From Our Editor: Expanded Views Across the Mountain West

Portrait: Povy Atchison

A mountain home’s story often begins with the view. Home­owners make decisions about the home’s orientation to the surrounding landscape, often with a focus on mountain ranges. But in addition to appreciating rugged peaks, homes are designed to take in the panorama that may include creeks, valleys, wildflower meadows, wildlife corridors and timberlines. In this issue, homeowners in Utah were enthralled with a property after taking a hike through the aspens. They built their home amid the trees, with walls of windows facing both forest and mountain views, and carefully positioned terraces and lounging areas to absorb all of the surrounding scenery.

A Jackson Hole home is dramatically transformed from chalet-style to modern masterpiece—with pool and patio perches for enjoying breathtaking views, and valley vistas seen from every single room. In Ketchum, homeowners created a vacation getaway that connects with its alpine location, beginning with a skylit entrance gallery that looks through the home to the mountains beyond. Built on two steep lots, the two-story structure follows the grade while capturing the high-country spectacle from indoors and via a terrace that runs the full width of the home.

A home in Montana is aligned with  nature’s theater, enjoying sweeping views of the prairie and three mountain ranges from every interior space. The homeowners asked the architect to create a house that would take it all in: mainline vistas, timberline views where mountain and prairie meet, and glimpses of diverse scenery through massive windows as you move through the home. Positioned on a hillside to capture the gorgeous sunsets, the great room is a favorite place for family to gather and watch the sun sink.

Nature provides the greatest entertainment of all; whether we’re watching a fox outside our window, the aspen leaves turning in the fall or a delightful view of the Bridgers from a laundry room sink, there’s always something to marvel at. As architect Tanner Skelton says of the Montana home, “It was designed to be an experience.”

Here’s to taking it all in,

­Darla Worden
Mountain Living Editor in Chief

As seen in Mountain Living’s May/June 2025 issue.