Portrait: Povy Atchison

Perhaps it was the family lore of my great-great grandfather’s pioneer cabin on a Montana ranch that inspired my love of rustic, hearing the tales of intrepid pioneers building from materials they could put their hands on—stone, logs, sod.  Each year I look forward to our September/October Rustic issue, arguably one of the most popular with our readers—and I’ve watched as the rustic form has expanded and evolved from log-and-chink cabins to modern interpretations that use logs, barnwood, stone and even sod—but in new ways.

In this issue’s Architecture department, we ask three esteemed architects about their definition of rustic today. “Rustic architecture will always be tied to its past,” says Paul Bertelli of JLF Architects. “But it’s about reimagining those elements in a way that respects their origins while making them relevant in today’s world.”

Through modern improvements in insulation, radiant floor heating and glass, homes are designed to be comfortable in mountain elements yet also bring the outdoors inside. Windows maximize views; movable glass walls remove barriers to nature. We introduce you to beautiful rustic homes in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah: some traditional, some with modern touches, all examples of rustic architecture today.

Photographer Audrey Hall, who with author Chase Reynolds Ewald launched  the duo’s new book Modern West this month sums up what she has seen in her years photographing homes in the Mountain West. “The nature of the Western dream is different than it was even 20 years ago,” says Hall. “We are seeing a shift not only in the architecture and design of modern Western homes but also the people who are building and living in them, embracing modern materials.”

Rustic architecture may have its roots in the past, but it’s exciting to see architects adapting and improving upon the style to suit the way we live today.

Darla Worden
Mountain Living Editor in Chief

See it all in the September/October 2025 issue of Mountain Living

Portrait: Povy Atchison

Summer makes a brief appearance in the mountains, and homeowners seek ways to extend their time outdoors to soak up every moment. “The hottest thing in indoor living is bringing it outdoors,” a writer told me, and that results in certain ubiquitous mountain home amenities. Full-length sliding glass doors, like those in Denise Morrison’s family retreat on Lake Hayden, eliminate barriers between indoor and outdoor as they disappear when opened. “In summer months the doors will be wide open,” Morrison says.

The Treehouse in Whitefish, Montana also was designed to create a seamless indoor-outdoor experience. Its great room has expanses of glass that are sliding doors that open: the living room becomes like a balcony, and the kitchen opens onto a patio and dining area.

Tricked-out outdoor kitchens with chef-style ranges, gas grills large enough to cook burgers for a football team, restaurant-quality pizza ovens, wine coolers and woks make food prep an activity shared while chatting with friends and family. In the Cascade Mountains, a broad deck holds a grill, dining table, stone fireplace and heating elements in the ceiling to counter brisk nights.

And let us not forget the omnipresent fire pit in a variety of styles and materials, like the ones throughout this issue made from stones excavated from a property’s site and flat stone slabs perfect for putting up your feet while toasting your toes, surrounded by comfortable seating while roasting your s’mores.

If you’re ready for a mountain getaway of your own, check out the new version of the Rusty Parrot Lodge and Spa, reopened after a tragic fire. It’s back, and better than ever, and though the building is new, the Harrison family’s signature hospitality remains.

Happy summer! As one friend reminds me, “If summer happens on a weekend, let’s have a picnic.”

­Darla Worden
Mountain Living Editor in Chief

See it all in the July/August 2025 issue of ML.

Portrait: Povy Atchison

A mountain home’s story often begins with the view. Home­owners make decisions about the home’s orientation to the surrounding landscape, often with a focus on mountain ranges. But in addition to appreciating rugged peaks, homes are designed to take in the panorama that may include creeks, valleys, wildflower meadows, wildlife corridors and timberlines. In this issue, homeowners in Utah were enthralled with a property after taking a hike through the aspens. They built their home amid the trees, with walls of windows facing both forest and mountain views, and carefully positioned terraces and lounging areas to absorb all of the surrounding scenery.

A Jackson Hole home is dramatically transformed from chalet-style to modern masterpiece—with pool and patio perches for enjoying breathtaking views, and valley vistas seen from every single room. In Ketchum, homeowners created a vacation getaway that connects with its alpine location, beginning with a skylit entrance gallery that looks through the home to the mountains beyond. Built on two steep lots, the two-story structure follows the grade while capturing the high-country spectacle from indoors and via a terrace that runs the full width of the home.

A home in Montana is aligned with  nature’s theater, enjoying sweeping views of the prairie and three mountain ranges from every interior space. The homeowners asked the architect to create a house that would take it all in: mainline vistas, timberline views where mountain and prairie meet, and glimpses of diverse scenery through massive windows as you move through the home. Positioned on a hillside to capture the gorgeous sunsets, the great room is a favorite place for family to gather and watch the sun sink.

Nature provides the greatest entertainment of all; whether we’re watching a fox outside our window, the aspen leaves turning in the fall or a delightful view of the Bridgers from a laundry room sink, there’s always something to marvel at. As architect Tanner Skelton says of the Montana home, “It was designed to be an experience.”

Here’s to taking it all in,

­Darla Worden
Mountain Living Editor in Chief

As seen in Mountain Living’s May/June 2025 issue.

Portrait: Povy Atchison

Builders in the Mountain West are faced with myriad challenges more extreme than typical urban construction: whiteout conditions and temps that can drop to -30 F; winters that can last from September to June; building envelopes perched on cliffs or chiseled into mountainsides. Wildlife—bear, elk, moose and bison—wander through jobsites. Remote loca­­tions, sometimes hours away from the nearest town, entail long daily drives and the challenges of getting materials to the site. But as one builder told me, it’s all how you look at things.

His crew was amused when a bison meandered through camp—a potential challenge—instead considering the massive animal their site mascot for the day. And in the case of the remodeled Lake Tahoe cabin in this issue, the builder and design team turned something that could have been perceived as a problem into the home’s most surprising feature. The cabin had been built in the 1940s on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore around two gargantuan granite boulders.

Faced with what to do with the rocks, the design team decided that instead of pulverizing—or concealing—them, they would embrace them as an integral part of their design.“We had to get very creative,” builder Rand Carter of Sawtooth Builders says of the project. The result? The “boulder room” on the home’s lower level, a transition from upstairs to the downstairs media room, family room and bedrooms—and a great talking point for guests.

In this issue, we honor those intrepid individuals who make mountain homes a reality with our Top Mountain Builders List plus you’ll find the fruits of their labor throughout the issue, including beautiful homes—and some remarkable feats of construction—in Snowmass Village, Carbondale and Sun Valley. Spring is just around the corner, and we are all greatly anticipating the burst of color it will bring. When I lived in Jackson, my neighbor’s favorite spring greeting was, “Your bulbs up yet?” Hoping your bulbs are up!

Darla Worden
Editor in Chief

Photo: Courtesy of Darla Worden

EACH YEAR in our January/February issue, we honor the top architects in the Mountain West, creating our list from recommendations received from readers, staff, photographers and designers; you’ll find this year’s directory. It has been my privilege to work with many firms on the list who have taught me so much about architecture—their knowledge and passion as they reimagine the Mountain West provides ongoing inspiration for our editorial team.

Our feature homes offer a close-up look at three distinctly different styles of mountain architecture, beginning with a contemporary residence in Aspen’s Double Bar X Ranch by Zone 4 Architects and influenced by the work of Swiss-French starchitect Le Corbusier. An architectural masterpiece sited on 3.5 acres with floor to-ceiling glass bringing the outdoors in, the home gains authentic hygge warmth and comfort from interiors by Netherlands-based Studio Piet Boon.

Montana’s Yellowstone Club is the setting for a one-of-a-kind home designed by Reid Smith Architects in keeping with its alpine surroundings but with a surprise inside. The Australian homeowners wanted to bring the fun to their mountain getaway, requesting a tubular slide that winds its way from the third-floor office through the main level to the tricked-out lower level recreation area. Creating a polished version of a working slide that fits with the home’s luxurious-yet-livable style involved epic teamwork among the architect, builder Big Sky Build, and interior designers WRJ Design.

For our third feature, at Lake Tahoe’s Martis Camp, Marsden Architects envisioned a Mountain Modern home that melds into the surrounding landscape in an innovative pavilion style divided into sections for privacy and entertaining. A guest wing connects via an enclosed glass hallway to the main house, where there are expansive indoor and outdoor living spaces for gathering.

In the words of Le Corbusier, “You employ stone, wood and concrete and with these materials you build houses and palaces. That is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good, I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is architecture.” Cheers to the architects who touch our hearts, building “houses and palaces” throughout the Mountain West. P.S. I don’t need to remind you that it’s ski season!

Please join me in the snow dance for great snow!

Darla Worden
Editor in Chief

Portrait: Povy Atchison

It’s our Home of the Year issue, and people often ask me, are you looking for a certain size? Style? Location of home?

Truth is, every year we search for the home that will surprise and delight our readers, and this year’s winner does just that. From the exterior, the 14,000-square-foot home might appear to be a traditional, albeit grand, log-and-stone structure. But open the door and prepare to be surprised. As builder Jason Gleasman says of this two-year project, “It still surprises me.”

The family had been visiting Aspen from the East Coast for years. When they decided to put down roots, they discovered a house built in the 1990s and set upon two acres. Anything but a typical log cabin, the home boasted some impressive one-of-a-kind details, including gigantic logs—many of them salvaged from the 1988 Yellowstone National Park wildfires. The homeowners had never seen anything like it.

At first, they thought they would live in the home in its original state, but the hotel-like scale of the spaces was intimidating. They brought in a creative design team—interior designer Helena Flecker, Ryan Lee of Forum Phi as architect, and builder Gleasman—and the original structure was reimagined with maximized views, a large, welcoming kitchen and a bunk room for their two hockey-playing sons and friends. The design team took measures to preserve many of the home’s original features while updating for a modern family, even repurposing a large beam that couldn’t be saved in place to create a striking pair of benches.

Other surprises in this issue include a Big Sky, Montana, home designed by Centre Skye architect Jamie Daugaard to imbue arrival to the property with mystery and discovery. He designed the approach as a meandering drive surrounded by forest and boulders, revealing the home only at the last bend. And to kick off the holiday season, we’ve got pages of surprises for  those on your shopping list with our favorites-filled gift guide. 

One of my favorite things about this time of year is that ski resorts are open! Here’s wishing you a joyful holiday season, surrounded by friends, family and plenty of surprises (and powder).

Jingle Bells

Photo: Audrey Hall

I’m a huge fan of the holidays, and Jeremiah Young, owner of design firm Kibler & Kirch, inspired me to up my game when it comes to wrapping gifts. He feels presents can be dual- purpose holiday décor; they accessorize the tree and prevent a last-minute wrapping rush. A fan of bells, he uses them to dress up simple wrapping paper, and adds sleigh bells as a garland on the tree.

Darla Worden
Editor in Chief

Photo: Audrey Hall

As featured in Mountain Living’s November/December 2024 issue.

Photo – Eleanor Williamson

It’s Mountain Living’s Rustic Issue, a favorite among readers, and we showcase handsome homes in Jackson Hole, Steamboat Springs and British Columbia.  As structures these architectural masterpieces could stand on their own. But what makes them truly unique are the final touches—the homeowners’ interests and personalities, and the historical influences and locale, that architects and designers take into consideration to create a one-of-a-kind, tailor-made home.

In Jackson Hole, a homeowner who spent her childhood in California but vacationed in the West wants to re-create fond memories of those trips by building a home that feels like it could have been there for 100 years—using rugged materials that speak to the landscape, and furnishings that celebrate Western traditions like handwoven rugs and Native American artifacts. At Jackson’s Teton Village, a friendship between a homeowner and his Swiss-born architect, David Hacin, results in a collaboration to create a home for the travel-loving family that incorporates chalet elements as well as influences from the Wyoming landscape.

A Colorado family searching for a vacation property finds a rustic gem near Steamboat Springs.  Built with an extensive use of reclaimed lumber, the home came with an abundance of Western furnishings, and interior designer Devon Tobin deftly combines Mountain Modern pieces with the existing elements in a harmonious design the homeowners love.

After spending years traveling in search of a perfect site for their dream home, a couple discovers a 500-acre site in British Columbia. They work with Locati Architects to create a special place that highlights their collection of Canadiana furniture, Navajo rugs and Pacific North Coast artifacts—a legacy the homeowners will one day pass to their children.

To see a wide selection of bespoke rustic furnishings, and the best in fine, handcrafted design today, you’ll want to visit the Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale, sponsored by Mountain Living, in Jackson, Wyoming, Sept. 5-8. And while you’re in town—don’t miss the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival, with 12 days of events, Sept. 4-15.

­Darla Worden
Editor in Chief

Historical Concepts, Sun Valley, ID project. | Photo: Courtesy of Historical Concepts

President of Hamilton House Media, and host of the Hamilton House podcast, Suzanna Hamilton, has occupied many different roles in the business of home and design for over 25 years. From roles as creative director, entrepreneur, magazine editor, and business and marketing strategist, Hamilton’s extensive experience has given her a unique take on today’s home and design business sector.

Hamilton saw an opening for a podcast with fresh content that specifically addresses the strategic business leadership of the industry, crossing over to other business sectors as well. She points out, “The shelter industry has become very design centric. Podcasts often focus on the “insider-industry” perspective of interior design. There are substantive, savvy people in this business that are responsible for driving it forward whose voices haven’t necessarily been heard.”

Suzanna Hamilton, President of Hamilton House. | Photo: Emily Followill

Guests featured on current podcast episodes include Vice President of Wiesner Media, Author, and Colorado Homes & Lifestyles and Mountain Living’s Editor-in-Chief, Darla Worden. She talks about her experience editing two shelter magazines in the Mountain West, as well as writing her book, Cockeyed Happy: Ernest Hemingway’s Wyoming Summers with Pauline during the midst of the pandemic.

Darla Worden, V.P. Weisner Media, Editor-in-Chief Mountain Living and Colorado Homes. | Photo: Eleanor Williamson

Cockeyed Happy by Darla Worden. | Photo: Courtesy of Chicago Review Press

Vice President of Administration for Hoffman Media, and Editor-in-Chief of Southern Home since 2015, Lynn Terry is known for her knowledge about the gracious, approachable Southern style, interior design, gardens, the arts, and lifestyle for which Southerners are renowned. Terry brings her strong organizational skills and business acumen to the podcast.

Lynn Terry, V.P. Administration Hoffman Media and Southern Home Editor in Chief. | Photo: John O’Hagan

Southern Home Cover. | Courtesy of Southern Home

Rustic White Interiors Photographer, Robert Peterson, has worked with high-profile architects, interior designers, and creative directors, in addition to popular HGTV stars. His highly trained eye captures images in publications spanning every aesthetic. Peterson is currently working on a book with acclaimed kitchen designer, Matthew Quinn.

Robert Peterson, Photographer.| Photo: Robert Peterson, Rustic White Photography

Photo: Robert Peterson Photographer. Architect, Linda Macarthur

William Peace, founder, and principal of Peace Design. | Photo: Kene Sperry

Upcoming podcasts will feature: Bill Peace, founder, and principal of Peace Design. He is the winner of numerous regional and national awards, including the 2016 ASID Design Achievement Award; President of Historical Concepts, Andrew Cogar, a sought-after speaker on the topic of traditional architecture and design; and Brandon Ingram of Atlanta-based C. Brandon Ingram Design. Ingram’s firm focuses on custom homes, renovations, and architectural interiors.

Andrew Cogar, President of Historical Concepts. | Photo: Eric Piasecki

Photo: Courtesy of Historical Concepts

Brandon Ingram of Atlanta-based C. Brandon Ingram Design. | Photo: Emily Followill

Brandon Ingram, Historic Renovation, porch. | Photo: Courtesy of C. Brandon Ingram Design

These and other podcast guests are titans in their industries and will share their perspectives and discuss the leadership and business traits it takes to reach the top.

Hamilton House Media podcasts can be found on Apple, Spotify, and iHeart Radio. Links to each episode are also found on the Hamilton House Media website and social media.