Inside A Cool Minimalistic Retreat In Park City

The owners of this distinctive guest residence readily admit that they already had their dream ski-in, ski-out vacation home in Park City—right next door. But as their family spent more time in Utah outside of the winter season, they realized that the house they had purchased originally, which features a southern-facing, two-story glass window looking up the mountain slope, “gets quite sun-blasted during the summer,” says one of the owners. Snapping up an adjacent empty lot not only offered them the chance to construct a separate space to house guests, but also a way to craft a cooler getaway from the summertime heat and add a few key features that differ from their main residence. “We wanted this new creation to complement our other home as a great guest house and be multipurpose, allowing us to fully utilize it when guests aren’t around,” the owners explain. Or as architects Mike Shively and Lucas Goldbach recall joking when they were designing the family’s new dwelling: “It’s a second home for their second home.”

For the architects, creating a sense of interplay yet separation between the two structures was important, as was preserving the valley views of the main house, which is set further up into a hill. After considering roof heights and sight lines, the architects decided to level out the back side of the guest house’s lot. As you walk down to it from the family’s original residence, you enter at the upper level where the primary living areas are located; bedrooms and a garage are tucked below, following the grade of the hill. The architects also cocooned the guest house in shadow, specifying deep overhangs and a slice strategically cut out of the gabled roof where sets of clerestory windows let sunlight spill into both sides of the kitchen and dining area indirectly. A glass wall of accordion doors in the main living area opens out to a swim spa and hot tub, but the eaves provide plenty of shade. “We leaned into moodier materials, selections with texture, elements that allude to a ‘shadow house’ feel—we wanted this home to whisper more than anything else,” describes Goldbach. He and Shively also included various custom screening elements throughout the home. “Screens are another way to let shade and shadows play into the atmosphere,” Goldbach notes.

The architecture also intentionally blurs the line between the inside and out. The stone of the exterior repeats indoors, the flooring of the primary bathroom is the same stone surrounding the pool, and the wood of the ceiling mimics the exterior cladding. A sense of cohesion continues into the interiors, as the owners engaged the same firm that had outfitted their main home. Leah Hoyt helmed the interior design, drawing on the architectural envelope as inspiration for the cabinetry, countertops and other finishes. “The fabric colors and furniture choices have little nods to the outside world and honor the landscape,” the designer shares. Think: brass handles shaped like sticks, a coffee table with a slice of tree trunk embedded within, and a locally sourced elk rack. Hoyt also strove to infuse an overarching sense of calm within this “retreat from a retreat”—it’s a home intended to “feel like an exhale,” she says. “Nothing here is overwhelming or jarring to the eye; there’s moments of beauty and wow, but we labored over the wall colors and the texture of the plaster to make sure everything flowed,” she notes. General contractors Van Kelly and Jared Higgins also point to the custom cabinetry as an example of the design team’s detailed approach and collaboration. “The integration is remarkable and creates a seamless aesthetic,” Kelly comments, gesturing to the harmonious blend of woods between the built-ins and beams.

The result is a guest home that the family uses just as often (or perhaps more) than their friends, with spaces that play dual roles. The primary suite doubles as a gym and yoga space, for instance, and the “garage” isn’t filled with cars but is instead a climate-controlled game room, ski locker and small-batch cider brewing area. The latter even inspired landscape architects Claire W. Kettelkamp and Ryan A. Kettelkamp to plant an orchard between the two houses. “We use this guest home in so many different ways and it’s such a welcome escape,” says one of the owners. “It truly takes you to another place.”