Montana Antiques Meet Modern Chic in This Family Ski Retreat

Cultivate a sophisticated chalet vibe with National Park and international style inspiration from a Montana designer’s reimagining of a Big Sky vacation home.

August 31, 2021

By: Lauren Oster

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Photo By: Lucy Call

How to Nail Elevated-Retreat Chic Anywhere

Abby Hetherington and her Bozeman, Montana-based design team have developed a reputation for outfitting vacation homes. Commissioned at first to decorate the spaces where their clients gather to make the most of free time, they now find themselves summoned out of state to re-create their cozy-meets-quirky contemporary aesthetic in year-round residences. Abby’s fans can also seek out her style at the old Montana Motor Supply building in downtown Bozeman, where Architect’s Wife — a design destination that sells everything from curated Montana antiques to luxurious Italian furniture — is making Big Sky Country even more gorgeous, one well-chosen piece at a time.

That magic is on full display in this secondary ski home, where touchable velvet softens modern silhouettes and eclectic art both references the spectacular nature surrounding the property and puts a big-city twist on traditional cabin motifs. Absorb a few lessons from this crew of experts and you’ll be ready to tackle Alpine style in no time.

Contemporary Interpretations of Natural Subjects Define This Entryway

The coyote painting punctuating this entryway celebrates Montana wildlife in a style that suits the home’s on-trend terrazzo floor tile and sleek, flush-mount globe light. (Fancy something similar for your own home? Take a virtual stroll through a curated collection of environmental art at Jackson Hole, Wyoming’s Gallery Wild.) The pair of antler-leg stools, in turn, offer a contrasting, traditionally Nordic take on the mountain aesthetic.

Modernize With a Mix of Wood Finishes As In This Kitchen and Dining Area

The kitchen and dining area owe their contemporary look to the bold combination of comparatively "natural" wood (on the warm, exposed ceiling beams and pale island and floor) with updated iterations (like the blocky, ebony-stained cabinets and the sculptural array of carved candle holders on the marble dining table). Saba Italia’s sapphire and gray quilted-velvet New York dining chairs are comfy enough for marathon family dinners — and complement the angular barstools’ navy tweed upholstery.

"The island cabinets are made from a rift sawn white oak and helped to brighten up the black perimeter cabinets," Abby notes. "If you want to chose two different woods, make sure one will feel like an anchor in the space, and the other acts as an accent — but mixing materials is easy and fun. Just don’t overthink it!"

Add an Unforgettable Piece by a Local Artisan to Your Home

The narrow stairs leading down and away from the kitchen could have been a forgettable, interstitial space. But with the addition of a rocket-casing pendant from Livingston, Montana designer Russ Fry, they’re a major style moment. "The missile-base pendant was found months before we began the project," Abby recalls. "When we first walked through the home with the client, we thought this was the perfect spot for [a] fun found object, and the client was all in. We like to mix new and old in most of our projects, bringing a fun story with each piece."

Let Glassware and Crystal Function as Decor for a Sleek Home Bar

Framed by Ann Sacks porcelain mirror tiles and crisp, dark cabinetry, this home bar’s glasses are interspersed with subtle crystal accents — a vase, lidded dish, figurine and pair of decanters — that add personality and subtle visual texture without overwhelming the eye. Panel-ready wine fridges in the lower cabinets provide semi-hidden storage to prevent countertop clutter.

Don't Neglect Design Flourishes Like Artwork and Statement Lighting in Powder Rooms

This charming little powder room demonstrates that a diminutive footprint can’t thwart a determined decorator. Basic-but-not-boring terrazzo tiles on the floor and wall paired with a floating lacquered vanity and matching faucet provide a subtly sophisticated backdrop for a framed geyser photo — this vacation home is just 80 miles from Old Faithful, after all — and a curvaceous, hand-blown smoked glass pendant. "Keeping the upper half of the wall and ceiling white allows the space to still breathe," Abby notes.

Create a Timeless Kids’ Room With Well-Chosen Vintage Pieces

Abby accessorized this charming children’s bedroom with quirky directional signs and a playful, hand-painted Smokey Bear cutout to evoke Montana’s history as an outdoor paradise; her online store is bursting with equally charismatic, one-of-a-kind finds. Take a detour to antique and secondhand stores on your next vacation (or make a virtual trip to Etsy) for destination-specific finds, then pair them with graphic, geometric textiles that are equally appropriate for little ones and older kids. "The bedding is from Pony Rider and is the perfect mix between Western and modern," Abby says.

Use Photo Archives to Evoke a Sense of Place in Your Home Decor

A second kids’ space features prints of century-old black-and-white photos from the substantial collection of photos and artwork at Abby’s shop. From postcards and advertisements specific to Bozeman, Glacier National Park and Yosemite to images of the Old West, her trove can re-create Montana anywhere — and it’s well worth looking into visitors’ centers and shops in your area to find similar relics.

Repurpose Renovation Scraps Like Shingles to Add Texture and Interest Indoors

Built as an addition and first used as a gym, this space features repurposed shingles that once surrounded the home’s exterior. "When we started designing the bunk room, we wanted it to feel like a space that felt like the outdoors," Abby says. Her team painted the walls and ceiling a deep, moody hue (Tarrytown Green by Benjamin Moore) that lets pale gray bed linens and vintage photographs take center stage.

Style Shelves With Trophies and Leather-Bound Books

Create a simple, classic collection on shelves like these by keeping your eyes peeled for inexpensive flea-market finds like vintage trophies and well-worn hardcover books. Polished up and arranged in small groupings like these, they’re soulful accents for areas that don’t need to function as everyday storage spaces.

Intricate, Color-Blocked Tile Is Durable Design in a Bathroom for Kids

Why fret about moisture seeping into accessories when you can make a permanent and much sturdier statement with building materials? Abby deployed three versions of Gem by Kelly Wearstler for Ann Sacks handcrafted concrete tile (Archetype I, II and III) to create a one-of-a-kind statement on this floor, then balanced them with smaller, solid teal mosaic tiles in the shower itself. Now that’s what we call installation art.

Use Luxe Materials and Sleek Shapes in Lieu of Patterns in the Bedroom

The home’s minimalistic principal bedroom celebrates the many ways upholstery itself can be opulent: the gorgeous gray Edra "Stand By Me" bed has "smart" cushions that can fold up or down on either half of the headboard, and ruched leather on the Kelly Wearstler Souffle chair offers a clever alternative to stripes.

When designing a suite like this one, "we usually like to start with a statement bed," Abby explains. "This bed has a luxury crushed velvet that provides a fun texture and play of light. Then we pick some fun, elegant nightstands and table lamps and tie it all together with a statement chair."

Layer Pop-Art Accessories for Visual Impact

The colorful Holly Manneck painting mounted in the bedroom plays with kitschy, midcentury apres-ski images. The cast-bronze stag beside it, in turn, could blend in with a collection of 19th-century antiques. Neither piece would be as eye-catching by itself — and they’re an improbable but fabulous pair.

Reference Personal, Favorite Pasttimes by Using Books and Puzzles as a Decorative Theme

The velvet duvet covers, sheepskin stools and quilted barrel chair in this bedroom are well and good, but its true stars are the books, binoculars and puzzles on its built-in bookshelves (and the plush creature on that chair). As proponents of modern Scandinavian style know, all the artful minimalism in the world won’t feel restful unless it also feels personal. The pieces in this room hint at what its young occupants love.

Warm Up Winter Whites With a Hint of Blush

Snow-swathed mountains are a natural inspiration for crisp black-and-white bedrooms like this one, but they can skew chilly, as it were. The rosy tone of this Saba Italia New York headboard — a sibling of those cozy armchairs around the dining room table — counterbalances it beautifully.