How Art Inspired The Design Of This Idaho Home

Just south of Ketchum Town Square is a breathtaking plot of land that’s tucked between two mountain ranges, set within a grove of aspens, backed by the Big Wood River and revered for its fly-fishing. When a Boise couple first saw it, their imagination stirred. “We knew it was the place to write our next chapter,” the husband says.

“It’s a dynamic landscape with hillsides covered in wild sage, not timber, so you get distant views that really come alive at sunrise and sunset,” continues architect Mike Brunelle, who worked with designer Joelle Nesen on the project. “The clients needed a large home—a big part of the program was creating separate offices for each of them, bedrooms to accommodate visiting kids, and a casita—but it was important to me that we break down the scale a bit,” he explains. Playing with proportions, Brunelle designed the main house as a series of large, gabled forms connected with flat-roofed segments and what he calls “somewhat Scandinavian” overhangs. “It was also important that windows in every room capture the views,” he adds.

“In early conversations, we shared styles that resonated with us from homes we’d admired around the valley—clean, modern lines, lots of natural materials—and Mike took that all in, shaping it into something uniquely ours,” notes the wife, who grew up in the area and still has family nearby. While giving the dwelling a contemporary aesthetic, Brunelle tapped a historically inspired materials palette that links the structure to the land in a natural way: Chief Cliff stone quarried in Montana, shou sugi ban (a burned-wood preservation technique originating in 18th-century Japan) exterior paneling, and a standing-seam roof (Thomas Jefferson was an early adopter, introducing one at Monticello in the 1770s.)

With the architecture taking shape, Nesen planned easy-living spaces that celebrate the couple’s art collection. In the glass-walled entryway, sculptures by William E. Rodler and Ihor Bereza hint at what’s to come. “From there, you step into the main room, which has a lot of drama,” says Nesen, noting its double-height ceilings. Working with senior designer Margaret Mathes, she selected motorized sheers for the window wall, placed white sofas and swivel chairs by the fireplace (clad in steel for visual interest), and sourced understated dining pieces to “let the volume work its magic,” she adds. Presiding over the space is Mario Henrique’s painting The Gossipers. “It’s a playful nod to Picasso and feels especially fitting by the dining table,” the wife says. “We smile every time we see it.”

Countering the volume of the main living area are the more intimately scaled kitchen and informal entertaining spaces. “Moving into that part of the house, it becomes more about color and texture,” says Mathes, noting the kitchen’s stained-oak cabinetry and woven counter stools as well as the olive-green banquette in the breakfast nook. “It’s the hub of the house, so they wanted it to be cozy, with lots of little places to gather.”

“In every room there’s an unexpected feature that takes the space to a whole new level,” the wife adds. A fine example is in the couple’s bedroom, where a large daybed by the window affords close-up views of wildlife, including herds of elk that sometimes pass so close they set off the Ring doorbell. It sits in front of a four-poster bed layered with rich, restful neutrals that play off the eye-catching hues in the nearby Rebecca Jack painting.

When winter fades, the house, too, will awake to color. Thanks to the work of landscape architect Kurt Eggers, “It becomes lush with native grasses, shrubs and wildflowers,” the husband says. “Inside and out, this home is deeply personal,” Nesen adds. “It’s sculpted to the way this family truly lives.”