This article marks the third and final installment of our series about homes inspired by iconic North American winter resorts. Part one offered insight into how the Grand Targhee Resort’s extreme seasons were a study in contrast, and thus provided the perfect name for our Targhee design concept. We also wrote about our Tahoe-inspired concept as well as our Telluride design. The second article offered rich connections between our Breckenridge, Blackcomb, and Aspen Peak home design concepts and the winter resorts inspiring each of them. This includes the elemental ties between Aspen itself and our Aspen Peak design; considered classics in their respective worlds, both remain wildly popular.
Need to catch-up on this series? Read part one here. Part two is here.
The Sundance
Just outside Provo, Utah, lies yet another famous North American mountain destination: Sundance Resort. However, before much of the area was purchased by a group, (including the American actor, Robert Redford), the resort was known as Timp Haven. The name Sundance was, (of course) inspired by Redford’s role in the 1969 film, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. (Rea, 1969)
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Due to a lower elevation than many of its competitors, Sundance had (and still has) a shorter ski season than most winter resorts. Consequently, Redford and others set about making Sundance a year-round destination. Hence, the 1981 birth of the non-profit Sundance Institute, as well as the Sundance Film Festival. Sundance Resort is indeed a year-round destination, home to the largest independent film festival in the United States, storied ski slopes, music, art, and more.
Sundance truly offers something for everyone. It offered our team of architectural designers a name for a new timber cabin design concept. This is because our Sundance concept presents the same versatility and year-round appeal as its laudable namesake.
The Sundance is the epitome of elegant living within a smaller space.
From its magnificent great room, which showcases a unique four-sided timber truss, to its secluded master suite with walk-in closet and private patio, our Sundance design concept provides spaces that satisfy your every need. While entertaining, you and your guests can easily move between the kitchen and a generous, outdoor dining space. Friends and family can also enjoy get-togethers under your home’s expansive, covered patio, where, depending on the season, a rustic firepit warmly beckons. With all of its space on a single level, including its bunk room and additional guest room, the Sundance is the epitome of elegant living within a smaller space.
If single-level living interests you, browse our other single-level designs including the: Caribou, Cascade, River Run, and Truckee. Additionally, our in-house architectural designers can work with you to redesign any floor plan as a single level.
Crested Butte
The quaint municipality of Crested Butte, sometimes referred to as, “the last great Colorado ski town”, tucks right into the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. With an elevation of just under 9,000 feet (2,743 meters), Crested Butte’s 1,643 residents have intentionally limited development including the presence of national chain stores and designer shops. These same residents secured a United States National Historic Landmark District (leah, 2016) ensuring the community’s downtown core and residential areas remain an unique experience. The result? Ski vacations known for tremendous value, nearly one-hundred percent slopeside accommodations, and runs and trails free from crowds.
Crested Butte is known for its approach to getting back to the important things in life. This wholesome mindset made it the perfect name for one of our most cherished plans.
Our Crested Butte design concept has more than one signature element and each seems to appeal in different ways. For example, this home’s impressive staircase turret and timber-framed entryway dazzles guests. Owners adore a footprint configured to offer amazing views of the landscape from numerous, oversized, windows in both the dining room and master suite. Visitors of all ages enjoy the charming breakfast nook and enormous covered patio.
The Crested Butte brings an easy elegance to every space and every occasion.
This home brings an easy elegance to every space and every occasion. It likely comes as no surprise to read that our Crested Butte design was chosen a top ten home design by Log Home Living magazine.
The Crested Butte has been the starting point for many of our clients’ dream homes. Everything from sunrooms and extra garages to theaters rooms, spas, and more have all been lovingly incorporated into its design. See three client customizations of the Crested Butte as well as our original concept here.
Deer Valley
Located in Utah’s Wasatch Range on the edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, the exclusive Deer Valley Resort is nothing short of a treasure trove of unexpected delights. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Deer Valley’s first ski trails in 1936-1937 but this luxury winter resort has come quite a way from its Great Depression origins.
Today’s Deer Valley Resort offers fine dining, boutique shopping, ski valets, and immaculately groomed runs. It is beloved by professional powder hounds and casual skiers alike, as all appreciate the strict limits placed on daily ticket sales (DeerValley.com , n.d.). During the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Deer Valley hosted a number of ski events while remaining open to the public.[iv] It is Deer Valley’s blending of western collegiality with understated elegance that provided the impetus for our Deer Valley concept.
Deer Valley is a rustic jewel offering plenty of room.
Deer Valley is one of our classic mountain style home concepts. Designed to be the perfect personal resort, this rustic jewel offers plenty of room for family and friends to gather. Due to its spacious storage areas, toys and other items are easily accessible, making outdoor enjoyment effortless.
Deer Valley’s entryway pleases the eye by adding architectural interest to the front elevation of your residence; it also serves a practical purpose. Namely, your access to and from the garage is shielded from the elements with a long sloping roof.
Broad overhangs further add to your protection, providing cover from the hot rays of summer or a heavy snow storm. Deer Valley’s conceptual floor plan has been beautifully modified on multiple occasions. See client customizations here.
Turning your dream home into a reality starts with more than just a perfect plan. It also includes designing a home at a cost you are willing and able to spend. Interested in learning more about your estimated turnkey cost?
Click here.
Regardless of where or how you choose to spend your leisure time during the winter, we hope you will find yourself happy and healthy over the cold months. Please visit our blog in two weeks as we begin a spotlight series exploring some of the areas brimming with PrecisionCraft projects.
Works cited, photo credits, and notes
Ski lift at Sundance Mountain Resort Source: The Slopes, uploaded by stemoc 1/21/2014; Deer Valley image via Wikipedia (fr.) by
Skyguy414 (CC BY-SA 3.0) Creative Commons License Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported;
Rea, D. O. (1969, September 15). Sundance Readies Year-Round Fun. Retrieved from The Deseret News: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nYohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NpcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6504%2C3362902
[i] Prior to becoming a program of the Sundance Institute, the film festival, established in 1978, was named the United States Film Festival. The name change occurred after it became part of the institute, in 1989.
[ii] The film festival is a program of the Sundance Institute. As a result of its growth, it now takes place each year in three Utah locations: Salt Lake City, Park City, and Sundance.
[iii] Population as of 2017 per the U.S. Census Bureau
[iv] Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2001). Official Spectator Guide. p. 66 indicates 95% of Deer Valley remained open for normal seasonal operations during the games.
