Caymans Post

A world within. A state apart.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

2020 Home of the Year: Dazzle Us

2020 Home of the Year: Dazzle Us

A family invites a blue-ribbon design team to create their legacy property in Park City, Utah

May the best design prevail. That was the idea when a Southern California family set out to create the ultimate getaway on a 14-acre property with panoramic vistas in Park City, Utah. At the suggestion of builder Frank Gallo, who had worked with them on their primary residence, the owners launched a design competition, ultimately narrowing the selection of architect to three contenders. “We sent them some photographs, a site plan and a little bit of information about the family and said, ‘Dazzle us,’” Gallo explains.

“Dazzle” was exactly what happened when architect Bill Poss and project manager Keith Howie flew to California to pitch their design. “Their presentation astounded us,” the husband recalls, describing the design as timeless. “This is a legacy sort of property.” Indeed, the project is Mountain Living’s 2020 Home of the Year.

    

Built into a slope high over a scenic lake, the expansive abode features one- and two-story pavilion-like forms clad with chiseled Indiana limestone. The main public areas are housed in a volume with soaring ceilings overlooking the 25-yard-long negative-edge swimming pool. “You can’t compete with the views, so you’re designing a house that captures them,” Howie says.

“It sits very comfortably on the land,” Poss adds. “The pool and terraces step down the hill and connect just like the indoor rooms connect.”

    

WRJ owners Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer with their design team furnished the space and worked hand-in-hand with Howie to select most of the materials and finishes throughout. The original plans called for a steel roof, for example, but they felt slate would be more fitting for the setting. And they flew the homeowners to Jackson, Wyoming, to show them the bronze windows by Brombal they envisioned for the project. According to Jenkins, it was love at first sight.

    

Slide the heavy metal doors open, and inside and out become one large living space. Under the covered poolside patio, chairs and a pair of sofas offer a relaxing spot to converse when the sun is overhead. When night falls, the family enjoys sitting around the fire table in a sunken conversation pit alongside the swimming pool. Structural native grasses and plantings such as salvia add color and texture. “The balance between hard and soft is pretty special,” says landscape architect Nick Soho. “The landscape flows like water through the architecture.”

                                

The basalt stone hardscaping, cedar rain screen and chiseled limestone walls likewise flow into the front foyer, enhancing the connection between indoors and out. The same stone defines the fireplace in the double-height great room, juxtaposing the wood ceilings and imported fumed oak flooring-the result of a close collaboration between all parties involved.

    

It’s a jaw-dropping focal point for a taupe mohair sofa and a pair of soft blue chairs around a custom walnut cocktail table with a live edge. “The interiors should be informed by nature and the surrounding environment,” Jenkins explains, pointing to the landscape painting by Clyde Aspevig in the open formal dining area.“Otherwise, you’re not going to have that harmony.”

    

The designers likewise left their mark on the kitchen, incorporating Bulthaup cabinetry with brushed-nickel insets and leathered quartzite countertops. Over the cabinets, clerestory windows frame mountain views while drawing the eye up to the peaked wooden ceilings with metal beams.

                                

For informal meals, the family often defaults to a well-appointed breakfast area overlooking the swimming pool. There, a ring-like bronze-and-quartzite chandelier appears to float above a walnut table and chairs. Linen sheers soften the architectural lines, adding “a sensual quality,” Baer says.

    

The vistas are perhaps even more breathtaking from the second-floor master suite, where a bronze four-poster bed with a branch-like motif by Juin Ho references both the natural landscape and bronze windows overlooking the magnificent pool, spa and landscape.

Facing the bed, a contemporary leather sofa with linen cashmere cushions and a swivel chair covered in a midnight-blue velvet offer a spot to take in the views of the Deer Valley ski resort and the lake below. “When you go through the house, it’s like a fabulous novel, and you can’t wait to turn each page,” designer Jenkins says.

        

To ensure story continuity, he and Baer repeated many of the materials throughout-for example, using the same dark limestone flooring in all the bathrooms. In the master suite, it’s accented by a mix of chiseled and smooth limestone slab walls and a quartzite countertop. Centered in front of the window, a linear soaker tub invites reflection and relaxation.

                                

According to Gallo, teamwork was key to achieving such a cohesive result. “This was an incredibly smooth project,” the builder says. “We were all on the same page from the beginning.”

    

The owners are equally pleased with their home away from home, spending up to three months a year there, often accompanied by family and friends. While skiing is the big draw, they have also enjoyed horseback riding, fly-fishing and other outdoor activities. Not to mention a lively New Year’s Eve bash attended by about 100 guests.

“Our children are really excited about it and want to spend time there with their friends, which makes me happy,” the husband says. “We’re very pleased with the result and are grateful we have the opportunity to have a home like this.”

    

Newsletter

Related Articles

Caymans Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×