Spotlight on Idaho
Expert Q&A's from this high-country destination
PrecisionCraft Log & Timber Homes
Sponsored Content
With an abundance of parks and forests, miles of biking and backpacking trails, over a hundred natural hot springs, and some of the best whitewater rafting in the country, Idaho represents the perfect mix of laid-back and action-packed. Add to that list wineries, breweries, restaurants and shops, not to mention world-class downhill skiing, and it’s no wonder Idaho has been named the fastest-growing state in the country according to the U.S. Census Bureau for the past five years in a row. Here, we introduce you to a talented, passionate group of professionals keeping pace with the state’s phenomenal growth—and then some. From architects, interior designers and log home builders devoted to creating timeless designs that honor the area’s stunning natural beauty and rich history—to art gallery owners bringing world-class artists and exhibitions to the state’s thriving art community—they’re setting the standard for living in the aptly named Gem State. Get to know them and you’ll understand why Idaho is truly an unforgettable place.
FARMER PAYNE ARCHITECTS
Creating thoughtful design informed by the regional landscape, the talented team at Farmer Payne Architects brings a fresh perspective to the Sun Valley vernacular and beyond.
When building or renovating a home, how important is it to hire the right professional?
Designing one’s dream home is a synergistic process that can be compared to a long-term relationship. It’s important for the client to choose their architect wisely so they can best enjoy this iterative and collaborative endeavor. When a client’s expectations align with the architect’s innate abilities, incredible projects are created.
How does creativity factor in problem-solving, specifically in terms of architecture?
The Mountain West landscape can be unforgiving. Our designs are driven by a deep understanding of how to work within its constraints and finding innovative ways to celebrate all it has to offer. Being able to critically assess a site and turn limitations into possibilities is how we achieve the best project outcome. Problem-solving is a big part of our job, always trying to anticipate problems before they materialize.
How do you help clients deal with the realities of building in a mountain locale?
Knowing how to design in a mountain climate is paramount. We help our clients by crafting a robust team that can handle the challenges it brings. Assembling the right team with the necessary experience allows us to make monumental moves resulting in a seamless, timeless, elegant result.
FARMER PAYNE ARCHITECTS
Jamie Farmer, Principal, Scott Payne, Principal 208-214-5155 | Ketchum, Idaho
EDGEWOOD LOG HOMES
For more than 40 years, Edgewood Log Homes has been designing and building luxury custom log homes for a discriminating clientele. Read on to learn why their homes are nothing short of exceptional.
Edgewood caters to a unique demographic. What would you say is your ‘target audience’?
Many Edgewood clients have beautiful log and timber homes in remote locations. Access may be difficult, off-grid amenities are often necessary and short building seasons dictate much of the schedule. Some home builds are extremely challenging. Knowing how to integrate off-grid components while having the architect, builder and log and timber manufacturer in one facility allow clients the flexibility they need to create their sanctuary home in truly spectacular locations.
Tell us about the range of home designs you offer.
Clients are seeking independence from the mainstream, while looking for a higher level of self-reliance and security. The Sanctuary Line by Edgewood offers five pre-designed independent living options for interested clients. These designs often serve as the base for clients to expand on and make changes as desired. Having a solid starting point can speed up the architectural process to help clients build more quickly.
What sets the Edgewood client experience apart from the competition?
The backbone of a superior client experience with Edgewood is two things; design focus and the freedom of craft. Clients choose Edgewood because of the sophisticated level of skill in the architecture of each home. Knowing how each log or timber interacts with other materials in the design is extremely valuable early in the process and saves time in adjustments and changes later.
Is there a recent project that you’re really excited about?
This year we break ground on a custom-designed, remote home in Colorado. The clients have great vision, our architectural team works brilliantly with the interiors team in Denver, and the contractor has been on the job since day one. The most important aspect of any project is the team in place to execute it, and with this client we couldn’t ask for a better fit.
EDGEWOOD LOG HOMES
Brian Schafer, Owner, Founder 208-634-0055 | McCall, Idaho
DE REUS ARCHITECTS
For the experienced team at de Reus Architects, crafting luxury retreats and legacy homes tailored to their clients’ needs is an intimate experience.
What do you think draws people to the Sun Valley area?
Foremost, I think people are drawn to Sun Valley for the spectacular landscape that surrounds us and the authenticity of the town. There is something profoundly nourishing about the connection to the earth that we experience here. Sun Valley also has one of the strongest arts communities in Idaho – the Sun Valley Center for the Arts sponsors numerous world-class exhibitions, performances and workshops for both established and emerging artists. It’s a lovely place to work as a designer and architect.
What serves as the biggest source of your inspiration?
Our biggest sources of inspiration are the land and our clients. The homes that we design for them are enormously personal— our clients have years of dreams that they have collected for the moment to build a home here. It’s those dreams that guide our hands. Many of our clients share the desire to create a legacy setting for their families. These homes are not just retreats, but also places where the family can gather for weddings, anniversaries, etc.
We are privileged to work on some of the most spectacular sites on earth, and our clients challenge us to design a home that celebrates those places. Consequently, each home we design is carefully tailored in its response to the sun, wind, views, topography, and landscape. We often describe our homes as gardens upon which a dwelling lightly sits, a garden that not only surrounds but often feels as if it moves through the house.
Finally, we look to the community in which we work. Sun Valley has a deep heritage of ranching and farming – we find great inspiration in those iconic agricultural forms and their traditional construction that are simply timeless. We are contemporary architects, but our clients love the traces of history in the homes we design – it gives an authenticity that purely modern architecture cannot.
DE REUS ARCHITECTS
Mark de Reus, Partner 208-720-1817 | Sun Valley, Idaho | Hawaii | Maui
GILMAN CONTEMPORARY
Meet L’Anne Gilman, owner of Gilman Contemporary, located in the heart of Sun Valley. Known for its diverse mix of established and emerging artists, the gallery’s rotating exhibitions demonstrate a commitment to art that is innovative, inspirational and thought-provoking.
How do you keep things fresh at Gilman Contemporary?
We look and listen. We travel to art fairs, pay attention to trends and we value the eye of our ever-growing client base. We are fortunate that people come to Sun Valley from all over the world; they have a sophisticated eye, are interested in building onto their collections and will often introduce to us new artists. We also listen to each other. My team and I have different backgrounds and styles and we each bring something different to the table. Between our artists, our clients, and our own exploration of new work we continue to diversify.
How would you say Sun Valley and the art world have evolved in the 15 years you’ve been in business?
Like much of the West, Sun Valley has experienced tremendous growth in new homeowners over the years. There is a growing presence of young families who are now full-time residents. They bring a youthful dynamic; they are excited about the arts and are interested in starting their own collections.
Additionally, like most commerce sectors, there has been a shift to buying more art online. People who may not have been comfortable before began making significant purchases from us without ever seeing the work in person. We created a virtual gallery space in 2020 that is gaining more and more attention from online buyers.
Do you have any special events planned to celebrate your 15th anniversary this summer?
It is hard for me to believe 15 years have gone by. We have celebrations planned in July and August surrounding our Gallery Walks July 8th and August 5th. We plan to shake things up and will exhibit several new, young artists who work in different mediums, including textile artist Brianna Gluszak. I am excited about what is to come!
GILMAN CONTEMPORARY
L’Anne Gilman, Owner/Director 208-726-7585 | Ketchum, Idaho
JENNIFER HOEY INTERIOR DESIGN
The award-winning team at Jennifer Hoey Interior Design creates stunning results for their clients with a unique balance of art, engineering, style and personality. Read on to learn more about what makes them tick.
The design process is fraught with many decisions. How do you guide clients toward the best results?
Designing a perfect space that speaks to our clients’ personalities and lifestyles is a complex and nuanced process. In order to produce the best results for our clients, we focus on relationships: relationships between the interiors and the architecture, relationships inspired by the surrounding landscape, and relationships with the people who will inhabit the spaces. It is this thought process that guides our decision making and leads to outstanding results.
What is the key to success in the design business?
Any good designer knows how to make the aesthetic work. But truly talented designers also understand and can manage the critical technical and business sides of design. Being able to create realistic budgets and foster strong communication with contractors is one of the things that sets us apart.
Tell us more about your talented team.
Our team is a tight-knit group of “out of the box” creatives. We work hard and value fun. Creating a space that will be your home should be fun, and we want our clients to share that mindset throughout the process. If you were a fly on the wall in our studio, you would hear laughter, collaboration, and very possibly some throwback hip-hop playing on the speaker.
JENNIFER HOEY INTERIOR DESIGN
Jennifer Hoey, Interior Designer, ASID 208-726-1561 | Ketchum, Idaho
PRECISIONCRAFT LOG & TIMBER HOMES
For more than 30 years, PrecisionCraft Log & Timber Homes has earned a reputation for creating distinctive mountain-style log and timber frame homes. Read on to learn more about their full-service home building experience.
Where does a homeowner who wants to build a log or timber frame home begin?
Every log or timber frame home project is unique because every client
is unique. That’s why our award-winning, in-house architectural design firm offers a vast portfolio of conceptual designs for inspiration. Depending on the client’s vision, we can modify one of the conceptual designs in our portfolio, combine elements from multiple floor plans, or custom design a home from top to bottom.
What advantage does PrecisionCraft offer homeowners in the Idaho area?
Our signature Design-Fabricate-Build service gives clients who want a mountain-style log or timber frame home the luxury of working with one local company from start to finish. Our fabrication facility is in Idaho, and our seasoned team of in-house sales, design, and construction management professionals work together to ensure a seamless approach to helping each client create their dream home.
How do you incorporate energy efficiency into your log and timber homes?
Energy efficiency is contemplated from the foundation to the roof of every PrecisionCraft home. Our homes have an integrated structural shell that includes insulated concrete forms (ICFs), structural insulated panels (SIPs) and custom-fabricated log and timber materials. When this family of integrated products are used together, the result is an energy-efficient home that is as beautiful as it is comfortable.
PRECISIONCRAFT LOG & TIMBER HOMES
Todd Gailey, Client Representative 800-729-1320 | Boise, Idaho
LATHAM INTERIORS
Get to know Latham Interiors, a full-service interior design studio devoted to creating thoughtful, beautiful, innovative designs.
What is the most important factor in finding the right match with an interior design firm?
Trust is the most important factor when it comes to matching with the right interior design firm. Each of our clients trust and know that our team is doing everything we can to achieve the shared design and vision they want to attain. Unrivaled design can only be achieved with the right team by your side.
What is your favorite aspect of a project?
There isn’t just one aspect as it is always new and exciting to work on projects with clients! From getting to know the individuals, interpreting the design, executing the selections, adding the furnishings, to final installation; there is so much to love about what we do!
In addition to interior design services, you offer curated collections of furniture and décor online. Tell us more.
The Latham Interiors store offers the best in sophisticated, natural and modern interior design. We are happy to provide our followers and clients a site that allows them to shop anytime in the comfort of their home.
LATHAM INTERIORS
Sarah Latham, Principal 208-928-6366 | Ketchum, Idaho
ANDERSON ARCHITECTURE
The husband-wife duo at Anderson Architecture prides itself on providing clients with personal attention, creative solutions and a wide range of services.
What serves as your biggest source of inspiration?
Our clients are our inspiration, and their highest aspirations are our starting point. We prioritize an open design process with our clients and our entire team. We’ve found that beautiful projects result from open collaboration, carefully integrating the building site and persistently pursuing design principles of rhythm, proportion and scale.
What is the advantage of going with a small, design-oriented firm?
Every project is given our full attention and the benefit of each of our 30 years of experience designing in the Sun Valley area. We don’t pass designs and drawings off after the client meeting; we’re there through every stage, from the first schematic design through construction.
What are some of the architectural challenges unique to the Sun Valley area?
Sun Valley is composed of native Idahoans, long-time ski town locals and people from around the country that have come here to make this their new home. Many of our clients come from places with different climates and architectural styles. We see these varied experiences as another resource to create enduring designs that bring joy to our clients’ lives and make a positive contribution to the fabric of our community.
ANDERSON ARCHITECTURE, P.A.
Kristin Anderson, AIA, Peter Anderson, AIA 208-726-6054 | Ketchum, Idaho
GAIL SEVERN GALLERY
Allison Stewart, My Wild Garden #68, mixed media on rag paper
For over 46 years, Gail Severn Gallery has supported an expansive range of artists, from new, emerging talent to internationally renowned artists. We recently sat down with the owner to hear more about what’s on the books for this summer.
Among the many exciting exhibitions coming up, these three promise to be outstanding:
Hung Liu Memorial Exhibition
Featuring stunning oil paintings and mixed media work, internationally renowned contemporary Chinese American artist Hung Liu’s layered portraits explore history and memory through the stories of marginalized figures. Liu’s work has been exhibited in over 80 museums around the world, including her current exhibition ‘Portraits of Promised Lands’ at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
Laura McPhee
Known for her detailed, large-format photographs of the cultural landscape, McPhee’s images raise questions about human impacts on the environment and the nature of our complex relationship with the earth. Her work has been featured in over 30 museum collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Portland Art Museum and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and many more.
Flora & Fauna
This intriguing multi-artist exhibition features (to name a few) large-scale paintings by Kathy Moss, Michael Gregory and Allison Stewart balanced by the precisely detailed paintings of Diane Andrews Hall and Kenna Moser’s intimate collages. Kara Maria, Chris Maynard, Theodore Waddell and James Cook incorporate animals and birds in a broad interpretation of our natural world, and sculptors Jane Rosen, Gwynn Murrill, Carolyn Olbum and Bean Finneran explore the beauty of nature through unique materials of glass, bronze and ceramic.
GAIL SEVERN GALLERY
Gail Severn, Owner 208-726-5079 | Ketchum, Sun Valley, Idaho
ERIC HEDLUND DESIGN LLC
Get to know the team at ERIC HEDLUND DESIGN LLC, a full-service architectural and interior design studio with a commitment to design, quality and service.
Tell us more about your authentic, innovative designs.
Our award-winning designs celebrate timelessness. Each unique design reflects the lifestyle and the thoughtful interpretation of our client’s vision. The initiation of every design is rooted in the desire to create an environment that is intimate in personality and considerate in execution. Our goal is to help each of our clients discover what it means to live well.
What does it mean to be a full-service design firm?
At the EH design studio we offer a broad spectrum of services, from custom building design and interior design to planning and project management. We look after our clients from start to finish with an emphasis on collaboration and transparency.
ERIC HEDLUND DESIGN LLC
Eric L. Hedlund 208-755-7910 | Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
ML PROMOTION
As seen in the July/August 2022 issue
