Shadow of the Tetons

Audrey Hall

• Architects

After 20 years of ski vacations in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a Chicago-based couple decided to build a second home at the base of the Grand Tetons in a private community in Teton Village, choosing the design-build team of JLF Architects and Big-D Signature construction to build a right-size family home positioned to take advantage of every unforgettable angle the land has to offer. The resulting “human scale” approach encourages coziness and intimacy, including lower ceiling heights for the kitchen and private spaces in contrast to the great room’s lofty grandeur.

JLF’s dedication to place-based architecture meant hours spent understanding how the sun moves over the adjacent mountain. The team eventually oriented the house to center the open-concept great room and kitchen between views of Cody and Rendezvous peaks while floor-to-ceiling windows also take in Fish Creek, which forms a natural boundary at the property’s western end, and private bedroom views open on Sleeping Indian and ApresVous mountains. Meanwhile, the organic tones of weathered, locally sourced timber and stone fit naturally into the surrounding landscape.

Those heritage materials, including reclaimed barnwood, hand-hewn beams and stacked Montana moss rock, also honor regional history, bringing character and authenticity indoors and out. The primary bedroom was created from a dismantled and reassembled 1880s log cabin from Geyser, Montana, combined with glass-and-steel window walls for a wraparound view, and guest room bunks are patterned after antique train sleeping compartments. The mountain farmhouse kitchen mingles Carrara marble, white painted cabinetry, stainless appliances and an apron-front sink with a rustic wood island braced by adze-marked timbers. In the primary bathroom, an Art Deco-inspired tile design by the homeowner against custom reclaimed wood cabinets reflects the family’s preferred eclectic mix of materials and styles.