Big Wood Residence

In an aspen forest just south of Sun Valley, Idaho, Mark de Reus' family home recalls the simple agrarian structures of the region’s farms and ranches. A gabled form steeped in traditional barn architecture is intersected by a modern, flat-roofed volume. Presenting a duality of types, the two points of view are joined through a uniform palette of white pine, European oak, and granite. “Out of deference to nature, I wanted to find the right scale; something that was modest and appropriate for this riparian forest.” – Mark de Reus As night falls on the aspen wilderness at the foot of Carbonate Mountain, a modern residence glows with the warmth of a fireplace-lit cabin. Big Wood, a home rooted in the riparian woodland alongside a river of the same name, sits at the meeting point of river, mountain, and forest. One enters from the darkened wood exterior into a glass-walled vestibule. Leading inward, an open living, kitchen, and dining area is clad with floor-to-ceiling white pine in a minimalist take on rustic wood-paneled cabins. A cast-glass, Alison Berger-designed dining pendant gestures toward the river just outside, where block ice was once quarried for the nearby Sun Valley Lodge. Home to elk, deer, moose, and eagles, the forest is experienced through an outdoor terrace with a fire element for year-round gathering. When indoors, large picture windows and sliding glass doors make the surrounding nature a continual presence, marking time with its visible changes in season.