The Engery-Efficient Freja House Is A Nordic-Montana Fusion

When couple Emma and Blake made the decision to move their family from Seattle to Whitefish, Montana, they wanted a home that would honor Emma’s Swedish heritage and Blake’s commitment to energy efficiency, providing a sustainable legacy for their daughter Freja. Love Schack Architecture rose to the challenge with Freja House, customizing a home and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) that met the couple’s wishes.

The home’s exterior reflects Scandinavian aesthetics with simple forms and a gable roof. It is clad in prefabricated wood panels treated with järnvitriol, a traditional Swedish iron sulphate technique that accelerates weathering. The east-facing side of the roof skews forward to maximize mountain views while maintaining the structure’s simple footprint.

The clean lines of the exterior are continued inside the home, with built-in cabinetry replacing traditional closets and minimalist spaces optimized for the family’s work-from-home lifestyle. Indoor-outdoor living is encouraged by a 16-foot wide, 8-foot-tall sliding glass door that connects the living area to a patio with an outdoor fireplace — a compromise that satisfied Emma’s desire for a hearth and Blake’s preference for a combustion-free interior.

Sustainability features that reflect Blake’s profession as a mechanical engineer specializing in energy efficiency are thoughtfully integrated throughout the entire build. The site’s orientations were a hindrance in delivering a full Passive House certification, but Love Schack Architecture achieved remarkable energy efficiency through meticulous attention to insulation and air tightness. As a result, the home’s heating, electric sauna, EV charging, and ADU’s power consumption amount to only $100 a month to operate. “Its ventilation system connects to an adjacent mechanical closet, where a heat pump water heater repurposes the sauna’s wasted heat to warm the home’s domestic hot water,” explains the studio. “The heat pump also cools the mechanical closet, creating a symbiotic design solution.”

Over the garage, an ADU offers the family extra space for accommodating friends and family, and potential rental income for the future. With its quiet presence and strong ethos of environmental consciousness, The Freja House embodies heritage, sustainability, and Montana living.