No Place Like Home: Montana Timber Frame Home

The old adage "less is more" may be true in most cases, but not when it comes to John and Gladys Merlette's home nestled among the foothills of western Montana's impressive peaks. For this retired couple, too much of a good thing sounded just right. Five years ago, they left the concrete jungles of their native New Jersey behind to build this peaceful mountain retreat on 70 acres of protected land.

The Merlettes' more-is-more approach, a year of extensive research and two years of construction culminated in an impressive home that feels at once grandiose and cozy. But the house isn't what you might expect to find in this part of the United States. You won't find any cowboy or woodsy motifs here, thanks to the couple's penchant for architecture and design stemming from the other side of the Atlantic.

"We gave up on the notion of a log home with a Western style and opted for the European hunting lodge look instead," says John. To build a structure with continental flair that would still mesh with its rugged surroundings, John and Gladys spent a full year meticulously researching every facet of their home's design.

They chose a timber frame (used extensively in European building) made of Douglas fir and larch, with a variety of accent materials from precast stones and brick to wrought iron and tile. The highly organized couple also chose many of the home's furnishings prior to building. "We designed many of the rooms around the furniture — antique armoires, cabinets and even a marble fireplace that literally weighed a ton," says Gladys.

After poring over hundreds of magazines for inspiration and constructing a scale model of the home with the aid of a computer program, they were ready to present their ideas to builder Orlan Sorenson of Landmark Builders. "Their research made my job easy," says Orlan, who's been in business for more than 30 years. "The home is one of the more unusual ones I've worked on, but it doesn't seem out of place."

It may not look out of the ordinary in its surroundings, but it does come as a big surprise to the Merlettes' guests, who arrive expecting a rustic cabin, not a lodge. "We laugh because we have relatives back East who ask if we have indoor plumbing or television. The irony is that we have every kind of technology they could possibly want and more," says John.

Radiant-floor heat in the bathrooms, a computerized electrical program that allows the lights and gas fireplace to be operated from any room and a whole-house audio system are just a few of the home's high-tech offerings. But John and Gladys didn't just include modern-day bells and whistles.

The forward-thinking couple also made allowances for the future in their home's design. Provisions include 36-inch-wide doors, closets that can be converted to elevators and a master-bathroom shower that can be adjusted to accommodate a wheelchair. "We designed the home knowing we would be here for the rest of our lives," says John, who admits that they find it nearly impossible to leave, with the home's resort-like amenities such as the game room, golfing green and fire pit where they toast marshmallows with their seven grandchildren.

"When someone suggests going on vacation, all I can think is, 'Why?' " says John. "There is no place I'd rather be than here."