We bought a couch! and a long overdue update…

Wow. Where to even start on this one? I feel we’re in a different universe than what life was like the last time I published a post. When COVID hit and we went into quarantine, I had big aspirations to use the time to get to work writing blog posts, update my website, and be super productive and homey living out of the cabin. But honestly, the pandemic took its toll. On our travel-heavy lifestyle, (my) health, our work, and everyone’s emotional stability.

The soaking tub in our master bath. Something I dream about daily. The plumbing fixtures are finally starting to make it come to life.

In addition to trying to get this house built, Brad and his team at First Descents had to cancel all programming and reorganize their services for the year. He also spent the first half of the year restructuring Stoke Broker as a B-corporation. I thankfully didn’t lose any client work, but still being very much a newbie business owner, the pressure to figure out “my thing” and how to make money doing it did nothing to help anxiety levels. After squeezing in Zoom calls with Rob, combing through budgets with invoices, and juggling the nuanced details and decisions that seem endless, writing about the house was the just last thing I wanted to do.

One of many trail runs in the North Fork this spring. We spent pretty much every weekend there.

Yet here we are. And while life behind our masks looks a lot different, it still goes on. It’s summer in Montana, the mountains are stunning, and we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with a potential move-in date (!).

And the biggest silver lining of all? We got to be home and present for every single part of this stress-ridden journey. We were able to watch the seasons change from winter, to spring, to the time of year we all live for — summertime in Montana. And we were able to reconnect with each other and with our Whitefish friends.

Early signs of summer sunsets.

On a friend’s boat on Whitefish Lake.

Summer has arrived!

Floating on the North Fork river.

So, as we enter this new chapter, I’m finally feeling a bit more inspired and wanted to share some things that have been really fun throughout this process. The furnishings and décor pieces that I think will bring a lot of joy since for me, they’ve already started to round out the overall look for our modern/mountain/cozy/Scandinavian-inspired theme. 

Here are some of my favorite things we’ve bought so far!

Folk clay lights for the entrance to the home. (I’m SO EXCITED about these!) Another Ludden family member who just so happens to be a very talented interior designer, Dan, suggested these for the Foyer.

We ordered this faucet on Amazon for one of the bathrooms. I think it looks just like the popular (and very classic) Kohler Purist faucet but is a more budget-friendly version.

These “Surf” lights. The goal was to have lighting that was really minimal so that it casts a “glow” on the peaked ceilings and walls.

One EPIC couch. We needed something big to cover the entire great room but I really wanted to create separate seating zones around the fire stove and where the TV will hang. Originally I thought about doing a combo of back-to-back couches until Dan shared another great idea: The Dr. Pitt 7-piece sectional.

Here it is assembled all together. But…

This couch is so customizable we will have it all broken out like in the photo. The modular pieces also mean we can rearrange easily!

On a whim, I bought this rocking chair from a local home shop (Scout & Gather). I think it will be so charming on the front porch and I just love that it’s a two-seater.

A second king-size Casper mattress. We sleep on the exact one and wanted to make the second bedroom room super cozy for guests. PSA: If you have a Costco membership, buy one there! We’ve been discovering some great home finds there and saved nearly $500 getting this mattress through Costco online.

And for the master, I first thought a big, natural wood headboard would be pretty here. But as Brad will attest, I’m not exactly a morning person and love to take them slowly, reading in bed for the first 30 minutes of the day if I can. This headboard will be like having a pillow to sit against :-)

Just ordered this CB2 bed frame for the master.

And there were a few things we’ve decided to build locally. None of them are complete yet, but they should be by the time we move and I’ll be sure to share final photos!

And I’ve thought about getting Frankie a brand-new dog bed once we move… but there’s a high likelihood she’ll just sleep on my pillows.

Promise to share updates more frequently throughout the rest of the build. xx

Texting with elk (a post from our designer)

Written by AZ architect & designer, Rob Ludden

views facing north to Whitefish Mountain.

Brad and Sydney’s great narration of the evolution of the design from a “plane-centric” apartment to a true home is spot on. Especially the few days (weeks, months?) deciding on that 5-degree rotation on the site location. And the compass. Too much fun.

For me, it began with a suspiciously vague email (to Terri and me while we were traveling):

“Next Spring.” Ha. Well, we were only one year off, perhaps.

With an “always interested in discussing ideas” reply, we kicked off a fun romp of a design journey which has been a whole lot of fun to navigate with Sydney and Brad. By the way, it went way beyond a ‘brain pick’.

The result is a place that embodies the personalities of Brad and Sydney, and is grounded in the place they have chosen to make home.

In thinking about the latest iteration, there are several embedded ideas which will help to understand some of the big moves we will see as the house is realized. Here I get a bit esoteric. No apologies.

Foremost, it is all about the view. Brad could not stop pounding on the view to the mountains. It reminded me of the concept of the pueblo town square. A space where the wall is the distant mountains as is the river/lake, which everyone knows. Sometimes over the horizon and unseen, but always part of our lives. Not the artificial wall of any room, our world is defined by a connection to the land. This is the place where we live.

As we worked to realize this idea, the walls began to disappear.

Then, suddenly Brad texted me from one of his many, many unsuccessful elk hunts. As amazed as I was, being a non-hunter, that you actually texted the elk in order to hunt them, it occurred to me that we were also creating a camp. Here one can lie in bed at night or sit by the fire and look out at a night sky full of stars. In the morning you see the sun light the peaks. Very cool. Texting under the stars.

A scene from one of Brad and syd’s backpacking trips. camping served as inspiration to create the feeling of indoor-outdoor living throughout the house.

Well, until the night train rumbles through, whistle blowing.

The house is also a gathering place. Friends and family arrive, sequencing through the Foyer and an antechamber and emerging into the Great Room, all with glances to the views beyond. Now christened the “Viking Hall”, the great room is an undefined space in which gatherings are held, meals are prepared and eaten, fireside chats are had, movies are watched, all while glancing lovingly at the hanger housing that additional family member, Brad’s plane.

Now that I think about it, where exactly is that plane, Brad?

The great room (aka the “viking hall’. Shown without the kitchen island and furniture, of course.

We now have a gathering place in the field. To anchor the design, the devil is in the details and we need a set of rules. Modern Rustic provides the guidelines. The spaces are all about clean lines. A stage background against which all the wonderful clutter (all perfectly arranged, I hasten to add) of daily life is featured. The surfaces are softened and also animated with art, lighting, furniture. Sydney and Brad are selecting wood cabinetry, woven light shades to warm the space. Furniture is next.

The light and shadows of the sun through the south window above the sink countertop will clock the day. A sundial of sorts. In winter, the low sun penetrates almost all the way to the north wall of the great room. The Sun Room warms through those serious windows. Albeit for those short days. Very Scandinavian.

The Sun Room’s South Facing windows will let in a lot of light and warmth. The East facing window has view of the great northern.

south-facing windows of the Great room let in light. Sydney and Brad plan to build a big farmhouse table to serve as the kitchen island.

In the warm season, (all 5 months of it?) the windows open to catch the breezes and the whole house airs and cools. The sliding wall of the great room opens (toward the hanger….) for many gatherings to be held on the patio. Taking the west wall of the Viking Hall outside. So the west wall of the central plaza is….the Hanger. Very esoteric.

Back view of the house showing the walls of windows that open up to the backyard and patio

I could go on about the imminent “Hanger club” (the future space built out of the hangar itself). However, that is all Brad’s, although he and I did align on the important selection of the floor urinal that will be installed. The Hanger will be a fun space, perhaps even including movie nights. 

Which will be important, because I am not convinced there is an actual airplane. Kind of like Brad and the Elk. Do either really exist?

aerial view of the lot showing the placement of the house, hangar, and shared runway for common access to the strip.

final floorplan for the house!

5 surprising things I’ve learned about concrete floors.

I’ve always loved concrete floors. Even while traveling I notice they’re everywhere from eco-chic bungalows in Tulum to AirBnBs in Austin. Concrete was never a question because we knew from the start we wanted in-floor radiant heating (we’ve got some long, cold winters in Montana). But initially, we considered concrete because we simply liked the look of it, later learning it would also be a much better material for in-floor heating.

Besides loving the aesthetic, I’ve learned a lot about the benefits of concrete floors. Some obvious, some surprising!

source - The style files

source - ideasgn

source - coco lapine design

1. They make your house super WARM.

Concrete is a very efficient heat conduit. And with in-floor heating they produce a nice even heat, providing a cozier atmosphere and warmer feeling for the home overall. And in the summer, they keep the house staying nice and cool.

I just love this gallery wall! source - coco lapine design

2. Concrete floors really aren’t cheaper – but they will probably save you money in the long run.

source - EVERYTHING about concrete

When the thermal mass of the concrete is heated, the warm slab acts as a radiator distributing even heat throughout the structure. When the concrete floor is heated the heat rises warming everything in the room.

While you’ll save money by not putting hardwood flooring on top of the concrete, in a new build when you intend to use concrete as your main flooring material, it’s actually fairly pricey. This is because a lot of work goes into the slab prep. However, a sealed and properly maintained concrete floor can last indefinitely, so I suppose over the long run this can save a considerable amount of money from needing replacing flooring every few years. Concrete floors will also have lower energy costs – you can operate a hydronic system (in-floor) at a lower thermostat setting than an HVAC — and they have lower heating costs. The heat is concentrated in lower half of room resulting in less heat loss.

A case for a more environmentally friendly option?

That is, if you are using an already existing concrete slab as your floor surface. In this case there is no need for new materials. Also, most homes have an existing concrete subfloor already beneath another flooring material. So, in the case of a remodel, you are really just “uninstalling” the flooring material to achieve a concrete floor look.

3. They’re probably a way cleaner option than tile.

Concrete is super easy to clean. Plus, you also don’t have to worry about scratching or staining. For bathrooms and showers, there isn’t any grout to worry about getting dirty and grimy like you’d deal with for tile floors. And unlike wood floors, you don’t have to be careful about concrete floors getting wet from shoes or spills.

Source - EZRa lee design + build

4. Air quality and allergies. (Big win here!)

This was one that is really a no-brainer, but I had never thought about it before. Turns out, concrete floors are your secret ally against allergies. Even with regular cleaning, forced air heating systems can kick up and circulate allergens throughout your home. Moving air means moving allergens. If you’ve got mold, spores, or pet dander lying around, the blast of air from the heating system will set it in motion. Also, hot air causes dryness and irritation. The air in your home needs to have the right amount of moisture in it to be comfortable and healthy. Moving air systems dry you out! – source

5. The artistic options are endless

Who knew! You can paint or dye concrete floors, mix in a colored stain with the sealant, or just polish them up. Also rugs! The options are really endless. I’ve seen concrete floors in homes of all price ranges. They really allow for a lot of design freedom.

source - regards et maison

How to make a decision on where to place your house, the long way.

photo taken by my friend and future neighbor, corey seeman, flying over in his scout

1. Walk the land. Take the in views.

2. Bring your buddies out to walk the land with you to get their thoughts. Make sure to bring some beer.

3. Decide on a general spot for the house, that feels the best.

4. Have your architect use their fancy sun-simulation software, GPS mapping, and years of expertise to help you find an excellent location for the house.

5. Grab a friend to help you stake out the house. Thank them with beer.

6. Go out the next day to walk the land again and look at the views. Obsess about the trees and how mature they are. How they will likely never grow tall enough to block the view, but still.

7. Question everything you’ve done and feel like it’s all wrong.

8. Grab a drink with a friend to talk you out of it.

9. Call your architect the next day and ask them to change the location anyways.

10. Buy a real compass after realizing the iPhone app doesn’t accurately work.

11. Go out to the land, walk around, and decide you need to rotate the house 5 degrees west.

12. Bribe a friend again with some beer to help you re-stake the house plan.

13. Go out the next day to walk around. Obsess about the trees growing some more.

14. Question everything you’ve done and feel like it’s all wrong.

15. Bring your family who is in town for a short visit, out to the land to get their thoughts and help talk you out of it.

16. Call you architect the next day and ask them to change the house back 5° anyways.

17. Bribe a friend again with some beer to help you re-stake the house plan.

18. Go out to the land by yourself, sit down, and take in the views. Make sure to bring some beer.

19. Obsess about the trees again.

20. Call your architect and tell them you want to change the location again.

21. Listen to them say no, and realize you ended up right where you started.

Thank you to Rob, to all my friends, family, and Syd for all their patience and guidance through this process. I think we nailed it.

A single-story, open floorplan

Rob’s first general pass at our dreams of a ranch-style home concept came back after a week later and we opened it with eager eyes. It was pretty much perfect from the start. Sure, over the next few months we would take it through countless iterations and tweaks, but the initial concept has largely stayed the same. The general look of Rob’s plan, and his feel and concept for a floor plan was exactly right.

the final, submitted plans! scroll down to see the evolution of how we got here.

At this point in the process, we needed to take a trip out to San Francisco and met with Rob to walk through the design layout in-person. It was a tedious process of deliberately questioning the flow and function of every room, but I loved being able to (virtually) walk through the house and learn how to use SketchUp, a 3D modeling app. Our visit was made even sweeter with Rob and his wife’s hospitality complete with a trip to the iconic neighborhood joint, Zeitgeist, and getting to cuddle with the new litter of kittens Terri, Rob’s wife, was fostering. (Terri has fostered over 100 kittens and mama cats! For friends in the Bay Area – go check out Allie Pals Cat Rescue!)

originally, we were planning to put the house on the west side of the property

the original layout of the house. It has largely stayed the same! we adjusted the flow of the master bathroom to accommodate adding a dry sauna :-)

Front view of the house in the sketchup app. we don’t have 3 red trucks ;-) just there for sizing reference.

rear view of the house facing north with lots of windows to bring in the views of big mountain.

And here’s where we ended up!

a sketchup view of the floorplan. the furniture layout is not confirmed (still working on that!) but useful for reference.

view of the back of the house with hangar on the west-side of the property

detailed view of the hangar layout. future “man cave’ will have full glass walls looking into the hangar. brad might end up living here, haha.

and a detailed view of the back of the house, patio, and mandatory hot tub.

There’s a name for it: modern rustic

By this point, Rob had become the official architect for The Landing and with the decision to nix the hangar house, he finally had the direction he needed to get to work on designing a home. We decided a hangar would ultimately still be necessary, but it would be a separate structure on the land to be built later. We had to go back to the drawing board. But this time, Rob pushed us to come up with a design theme to help better filter all of our visual inspirations before going any further. A harder homework assignment than I thought… Was it to be modern mountain? The contemporary-meets-cozy vibe of the Modern Farmhouse style had elements we liked, but that wasn’t quite it. We’ve long been in love with the simplicity, elegance and beauty of Scandinavian buildings, so that seemed like a good direction to explore. But that wasn’t exactly right either.

a small sampling of our decor Book collection for research

I had been hearing about a new store just outside of town called Scout & Gather that sells antiques and home décor. And although we were still a ways from furniture shopping, I felt compelled to make a visit. As soon as I walked in the door, I called Brad to come meet me. The owner has a background in design and after she and her husband had been debating with what to do with the old farmhouse on the property they owned off Highway 40, she finally decided to open up her own shop. Its gorgeously curated with antiques that she sources from all over the country, along with fun prints, cozy pillows and textured rugs, and even some beautiful goods from local makers. They even have an outdoor stage and patio area where they throw concerts and seasonal parties for the community.  

Before heading out the door and dreaming of future dining tables, we decided to pick up a few of the décor books laid out on her front display table. That night I flipped through all of them, earmarking the pages that had things I liked. In one book I found myself marking nearly every page. And there it was: Modern Rustic.

House moodboard (view on pinterest)

Designing a hangar house

And here we have it. A big, beautiful, 2.5-acre blank canvas upon which to create the perfect dream home. It’s a bit daunting. So, we started where every great home design begins: Pinterest.  

found on Pinterest: interior design inspiration for the hangar house

The home first started to take shape in our heads, through internet searches, and by driving around the valley looking for homes that inspired us. We were all over the place and feeling overwhelmed. But generally, we knew we wanted 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a mud room to put skis, boots, and gear for adventure, an oversized garage for bike storage, and ultimately, a home that somehow captured the expansive views of the mountains and airstrip activity. We also knew we wanted something modern, yet still timeless. My sister suggested we start googling “Scandinavian Farmhouse” …and also to get in touch with Rob.

Fortunately, my Dad’s cousin (Rob Ludden) is a retired and very talented architect. After one phone call, he took an immediate interest in our project and began to help me shape the vision for this house and hangar. From this point forward, Rob would become indispensable.

Rob’s FIRST CONCEPT. a 3-bedroom living space above the hangar with attached garage.

The first pass at a design, mainly due to my desire to sleep with my plane, was to build a hangar home – a glorified shop which housed planes on the ground level and had living quarters above. We throught we could build the hangar house first and then perhaps a 1 bedroom A-frame down the road as a guest house.

glass walls from the living room would look down on the hangar

hangar house 3-bedroom floor plan

detailed view of the hangar house with balcony.

detailed floorplan for the hangar house

After 2 months of toying with this idea, we came to the conclusion that it wasn’t cost effective, practical, and ultimately would force too many compromises to create the home that we were really dreaming of.  So, it was back to the drawing board…

The second time around, armed with the knowledge that we wanted to separate the house and hangar (much to Sydney’s happiness), we decided to focus on building a house that was timeless, unique, bright (we’ve got some dark winters up here), and open. And it needed to have a sense of place. To be unique, but still feel like it belonged in Montana. We decided to nix the shed roof style originally planned in the hangar home concept for fear of it being too trendy. The goal now was to create a single-story home, for a lot of reasons, but mainly because a ranch-style house felt like something that honored the retired farmland upon which it sat.

one of the many inspiration images we found of a-frames. our original plan would be to build a secondary 1-BDR guest house modeled in this way.

The land.

Sydney walking in the field the very first day we discovered it (Sept 11, 2018)

On February 22, 2019 at 9am I wrote one of the biggest checks of my life. We had received some news I’d been eagerly waiting for. The title for the land I had been arduously working on (jumping through the legal hoops of development, city meetings, and trying to understand the regulations around land divisions) had finally been put in my name. But on that day, what I actually felt was a little annoyance. Annoyed that it took SO long…. Or that it felt like it took so long. Maybe that was just my impatience, because this piece of land was so special. A dream property. Literally a dream, because when I first discovered this undeveloped land alongside Whitefish’s Airport – a grass landing strip that could provide endless opportunities to backcountry adventure just steps from my house – there was no way I thought it could be possible to build a home there.   

It all began with passion. A passion for backcountry aviation, for the town and community of Whitefish, for all the adventures that exist in and around this beautiful corner of Norwest Montana, and a passion to someday own my dream home here.

At the end of last summer, Sydney and I were driving back into town from a weekend spent in the North Fork and I decided to take the scenic backroad. I’ve gone this way many times before, but on this day, we noticed a brand-new spec home being built on the far corner of fallow land that used to be an old farm. This land, I knew, bordered Whitefish’s only grass airstrip that I had flown into a dozen times but had no idea that anyone could build out there! Right then, the seed of an idea was planted about someday owning a piece of that land. The dream: a place with views of Glacier Park, Big Mountain, and the Whitefish range.

Whitefish is a small mountain town 20 miles from Kalispell, the place I grew up, and I moved back here in 2015. After spending 10 years in Colorado and traveling the world, it was time to come home. I learned how to fly right when I moved to Vail and it’s since become my favorite passion. So of course, one of the first things I did when I moved back to Montana was start exploring the backcountry skies. Whitefish has long been home to a sleepy little grass landing strip (58S) that, until recently, was just outside the city. That all began to change when Vic, a local developer, purchased the barren farmland that bordered the strip and began the process to get it annexed into our city limits. His goal was to get the land subdivided and sold off in 6 different parcels ranging from 2.5-4.9 acres each. While this was already in motion that day we drove past, it was all unbeknownst to me.

As fate would have it, a few days later I was out at the local watering hole, The Great Northern Bar (aka “The No No”) and ran into James, a local acquaintance. He mentioned he had just purchased some of the land from Vic and was planning to subdivide and sell it. I was ecstatic!

That next morning, I had breakfast with my good friend and realtor, Will MacDonald, and recounted the story. He said, “Let’s go take a look at it!” After filling up on breakfast burritos, we headed to the strip. Upon seeing James’ land, I realized right away that it wasn’t going to work – there wasn’t any access to the runway. But we walked around. I was immediately drawn to a piece of land nearby the windsock that bordered the strip. I just walked right to it. It felt right. I stood there taking it all in and said, “Will, I’m not interested in any piece of land but the one right here that I’m standing on. Can you find out if there’s any way I would ever be able to own this?” Not knowing who owned it, what plans were already in motion for it, or if it would ever become for sale, Will went to work.

Two days later, Will called. “Well, I have some good news and bad news. The good news is, Vic owns that land you want and is planning to try to get it annexed and subdivided. The bad news is, there’s no guarantee that will happen, when that will happen, what the price is going to be, and whether or not you’ll even be the lucky guy who gets it.”

Well, I just blocked out the bad news. There was still hope and I just knew right then that the universe was on my side.

Fast-forward through the next few months. They looked a lot like this: mixed feedback, a rollercoaster of weekly meetings, city hearings, reading through documents, calls with the state of Montana, filings, calling everyone with questions, and thousands of emails. But sure enough, just before 2018 came to an end, the subdivision was approved, and the dream was about come true. Happy New Year!