A Peruvian, Scottish and Western Blend Informs a Unique Montana Home

A chair fashioned from a vintage grain bin is part of the opening statement of the Yellowstone Club residence. The custom front door opens to reveal a Ben Pease painting. | Photography by Audrey Hall

When a Florida couple built their Montana retreat, the result was an intentional mashup of their distinct backgrounds. Furnishings and drapes fashioned from alpaca, for example, speak to the wife’s Peruvian heritage, and a Highlander mount—a Scottish breed of rustic cattle—from a local ranch prominently displayed above the living room fireplace reflects the husband’s Scottish roots.

Counter chairs by Verellen line the kitchen island topped with quartzite. Perimeter counters are Caesarstone and the pendant lights are from Apparatus.

“Highlighting things that reflect who they are, that’s what makes this house unique,” says interior designer Rain Houser, who along with partner Skye Anderson of Urbaine Atelier assisted Peter Cowie and Myriam Loveday in appointing their Yellowstone Club digs in such a way that the homeowners’ personalities took center stage. “There’s no question whose house it is.”

A Murano glass chandelier is the dining room centerpiece. Piet Boon chairs surround a table from Sempre in Belgium.

Seeking a classic lodge-style residence, the couple relied on architect Kirk Michels to deliver the stacked stone, rustic wood ceiling beams and chinked walls. “We wanted a log home but with a contemporary feel on the inside,” Loveday says. In response, the design team introduced contrasting refined surfaces in select public spaces. Plaster on the dining room ceiling and an accent wall in the primary suite balance the rougher wood elements in those spaces, and on the recreation room’s ceiling a refined wood inlay in a herringbone pattern delineates the pool table below.

A photo of stampeding bison by David Yarrow complements the rustic materials in the living room where the Baxter sofas flank a Taracea coffee table. The Verellen chairs are available through Urbaine Atelier, and the floor covering is from The Rug Company.

“Kirk brought the rustic elements, and we added elegance and refinement to those features,” says Anderson. “Having worked on so many log homes, we know how light can be absorbed—so we countered that with plaster and by lightening up the furniture.”

Texture abounds in the entry with a vintage Turkish rug and a Baxter Mongolian sheepskin chair.

What the designers refer to as “warm, comforting tones” are pervasive. In the entry, a multicolor Turkish shepherd’s mat bursting with golds and russets pairs with a honey-colored Mongolian sheepskin chair. The palette continues with rich brown leather sofas in the living room, terra cotta and teal banding on the dining room drapes—the tartan pattern is another Scottish reference—and mauve pillows topping smoky lavender loungers in the recreation room.

In the guest room, slumber happens in a Verellen bed with integrated nightstands, and a Verellen sectional provides seating in the sunroom.

Paintings by Native American artists Ben Pease in the entry and Kevin Red Star in the dining room supply a Western nod as well as additional layers of color.

The white oak bunks are by Urbaine Atelier and the light fixture is Foscarini.

Things take a neutral turn in the primary suite. “Myriam wanted an enveloping luxurious room with textures and fibers and no pattern,” says Houser, who delivered with a cream-colored leather bed, a luscious silk floor covering and a chaise upholstered in soft alpaca. In the adjacent dressing room, a chandelier with cascading crystals that belonged to Loveday’s great-great-grandmother is “a wonderful daily reminder of Myriam’s roots.”

Elsewhere, lighting also plays a key role. In the lounge area located at the entrance to the bunk room, for instance, a delicate Mooi fixture reminiscent of snowflakes-twinkles in the cozy space, while lighting in the sleeping quarters resembling a series of intersecting white planes brings a contemporary note to the more traditional décor.

A painting by Kenneth Peloke keeps watch in the primary bedroom where luxury fabrics soften the rough wood elements. Alabaster lamps rest on Croft House side tables, the bed is by Baxter, the chaise is custom, and the antler chandelier is by Jason Miller.

These calculated juxtapositions integrated with the homeowners’ personal treasures make the residence more than just another cabin in the woods. As Anderson explains, “The house feels all at once current, rustic and irresistibly inviting.”

DESIGN DETAILS

PHOTOGRAPHY Audrey Hall
INTERIOR DESIGN Urbaine Home

RESOURCES

LIVING ROOM SOFA by Baxter COFFEE TABLE by Taracea RUG by The Rug Company ARM CHAIRS by Verellen PORCH/ENTRY CHAIR by Urbaine Home RUG by Urbaine Home SHEEPSKIN CHIR by Baxter DOOR HARDWARE by Rocky Mountain Hardware KITCHEN COUNTER CHAIRS by Verellen LIGHTING by Apparatus DINING ROOM TABLE by Sempre CHAIRS by Piet Boon GUEST ROOM RUG by Rosemary Hallgarten SIDE TABLES by Verellen and Ligne Roset CHAIR by Verellen DRAPES by Sandra Jordan BUNK ROOM LIGHTING by Foscarini MAIN BEDROOM BED by Baxter SIDE TABLES by Crofthouse LAMPS by Alabaster Lamps CHANDELIER by Jason Miller PAINTING by Kenneth Peloke SUNROOM TABLE by Verellen CHAIRS by Verellen LIGHTING by Schwung SECTIONAL by Verellen RUG by The Rug Company