Travel Back In Time At This Montana Speakeasy + Social Club

After designing boutique properties all along the West Coast, Eric Cheong of North 45 Projects has turned his sights on Big Sky Country. Auric Room 1915 is a speakeasycum-social club at Lone Mountain Ranch in Montana offering locally sourced cuisine and rare wine and whiskey in a collection of dramatically appointed spaces.

Intended to transport guests to the Montana of centuries past, Cheong’s design nods to 1915, the ranch’s founding date. “The moment guests step through the hidden entry, they are moved into a new realm—one where historical artifacts, world-class art and decadent design finishes create a rich elegance,” Cheong says.

Moving through a series of jewelbox spaces, visitors arrive at the main bar and dining room, where a black marble bar top set upon an ebonized oak base complements a dining room of intimate booths and banquettes in leather and cowhide. Throughout, Cheong incorporated early-20 th -century flourishes like wood plank tables inset with hand-hammered metal details and a William Morris-esque wallpaper with hand-painted meadowlarks. “The experience is one that drives curiosity to see what lies behind each curtain,” Cheong says.