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Sweet Spot

Architect John Hendricks designed the front portico with a dou-ble column. The column base is Montana stone. As you approach the home from the road, the views open to Lake Pend Orielle.

Surrounded by breathtaking scenery, a couple builds a home that drinks it all in. BY NANCY BERRY | PHOTOS BY KARL NEUMANN

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IT is not often one comes across a prop-erty with unobstructed, 270-degree

views of two mountain ranges, one of the larg-est lakes in the Northwest and thousands of acres of national forest. So when Tim and Kim Feehan discovered a five-acre lot for sale on a high spot in Sandpoint, Idaho, that offered these views, they knew they had found their sweet spot. They set about to put a team to-gether to design and build a home that would do justice to the spectacular panorama vistas.

The route to finding their contractor reads a bit like something out of a James Bond movie rather than requesting your typical construc-tion bids. They took a seaplane to get a bird’s-eye view of homes they liked in the area, and when they found one, they landed right on the lake in front of it. It was the home of Skip Pucci, a 60-year veteran in construction.

“They walked up the lawn and asked if they could take a look around,” says the builder. He was hired on the spot. The couple liked Pucci’s rustic timber-frame home and wanted to emulate it.

Both avid outdoor sportspeople who en-

joy snowboarding, golfing and boating, the couple also wanted a home that was close to the action — especially their favorite ski resort. “They didn’t just want to be close to the mountain — they wanted to see it,” says architect John Hendricks, who designed the home. “The main directive from the Feehans was: ‘We want views — we want to see it all.’”

Dazzling Design The design takes in the natural beauty of the area, which includes Lake Pend Oreille, one of the largest bodies of water in the Northwest, spanning 148 square miles; the Selkirk Mountain range, dense with pon-derosa pine, Douglas fir, quaking aspen and paper birch; and Montana’s rugged Cabinet Mountain range.

The Feehans’ home not only needed to fit into its natural setting but also with the other homes in the mountain community. “We came up with a playful design, incorporating a tur-ret, large portico and several outdoor spaces for the family to enjoy the warmer months,” says the architect.

ABOVE: The architect is well-versed in the mountain vernacu-lar and chose local materials, such as Montana stone, western red cedar and Douglas fir, to build the home.

OPPOSITE: The turret wall in the great room is made of Montana stone, echoing the fireplace. Trusses hold up the purlins and the roof, which creates a stacked effect. The wood floors throughout the house are 3/4-inch tongue-and-groove stained birch.

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LEFT: The architect designed a bridge on the upper level to connect the private spaces of the home, such as the master bedroom, study and library. For dramatic effect, he left the 6-by-10-inch rafters exposed in the turret.

OPPOSITE: One of the most dramatic views is seen from the great room windows, which face southeast and offer views of Lake Pend Orielle and the Cabinet Mountains beyond.

Exterior materials echo the mountain land-scape, which includes 4-inch-thick Montana stone, Douglas fir beams and western red cedar siding. “These are 2-by-14 horizontal boards cut diagonally with a 1- to 1 ½-inch butt end, which offer more angles and deep shadow lines,” the architect explains. A four-columned entry portico, as well as open porches, patios and decks abound. “The porches have broad overhangs to protect the seating areas from the summer sun when temperatures can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit,” the architect notes. Porch railing balusters are kept very thin for unobstructed views.

Level-by-Level TourThe 5,600-square-foot living space is divided into three levels. The lower level offers a me-dia room with theater seating, a game room complete with bar, a wine cellar, a guest suite and two outdoor patios — one of which has a hot tub. “There is also a gas fire pit for cooler evenings,” says the architect.

The main level has an entry hall and a tur-ret, which houses the spiral staircase encircled in Montana stone, a great room with a ceil-ing vaulting to 22 feet at its peak, a window wall, a fireplace built of Montana stone, a dining room that leads to a waterproof deck, a kitchen and large pantry equipped for catering to family and friends, and a guest bedroom. “We rented a horse arena during the winter to make the Douglas fir arched trusses that sup-port the roof and portico,” the builder recalls.

The private spaces in the home — a mas-ter bedroom and bath, a reading room and a study — are relegated to the upper level. “These spaces are connected by a bridge that opens to the spaces below,” says the architect. “Most of the home faces southeast, but the master bedroom [which is set on a 45-de-gree angle from the rest of the house] looks toward Schweitzer Mountain to the west so the couple can wake up and immediately see

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the weather conditions at their favorite snow-boarding spot.”

The Feehans like to entertain all year long and wanted outdoor spaces to accommodate friends and family when the weather turns warm. “There is a 2,000-square-foot stone patio off the game room,” says the builder. “And from that patio, a set of natural step-ping stones found on the property lead up to a private picnic. And Tim loves to golf, so we even incorporated a putting green on the grounds.” With such awe-inspiring vistas, a luxury timber-frame retreat, ample outdoor spaces to relax and take it all in, this truly is a sweet spot. ■

ABOVE: The master bedroom windows face west and take in views of Schweitzer Mountain.

LEFT: A large soaking tub looks out a large window that frames the serene views.

UPPER LEVEL MAIN LEVEL

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LOWER LEVEL

Home DetailsSQUARE FOOTAGE: 5,600ARCHITECT: John HendricksBUILDER: Skip Pucci

Just outside the game room is a hot tub and stone patio. The owners chose alder for the interior trim work.

Garage

Crawl Space

Home Theater

Bedroom

Wine Cellar

Game Room

WIC

Laun.

Stor.

WICBedroom

Kitchen

Dining Room

Great RoomDeck

Porch

Open to Below

WIC

Master Bedroom

Bedroom/Office

Deck

Reading Room

Sitting Area

Entry

Bar

Reprinted with permission from Timber Home Living August 2011. ©2011 Home Buyer Publications, Chantilly, Virginia, 800-826-3893.