From Our Editor: Making a Splash

When we think of summer, we think of water. Lakes, streams and ponds, appreciated not just for beauty but for recreation. We look forward to swimming, boating, canoeing, fishing, kayaking, rafting and paddleboarding in crystal clear waters. In this issue, Chase Reynolds Ewald writes about water features in mountain homes: “Where there’s water in this arid land, there’s life. It’s no surprise then that the proximity of water to residences brings beauty and wellness to those who inhabit them.”

JLF Architects and Verdone Landscape Architects have worked together for 30 years to create water features “seamlessly integrating the built environment with the natural environment” for mountain homes. Check out their magic in two Park City homes here.

JLF and Verdone worked together to keep the pool close to the home but hidden from view from the main gathering areas. The meadow-like landscaping comes right to the edge of the designed environment. | Photo: Audrey Hall

Author Michael Punke and his wife, Traci, bought a property on the shore of Flathead Lake and built an inviting vacation home where water serves as a playground for family and friends. “The purpose of being at the lake is to be outside,” Traci says. “We get to play … that is a good day in my book.”

In Lake Tahoe, five grown siblings with families of their own had enjoyed their family’s lakeside property for more than three decades, but mounting maintenance bills inspired them to tackle a renovation with an addition. Not easy to do, designing by committee, yet somehow they created a vacation home that works for everyone—year-round. The family spent New Year’s there with daily polar plunges.

A plaster hood and metal pulls from Rocky Mountain Hardware accent the painted cabinetry and graphic Neolith Arabesque engineered quartz countertops in the spacious renovated kitchen. The Italian pendants are by Il Fanale. | Photo: Brad Scott

Along Colorado’s Frying Pan River, a couple bought a property with two modest buildings and, with the help of a design team, transformed them into a home that from the exterior appears as a collection of structures and from the interior, as a seamless experience of the river. “The sound of the river,” the homeowner says, “provides a constant backdrop.”

If you can’t find me this summer, check out Leigh Lake in Grand Teton National Park, where I hope to be kayaking with friends and family.

Darla Worden
Mountain Living Editor in Chief

See it all in Mountain Living’s July/August 2026 issue.