Rustic Redefined

In Montana’s Yellowstone Club, a getaway home showcases the Old West vernacular—with an industrial edge

When a new home is built in rustic style, thinking inside the box is the most common approach: Pick a material, whether logs or rough-hewn planks, river rocks or granite blocks; build in a conventional square-cornered form; and then furnish and accessorize with harmonious, time-honored choices. The results may please, but they can also appear bland and predictable.

So when the owners of a property in Montana’s Yellowstone Club asked for a second home that was not only rustic but also unique, architect Kipp Halvorsen of Bozeman-based Faure Halvorsen Architects knew that “tried and true” just wouldn’t do.

“The site drove everything,” Halvorsen says. Just smaller than one developable acre, the steep lot offered spectacular views of nearby Pioneer Mountain ski area and distant Yellowstone National Park but afforded no easy place to build a home to accommodate the clients, their twin sons and a large extended family.

Halvorsen’s solution: Design four separate “modules,” connected by enclosed bridges and hallways, that work their way up the hill in an organic, nonlinear fashion. Each module sits at a different elevation and slightly different angle. This approach enabled the architect to maximize the views from the 4,500-square-foot home while concealing neighboring houses from sight. It also created intriguing interior sightlines, with bridges and living spaces revealing glimpses of other parts of the house. The unconventional configuration yielded some surprising nooks and crannies too, from a staircase landing that doubles as a niche for a desk, to wall-recessed bunk beds, to a wine cellar tucked beneath the bridge leading from the living room to the master suite.

Equally unique is the home’s palette of materials, finishes and furnishings. “The traditional rustic look has been done time and again,” observes builder Todd Thesing of Big Sky-based Highline Partners, whose material choices offer a fresh take on rustic design—and make the new structure look as if it was built over time. Finishes include standing-dead timbers and reclaimed barn boards, joined by Montana moss rock that forms walls, double-sided fireplaces and the enclosure around the kitchen stove. Perhaps most surprisingly, the design team fashioned the bridges from salvaged steel joists, tracks and screens that recall the region’s mining tradition. In the 1860s, Montana had its own gold rush, points out Halvorsen. “I haven’t seen people incorporate the essence of that history before,” he says.

Interior designer Bill Peace describes the look as “rustic with an industrial edge.” One of his primary responsibilities, says the Bozeman-and Atlanta-based designer, was to “reflect history while bringing the house into today’s world, adding softness to contrast with the rugged materials, and introducing subtle decoration to make the home even more interesting and livable.” He deliberately chose a neutral color palette—predominately earth tones in a range of browns and grays—to serve as a backdrop for the owners’ lives. “Once you add people, their collections and art, their family and friends, their food and activities,” he says, “the result is a home that is truly memorable.”

INTERIOR DESIGN William Peace, Peace Design, Atlanta, GA, peacedesign.org ARCHITECTURE Kip Halvorsen, Faure Halvorsen Architects, Bozeman, MT, 406-587-1204, faurehalvorsen.com CONSTRUCTION Todd Thesing and Rob McRae, Highline Partners, Big Sky, MT, 406-995-2125, highline-partners.com MUDROOM VINTAGE NAVAJO RUGS Pete Porter, Atlanta, GA BEDROOM LIGHTING Star Chandelier and Swing-arm Sconces by Circa Lighting, circalighting.com BEDDING Gramercy Fine Linens, Atlanta, GA, shopgramercy.com HEADBOARD Fifth Avenue Headboard by Hickory Chair, High Point, NC, hickorychair.com ANTIQUE CARVED CHAIR BoBo Intriguing Objects, High Point, NC / Atlanta, GA, bobointriguingobjects.com RECREATION ROOM BUNKBED BLANKETS Pendleton, pendleton-usa.com SOFA Chronicle Sectional by Lexington Furniture, High Point, NC, lexington.com VINTAGE POSTERS Client’s own RUG Chain Wool Rug by Room & Board, roomandboard.com CHILDREN’S STUDY PAINTED METAL STOOLS Scott Antique Market, Atlanta, GA, scottantiquemarket.com VINTAGE NAVAJO RUG Pete Porter, Atlanta, GA CHESTNUT PLANK ON TOP OF IRON I-BEAM Scott Antique Market, Atlanta, GA, scottantiquemarket.com DINING AREA DRAPERIES Glass House Atelier / C&C Milano, available through Grizzel & Mann, Atlanta, GA, grizzelandmann.com BANQUETTE HLP and Salzburg Designs, Big Sky / Bozeman, MT, 406-587-4497; back upholstered in Double Diamond by Rose Tarlow, available through Ainsworth-Noah, Atlanta, GA, ainsworth-noah.com; seat upholstered in Aqua Velvet from Great Outdoors collection by Holly Hunt, available through Jerry Pair Fine Furnishings, Atlanta, GA, jerrypair.com DINING CHAIRS Vintage Swedish Deco covered in Versailles velvet by Kravet, available through Bjork Studio, Atlanta, GA, bjorkstudio.com DINING TABLE Design by Peace Design, manufactured by Georgia Cabinet (hickory top) and Andrew T. Crawford Ironworks (bronze base), andrewtcrawford.com, Atlanta, GA INDUSTRIAL PENDANT Beau Holland Studio, Atlanta, GA, beauhollandstudio.com KITCHEN PEWTER COLLECTION Client’s own VINTAGE NAVAJO RUG Pete Porter, Atlanta, GA PENDANT Industrial “Explosion Proof” pendant, High Point Market, High Point, NC BATHROOM MIRROR Marburger Antique Show, Marburger, TX, roundtop-marburger.com LICENSE PLATE COLLECTION Client’s collection / The Plate Hut, Douglaston, NY LIVING ROOM CUSTOM SOFA TecnoSedia workroom, tecnosedia.net; upholstered in Chaine by Glant, Jerry Pair Fine Furnishings, Atlanta, GA, jerrypair.com ALL DECORATIVE PILLOWS Bjork Studio, Atlanta, GA, bjorkstudio.com RUG Laura Walker, available through Verde Home, Atlanta, GA, verdehomeinc.com CHANDELIER Sphere by Coup d’Etat, available through R. Hughes, Atlanta, GA, r-hughes.com WING CHAIR Elliott Wing Chair by Hickory Chair, Hickory, NC, hickorychair.com; covered in Stingray leather from Great Plains by Holly Hunt, hollyhunt.com CUSTOM CLUB CHAIR Covered in Teddy Mohair by Kravet, available through TecnoSedia, Atlanta, GA, tecnosedia.net RAILROAD CART COCKTAIL TABLE Scott Antique Market, Atlanta, GA, scottantiquemarket.com SIDE TABLE & COCKTAIL TABLE ACCESSORIES Robuck & Co. Antiques, Atlanta, GA, robuckandcompany.com PILLOW Moritz pillow by De la Couna, Ainsworth-Noah, Atlanta, GA, ainsworth-noah.com LANDING DESK NOOK CHAIR BoBo Intriguing Objects, High Point, NC, bobointriguingobjects.com VINTAGE DESK Client’s own RUG Moattar Ltd., Atlanta, GA, moattar.com MASTER BATH PENDANT Kate by Circa Lighting, circalighting.com DRAPERIES Sabbion by Rubelli, Glass House Atelier / Donghia showroom, Atlanta, GA, donghia.com TUB Tetsu free-standing tub by Porcher, porcher-us.com