Mirror Pond Lodge

The interior perspective also reflects the various aspects of the grounds. Each room feels different. Each window opens out to reveal a new facet of the stunning natural setting.

“This house, to me, illustrates that European, Austrian/Swiss experience, where a house not only needs to look good and meet our aesthetic sensibility but it needs to work in the harsh temperatures,” Pearson says. “Even though our homes look authentic and historical, they represent modern comforts. Radiantly heated, super insulated, we’ve developed a number of assemblies that allow the house to represent the best of current energy standards. What we want to do is experience the Rocky Mountain West, but we also want to be comfortable in it.”

Using materials from regional quarries and sustainable logs in the design, Pearson worked with On Site Management, a construction company renown for its expertise with antique, rustic and reclaimed construction materials. In turn, working with this palette of weathered wood reflects the heart of Montana.

“For this project we used standing dead lodge pole stack clad over a standard stick frame to prevent the problem of shifting that typically happens with this size of house,” recalls OSM project manager Todd Smith. “Other elements inside were reclaimed hemlock on the ceilings and walls, along with a lot of “character” wood for the posts and trusses.”

Using these kinds of materials brings a history to it; a prior use carries along a sort of past life that, like an old friend, adds character and charm to an inanimate object.

“It gives a story line that creates interest,” Pearson says. “You can see a brand on a beam that was burnt into a cabin, initials etched in, and you realize that it feels like you’re part of something. It’s a unique experience.”

Two stone stanchions, like sentinels, two-stories high and 16-feet wide — one is the massive fireplace chimney and the other is the wall of the high tower — seem to be an anchor, a bastion of historical provenance.