Peaks View Residence comes by its name honestly. Located at the base of Wyoming’s Teton Pass, it stands in a former hay meadow shadowed by towering snow-capped mountains. Architect Eric Logan paid tribute to the setting by designing the house’s primary living space as a kind of land-based observatory. Encompassing kitchen, dining, and living functions, the room salutes the peaks with a long shed roof that rises toward the west. “The kitchen is tucked back at the low end,” explains Logan, from which the sloping ceiling directs attention upward and outward.
While leaving the kitchen open to the surrounding spaces, Logan used millwork to organize work and seating, and to conceal cooking operations from the dining and living areas. Three freestanding elements—two sink islands and a bank of cabinets containing wall ovens and the main refrigerator—give the room its shape, which is reinforced by a ceiling-hung cabinet between the kitchen and the dining area. “We called it ‘the UFO’ or ‘the Tube,’” Logan says. “It’s a container for glassware behind these sliding glass panels, lit from within.” Only the range and its surrounding cabinets anchor to a wall. A pantry with a third sink and a second refrigerator keeps smaller appliances off the main counters but within easy reach. A windowed breakfast bay projects toward the south, with a lower ceiling, a more intimate scale, and a view of the property’s nearby pond.
Sapele millwork and ceramic tile backsplashes contrast with the lighter-colored madrone flooring, hemlock ceiling, and stone composite countertops. Stainless steel cabinet hardware helps integrate the built-in appliances and range hood. Square recessed lighting fixtures keep overhead space clear, blending discreetly into the ceiling board pattern. The simple materials palette and crisp detailing lend a sense of order that doesn’t compete with the main event outside, resulting in a platform for family life that’s as efficient as it is uplifting. “These clients were interested in having it all happen in one room,” Logan says. This one should fit the bill nicely.
Project:
Peaks View Residence, Wilson, Wyo.; Builder: Dembergh Construction, Wilson; Architect: Carney Logan Burke Architects, Jackson, Wyo.; Photographer: Matthew Millman. /
Resources:
Ceramic tile: Heath Ceramics; Cooktop: Wolf; Countertops: Silestone; Dishwasher: KitchenAid; Fittings: Grohe; Fixtures: Kohler; Ovens: Wolf; Refrigerators: SubZero; Windows: Loewen.
