Vintage Meets Modern in a Home Designed with Intention

Coloradans seeking a new frontier retained Thinktank’s Erik Nelson and North Fork Builders to design a home that lives large over five different levels. It maintains a strong connection to the outdoors, despite the urban setting. | Photo: Audrey Hall

For a couple who had spent 20 years on a working ranch in Colorado, their newly empty nest offered a chance for a lifestyle reassessment. Suddenly, they found, the attractions of town loomed large. A tour of the northern Rockies led them to Bozeman, whose amenities, community and outdoor opportunities felt like just the right mix.

Then, rather than moving to an established neighborhood or land with big views, they purchased a corner lot in a neighborhood combining an edge-of-the-tracks vibe with a funky vibrancy. Its vintage bungalows, quiet lanes, art galleries and a popular music venue lie within walking distance of the bustling downtown.

Susie Hoffmann of Envi Design helped the homeowners carve out a new way of living while creating a home for their most meaningful art and objects. | Photo: Audrey Hall

The house, designed by Thinktank Design’s Erik Nelson, is modern in its aesthetic yet sensitive to the ethos of the evolving neighborhood. “There should always be a respect for place,” the architect explains. “We did tons of analysis of massing, relationships to other buildings, sun angles and all the other things that create a thoughtful approach to how we’re going to build.”

The shotgun-shaped lot called for a structure whose long axis runs north/south. To minimize scale, the house is conceived as two volumes with corresponding rooftops and added secondary spaces. Separations within the building created opportunities to admit natural light, crucial during the long Montana winters. The exterior combines board-formed concrete, cedar siding, steel beams, metal-capped wood rafters, a porch with integrated firewood storage and a standing-seam metal roof. Says Nelson, “So much in the architecture and materials evokes a world made by hand.”

The light-filled kitchen features walnut cabinetry, Taj Mahal countertops, an Ann Sacks Savoy ribbed-tile backsplash, Roll and Hill light fixture and Miniforms barstools. | Photo: Audrey Hall

The home lays out over five levels, with each area—including a light-filled cook’s kitchen for the wife, a former restaurateur—given distinct character while still maintaining a connection to adjacent spaces. Steel, applied on volumes that help define interior flow, is combined with organic materials like wood accents on ceilings and rafters. Recessed trim, indoor-to-outdoor staircases, an upper deck overlooking a living roof, and accent walls add interest without distraction.

Susie Hoffmann of Envi Interior Design Studio melded the architecture with the owners’ extensive collection of art and antiques, including heritage pieces from the wife’s Swiss family. “We faced the challenge of taking the contemporary envelope, bringing in antiques, then buying and designing new furniture that would tie everything together,” says Hoffmann. “We had to be selective about what we could use.

In the dining area, Envi Design hung a gilded-framed nude painting against a board-formed concrete wall and paired with emerald- green chairs for a bold look. | Photo: Audrey Hall

It also gave us opportunities to get really creative. We turned an armoire into the powder-room vanity. In the dining area we hung an ornate gilded-framed painting of a naked woman lounging against a board-formed concrete wall. Midcentury-style furniture includes bold emerald green chairs. The end result is eclectic and unusual, but everything works well together.

“It was an exercise in getting to know the clients and their styles and bringing all these elements together in a collective and cohesive way,” she adds. And to do that for a couple making such a monumental lifestyle change made it all the more compelling. “A lot of people move to Montana to get away. For this couple, it was the opposite. It was an exciting new venture to experience life in town.”

DESIGN DETAILS

ARCHITECTURE – THINKTANK Design Group, Inc.
INTERIOR DESIGN – Envi Interior Design Studio

As seen in Mountain Living May/June 2026.

A living room filled with saturated colors pairs Lawson Fenning lounge chairs, a glass side table and an antique chair reupholstered in Morris & Co. fabric. | Photo: Audrey Hall

The antique artwork is from the client’s collection. | Photo: Audrey Hall

Graphic Pierre Frey wallpaper injects energy into a quiet bedroom. Custom bed is by Greenseam with Casamance fabric and sconces from Allied Maker. | Photo: Audrey Hall

Tiles from Wow Tiles’ Fez Collection create a luminous backdrop for bathing. The Alamo freestanding bathtub is from Hydro Systems’ Metro Collection. | Photo: Audrey Hall