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The grand allure of Big Sky Country is elegantly expressed in a skiers’ retreat.
Soft light streaks across the Spanish Peaks as the moon rises over Big Sky, Montana, illuminating the tall pines before reaching the forest floor. On the ground, a fresh blanket of snow reflects the shimmering light, bathing the woods in a periwinkle glow. A husband and wife stand quietly on the spacious deck of their home in Moonlight Basin, the only sound the occasional creaking of aging lodgepole pines. “You can’t buy this kind of joy,” he says, smiling appreciatively. “Montana will be part of our family for a long time.”
By any measure, the couple’s first trip to Montana could well have been their last, when a weekend of skiing with friends didn’t turn out quite as they had planned. “The temperature never got above 35 degrees below zero. We only skied one run the entire time,” recounts the husband. But despite the severe weather, the couple felt inexplicably drawn to the majestic mountains of Montana. “We were completely enchanted,” he recalls.
Ten years passed before the native Midwesterners again ventured northwest, and to their delight they found themselves just as captivated by Big Sky Country. Several back-to-back winter ski trips led to summer excursions, and it wasn’t long before the couple decided to build a retreat of their own among the Montana mountains. Finding the perfect location was the top priority, so the couple spent a great deal of time scouting properties before selecting a site in Moonlight Basin. A wooded lot at the end of a quiet road, the chosen location offered both privacy and unobstructed views of the surrounding Spanish Peaks.
Then began the search for the perfect team to build the estate that would become the couple’s legacy. The new property owners spent more than a year interviewing for the key position of architect. “It was critical that the architect understood we wanted a design that was uniquely ours yet would fit in with the natural surroundings of our particular parcel,” says the husband. Upon meeting local architect Reid Smith, whose energy and enthusiasm immediately caught their attention, the couple knew they had found the right person for the job. “Reid told us, ‘I will camp on your lot and watch the sun rise and set until I get the design you want,’ ” the husband recalls. “We loved that he didn’t have a set style but an amazing talent for building what his clients want.”
With the same diligence, husband and wife forged on-ward, carefully selecting the craftsmen of Big Sky Build Inc. to construct the home, and Carol Merica of Design Associates to style the interior. “It was an incredibly talented team,” he says. “Everyone understood our vision and was passionate about the project.”
Though the couple didn’t want a traditional rustic mountain lodge, they liked the regional authenticity and warmth created by the use of logs, natural stone, and other indigenous materials. “The owners wanted their home to be elegant, yet feel like Montana,” Smith explains. “We took into consideration the ruggedness of the location, which was along the north slope of Lone Peak, and designed the home to exude strength and mass, yet be refined.”
The home’s grand front entrance sets the stage. Framing the doorway, thick log pillars rise from giant blocks of stone, angling upward to support the heavy trusses and roof. Beneath, double doors and an oversized transom, paneled with glass and illuminated by hanging lanterns, provide a glimpse inside to the open foyer, where a log colonnade subtly separates the entryway from the great room without blocking the view of the mountains beyond. “The first step into the home is awe-inspiring,” says the husband. “Giant logs, extraordinary stonework, the vaulted ceiling, a perfectly framed view of the mountains — you don’t know what to look at first.”
Two steps lead down from the foyer to a beautifully appointed great room, reflecting the same sense of rustic grandeur. Sophisticated furnishings, including an overstuffed leather sofa and a pair of London chairs, beckon guests to gather around the large stone fireplace and take in the sweeping views afforded by tall windows that line the far wall. Beyond the central sitting area, the room transitions seamlessly to the formal dining room and on into an expansive kitchen. “We entertain frequently,” the husband notes, “and want our guests to mingle freely between these gathering spaces.”
Ideal for more intimate dinner parties, a formal dining area is tucked in a niche of windows, from which one can also access the small wine cellar through a heavy door of reclaimed wood encased in dark stone. A separate stone archway opens to the kitchen, where giant log pillars frame the breakfast bar and prep area. One of the kitchen’s more unusual custom features is the lack of cabinetry above the counters. “The owners wanted to look at the panorama, not cabinets,” explains the architect. “It was one of their many great ideas that helped personalize the design.”
The same appreciation for the landscape is continued throughout the home’s upper level, including the master suite. While it was the homeowners’ original intention to reside on the lower floor, Smith suggested moving the master bedroom upstairs and angling it northwest toward the Spanish Peaks and Madison Valley. “It’s incredible,” says the wife. “Every morning we wake up to a gorgeous view of the mountains, but no direct morning sun.” Like the bedrooms, the upper level’s smaller spaces were designed with the same meticulous attention to detail. The powder room exudes mountain elegance with lavish features, such as a tray ceiling and mosaic tile countertop, beautifully contrasted with hand-forged iron sconces and a basin sink carved from stone.
Outdoor living was just as important to the couple. “The deck plan is something we worked on a lot,” the husband says. “We wanted it to be big and airy so you feel like you’re part of the outdoors, yet sheltered.” To accommodate the avid skiers, the home’s lower level was built below with direct access to the trails. After a day on the slopes, the couple can head down the mountain to the lower entrance and remove their skis in the convenience of their own home. Snow-covered boots can then be placed on nearby boot dryers, coats hung on pegs, and gear stored in the spacious lockers that line the stone-tiled hallway. Afterwards the homeowners can relax and warm their muscles in their custom steam room, located just down the hall across from the stairwell.
“It’s unexpected, like a piece of sculpture,” Smith notes. “When you turn the steam on, it transforms from a public place to a place of privacy.” Three enormous landscaping stones serve as the base. Using saws, craftsmen cut grooves in the stone, into which the glass walls were precisely fit. Finally, natural log pillars were cut and installed to look as though they are growing straight from the stone, adding another architectural layer. “A piece of art, really,” the husband says. He smiles as he thinks back on all of the custom design elements he and his wife incorporated. “We accomplished everything we wanted to. Our home in Montana is heaven on earth.”
Resources
Reid Smith Architects
Bozeman, Montana
406.587.2597,
www.reidsmitharchitects.com
Big Sky Build Inc.
Big Sky, Montana
406.995.3670,
www.bigskybuild.com
Carol Merica, Interior Designer
Design Associates
Bozeman, Montana
406.582.8979,
www.dainteriors.com
