Featured: Rustic Redux
Sleek midcentury furnishings and weathered timber and stone redefine Western style in a Montana home.
ARCHITECTURE BY JLF & ASSOCIATES
INTERIOR DESIGN BY HAYNES-ROBERTS
Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts, founding partners of the distinguished New York City interior design firm Haynes-Roberts, have no interest in playing it safe.
When the duo accepted their first commission in Montana—a ski house in Big Sky for a family with young children—they saw no reason to sacrifice their sophisticated style and had no intention of falling into Western clichés. “We wanted to shake things up a bit,” says Roberts, “and show that you can still have the great warmth and beauty of a Western house, but infused with a hip, up-to-date sensibility.”
To achieve that goal, the designers collaborated closely with architect Paul Bertelli, principal of Bozeman, Montana-based JLF & Associates, and his team as they created a structure that was authentic to the region but pared down to communicate a 21st-century lifestyle. The architects designed framing elements from huge weathered barn timbers, clad ceilings and floors with reclaimed wood planks and constructed fireplace surrounds from regionally quarried stone. “The whole contemporary belief of ‘less is more’ is how you keep reducing the components down to their essence,” Bertelli says. “So the question became, how do we do that using these reclaimed timber assemblies?” Their solution was to strip away extraneous knee braces, avoid trim and decorative embellishments, and simplify a prominent staircase down to a spare steel-and-glass form. “It was an opportunity to bring these very clean materials and uncluttered lines into the historic shell,” he explains.
The rich texture and warm gray tones of the building materials served as both complement and counterpoint to the furnishings. “We wanted to impose a sense of modernity you don’t often see in the antler-filled Western ski home,” says Roberts, “and because of the quality of the wood and stone background materials, I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to add a hip 1960s/’70s overlay. The vintage pieces provide more nuance than contemporary furniture, and they evoke a bit of the James Bond era.”
While the furnishings exhibit clean minimal lines, tactile fabrics in a “dark neutral” palette blend with the surrounding walls and recede from the sweeping vistas. “The views are so spectacular that I wanted to keep the colors to a minimum,” Roberts says.
While the hues are meant to blend in, the light fixtures are meant to stand out. Starting in the living area, two 1960s Murano glass fixtures set an immediate point of departure. “People usually use bronze or brass,” says Roberts, “but I wanted nothing that was expected.” The furnishings follow suit. Rich charcoal-colored mohair covers two Edward Wormley for Dunbar sofas, and Warren Platner lounge chairs pull up to a black-lacquer game table in the adjacent sitting area. Underfoot, the traditional cowhide rug is remade into a modern patchwork that “continues the texture of the background,” Roberts says.
The architecture also provided inspiration for the sturdy dining table the designers had made from solid planks of rift white oak and then sandblasted so “it could handle a lot of heavy-duty use,” Roberts says. Vintage Jacques Adnet chairs upholstered with taupe snakeskin encircle the table, and a linear 1960s Italian chandelier sparkles above. “I wanted the light fixtures in this house to be particularly special,” says Roberts, who hung a striking vertical metal-and-glass fixture in the hallway and a 1960s Stilnovo chandelier in the master bedroom. To give the bedroom a distinct, luxurious feel, the designers had a graphic silk-and-wool carpet made in a warm bronze tone and upholstered a custom bed with a silk-velvet fabric by Clarence House.
“The design wasn’t meant to feel modern and jarring,” Roberts explains. “It was meant to feel exciting and sophisticated.” While it doesn’t fit the typical image of a rustic Western home, the house is still thoughtfully tailored to its mountain environment. “It has a sense of timelessness, like it’s always been here,” adds Bertelli, “but it doesn’t respond to what people think the West should be, but more what the West really is.”
To read full article, click here.
ARCHITECTURE BY JLF & ASSOCIATES
INTERIOR DESIGN BY HAYNES-ROBERTS
Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts, founding partners of the distinguished New York City interior design firm Haynes-Roberts, have no interest in playing it safe.
When the duo accepted their first commission in Montana—a ski house in Big Sky for a family with young children—they saw no reason to sacrifice their sophisticated style and had no intention of falling into Western clichés. “We wanted to shake things up a bit,” says Roberts, “and show that you can still have the great warmth and beauty of a Western house, but infused with a hip, up-to-date sensibility.”
To achieve that goal, the designers collaborated closely with architect Paul Bertelli, principal of Bozeman, Montana-based JLF & Associates, and his team as they created a structure that was authentic to the region but pared down to communicate a 21st-century lifestyle. The architects designed framing elements from huge weathered barn timbers, clad ceilings and floors with reclaimed wood planks and constructed fireplace surrounds from regionally quarried stone. “The whole contemporary belief of ‘less is more’ is how you keep reducing the components down to their essence,” Bertelli says. “So the question became, how do we do that using these reclaimed timber assemblies?” Their solution was to strip away extraneous knee braces, avoid trim and decorative embellishments, and simplify a prominent staircase down to a spare steel-and-glass form. “It was an opportunity to bring these very clean materials and uncluttered lines into the historic shell,” he explains.
The rich texture and warm gray tones of the building materials served as both complement and counterpoint to the furnishings. “We wanted to impose a sense of modernity you don’t often see in the antler-filled Western ski home,” says Roberts, “and because of the quality of the wood and stone background materials, I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to add a hip 1960s/’70s overlay. The vintage pieces provide more nuance than contemporary furniture, and they evoke a bit of the James Bond era.”
While the furnishings exhibit clean minimal lines, tactile fabrics in a “dark neutral” palette blend with the surrounding walls and recede from the sweeping vistas. “The views are so spectacular that I wanted to keep the colors to a minimum,” Roberts says.
While the hues are meant to blend in, the light fixtures are meant to stand out. Starting in the living area, two 1960s Murano glass fixtures set an immediate point of departure. “People usually use bronze or brass,” says Roberts, “but I wanted nothing that was expected.” The furnishings follow suit. Rich charcoal-colored mohair covers two Edward Wormley for Dunbar sofas, and Warren Platner lounge chairs pull up to a black-lacquer game table in the adjacent sitting area. Underfoot, the traditional cowhide rug is remade into a modern patchwork that “continues the texture of the background,” Roberts says.
The architecture also provided inspiration for the sturdy dining table the designers had made from solid planks of rift white oak and then sandblasted so “it could handle a lot of heavy-duty use,” Roberts says. Vintage Jacques Adnet chairs upholstered with taupe snakeskin encircle the table, and a linear 1960s Italian chandelier sparkles above. “I wanted the light fixtures in this house to be particularly special,” says Roberts, who hung a striking vertical metal-and-glass fixture in the hallway and a 1960s Stilnovo chandelier in the master bedroom. To give the bedroom a distinct, luxurious feel, the designers had a graphic silk-and-wool carpet made in a warm bronze tone and upholstered a custom bed with a silk-velvet fabric by Clarence House.
“The design wasn’t meant to feel modern and jarring,” Roberts explains. “It was meant to feel exciting and sophisticated.” While it doesn’t fit the typical image of a rustic Western home, the house is still thoughtfully tailored to its mountain environment. “It has a sense of timelessness, like it’s always been here,” adds Bertelli, “but it doesn’t respond to what people think the West should be, but more what the West really is.”
To read full article, click here.
