary to the traditional dark mountain cabin. WRJ used these creamy shiplap kitchen tiles and Holly Hunt light pendants to brighten the space.

And then there is the Syrian chest of drawers. It stands at the top of the stairs in the hallway outside the master bedroom in finely crafted dark walnut, intricately inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Topped with white Mediterranean marble, it was created sometime between 1900 and 1960 on the plains of Hauran, between Damascus and Jordan. Originally, pieces like these were crafted as bridal gifts, but they soon found a more lucrative market in the West. The mystery of how these craftsmen came by their skills in a country where only 2 percent of their land is forested is difficult to solve. With Syria at war, the artisans have either fled to Lebanon or been lost in the strife.

“Rush, Klaus and Nida knew,” says the homeowner. “From the very beginning they drilled down to an understanding of what would make our house special. And then they went out and found all these eclectic furnishings and made them work together, rich with history and story, and never contrived. We wanted a home that would feel like we’d lived there forever, and that’s what they delivered.”

Looking in is like looking out; from the window placements to the paintings that hang on the walls, everything about this house reflects its mountain views.

Perched on a butte on the north side of Spring Gulch, the private residence is like a minimalist treehouse, a reflection of the restrictive footprint on the hilly 18-acre lot and the owners’ love of clean lines.

“The lot wasn’t so much of a challenge as it was a collaboration, because the owner has an architectural background,” says Gabriel Vazquez, Berlin’s project manager. The outcome is an architect’s—as well as the owner’s—dream house.

This project was three years in the making. The firm and the owners went back and forth with drawings and site plans that now fill a built-in bookshelf in the home’s office, the room with the most intimate vista of the Grand Teton.

“We created a rhythm with the windows,” Vazquez says. “And we were not shy about exposing all the structural steel holding the house up.”

Desert-red hues from the vertical-grain fir ceilings and white oak floors create warmth in winter and a contrast to the structural steel and the wall of windows, which feature white peaks and sage foothills.

The open floor plan exposes steel and celebrates the simplicity of the structure. The windows are oriented to capture views of the Tetons and sunsets—and to protect the interior from baking in the sun.

“Having the hills in the foreground gives perspective to the mountains and the valley floor,” says the firm’s founder, Larry Berlin. “It’s almost like a painting.”

The downstairs workout room and a cozy TV nook off the open kitchen/dining/living room are two of the only places to sit without facing a window. Clerestory windows recessed above a lower roof were chosen for the south side of the house to create a more inward-feeling space. Artwork is also minimal with paintings of Mount Moran and the Grand Cathedral on the only walls in the living area, speaking to the play of light on the mountains. Sunsets filter in from the windows above, providing gentle evening light onto the extensive north-facing patio.

In the twin master and junior master bedrooms, seamless, vertical-grain fir walls show the architect’s precision and draw the eye to the 90-degree windows, which offer two very different mountain views.

“The house was definitely designed around the views,” Berlin says. “The windows in each bedroom meet at 90-degree angles, joining two very different mountain scenes.” A view of the southernmost peak, Mount Glory, from the master bathroom’s west window inspires a more singular perspective than the broader views of the Teton Range from the other windows. Below, the junior master suite is a mirror image of the master.

We try not to design from the outside in, but from the inside out, to make our clients’ houses very personal to them.
— Larry Berlin

All of the downstairs bedrooms have private patios, with the exception of the kids’ room. The walls above the headboards and all of the furniture in the bedrooms are made of vertical-grain fir that matches up with an architect’s precision.

“We try not to design from the outside in, but from the inside out, to make our clients’ houses very personal to them,” Berlin says.

The steel-and-fir stairwell is lit by a clerestory window, which filters natural light from the south side of the house down from above the roofline.