ARCHITECTURE & DECORATION

A GORGEOUS GLASS AND STONE MONTANA HIDEAWAY. OPEN-AIR ENTERTAINING AT KIT KEMP'S VIBRANT BARBADOS HOME. AN EXUBERANT SPIN ON COZY CABIN STYLE IN SUN VALLEY. PALLADIAN MAJESTY MEETS ISLAND EASE IN THE BAHAMAS HALEKAI, A LUXURY YACHT BY KEN FULK, SETS SAIL

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WHEN SUZANNE TUCKER was approached by longtime clients about creating a family getaway at Yellowstone Club, the private ski and golf community in Big Sky, Montana, her immediate response was, "I love doing mountain houses!" Indeed they suit her: The San Francisco-based designer is well-known for creating interiors with evocative visual and textural layers that make brilliant use of natural materials and light, both of which are in high supply in the open, elevated terrain of the American West.

And her clients made clear they wanted copious amounts of both.

The couple were looking to build a home that would speak to mountain living but in a contemporary way, more refined than rustic, says Tucker, who heads the firm Tucker & Marks with her husband and business partner, Timothy Marks. She explains that they wanted something that "would feel warm and cozy and yet be open to the environment," with vast expanses of glass for taking in all that Rocky Mountain majesty.

The property they acquired encompasses 40 alpine acres, where the former owner, cycling legend Greg LeMond, had constructed a series of traditional log cabins the couple refreshed as guest quarters. For the new main house, they turned to Montana-based architect Reid Smith, whose firm has designed the golf clubhouse as well as some two dozen homes for members. He helped choose a site that's nestled into a slope, overlooking a small pond, out of sight from the guest cabins, and largely hidden from the road. It also enjoys unimpeded southern light and vistas down to the valley below.