FEATURED HOME: RUSTIC REVISITED

A recent project gave us the opportunity to revisit some of JLF’s earlier roots – and won us a cover story in the January/February 2026 issue of Mountain Living! Serendipity sparked the process when a Wisconsin couple, separately researching homes they admired, arrived at the same “dream home” example of a JLF Architects house that had been featured years earlier, also in Mountain Living. Their find invited a fresh look at projects from the days when our aesthetic was more decidedly rustic, while the wife’s equestrian background – and a photo she brought us of a traditional Midwestern barn – added a strong agrarian element. Soon, a design-build dream team of JLF, Dovetail Construction/Big-D Signature and WRJ Design got to work.

All photos by Audrey Hall

Initially, the home’s site, tucked on a wooded hillside on a secluded 45-acre property in Montana’s Big Sky area presented some interesting challenges, including close to a 100-foot drop in the building envelope. Also, the property is located within Yellowstone National Park’s active seismic zone, so Dovetail installed nearly 250 helical piers – essentially very long screws that anchor the foundation to the earth. And the site was so overgrown you couldn’t see more than 15 feet in any direction. We removed brush and thinned trees but saved the forest edge on the downhill side so the home could be “as close to the trees and as close to nature as you can possibly get,” as JLF’s John Lauman told the magazine. Strategically positioned to take in views of Big Sky and Wilson Peak, the completed house follows the curve of the land, rambling down the steep slope in a series of connected structures that reimagines historical homesteads built over time while offering a low profile that belies the project’s 8,000 square feet.

Outdoors and in, the home showcases hand-hewn wood, reclaimed oak flooring and stacked Montana moss rock – including four exterior chimneys in a deconstructed style we refer to as “remnants” after antique stone structures weathered by time. An iconic barn form houses a garage and guest quarters, its doors marked with the familiar X, which then recurs as a project motif. The primary bedroom suite is designed as a separate “log cabin,” constructed with reclaimed hardwood timbers but accessing the technology of modern synthetic chinking.

Interiors from WRJ Design offer a relaxed, livable luxury that calls on organic, tactile materials like mohair, suede, cashmere, wool and sheepskin for coziness and that connect to the surrounding natural world through color and texture. Artisanal handiwork includes custom drapes, designed with inviting European wools, cashmeres and hand-embroidered linens, and rugs handwoven in Turkey. A statement powder room vanity literally brings the outdoors in, carved from a slab of stone sourced on the property to make a modern-day sink.  Downstairs, a lounge area, bar and game room offer entertainment space for adults and kids alike, while the adjacent home gym combines high-tech productivity with rustic reclaimed barnwood.

Ultimately, the homeowners tell Mountain Living, “We went into the building process with a mixture of excitement and high expectations. Everyone delivered.”