A home designed for an active mountain lifestyle also offers a leisurely place to kick back and relax.
Recently, at a gathering of friends, someone made the point that this time of year is when to assess whether your home is set up and has space for relaxing and indulging in favorite indoor pastimes. “It’s the time of year you don’t force yourself to go out and be busy. If your home doesn’t encourage nesting in, it’s time to reassess and do a little remodeling.” Another suggested that perhaps the forced isolation of COVID changed us and we now recognize that kicking back isn’t that bad a thing,
I recently photographed a home in Red Ledges, an active-living mountain lifestyle community in Heber Valley that offers every opportunity to be busy: golf, tennis, pickleball, pools, trails for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain bike riding, along with proximity to the Provo River, two reservoirs, and skiing. However, I was also struck by what a wonderful home it would be for nesting in during the winter.
Built by Big River Builders (veteran builders Todd Hunter and Scott Johnson), the wood and stone home rests on a hillside with the deep covered patios and view windows looking west across Heber Valley to the Wasatch and into the east side of Deer Valley. I mentioned in a past blog that the sky takes on increased importance with winter photography. These dramatic clouds appeared when I was positioned to take the photo with the western light on the rear building face. Shortly afterwards, a flurry of snow accompanied my photos of the streetside.
The living area is furnished like a lodge with large comfortable leather chairs for settling in by the fire. The windows take in the changes in weather over the landscape on a stormy day, and the covered patio seems like a perfect place to sit and listen to the rain.
The primary bedroom shares some of the same pleasures as the living area: a comfortable reading chair, fireplace, bookshelves, and its own covered patio and views.
The shower in the primary suite caught my attention with its floor-to-ceiling marble and the fiery marble inset, as attention getting as any piece of art.
On the second level, an office tucked back in a corner for maximum quiet looks out to a tempting view of the Red Ledges golf course. The marble of the desk is the same as the marble fireplace surround. The wood paneling, coffered ceiling, and size of the office give a gravitas to the office, appropriate to the increased importance of home offices following the shift to working at home that occurred because of the pandemic.
It’s difficult to capture trends when they are just beginning, but I wonder how the pandemic has shifted our views. Do we now recognize our need to just get away from the busyness of our lives a little more? Do we need a bit more time by ourselves? Do we feel less guilty when we spend time with our hobbies and interests? If there are shifts in these directions, how will our homes better meet our needs and provide a better backdrop for how we want to live? Will it be a little change or a more substantial difference in design? I’ll leave you with these thoughts, and if you happen to see me, let me know your opinion.
See more galleries from Scot Zimmerman here.