When Scott Payne of Farmer Payne Architects began working with Katy and Brock Heckmann to design their home in the Dollar Mountain neighborhood, the project quickly became a special one. Heckmann grew up playing in the pasture that would become the neighborhood, and his mother lives just across the street. While they began building a vacation getaway, the wheels were set in motion for the home to become a forever home.
“When we started seeing the views and got a feeling for what the house was going to be like, we just fell in love with it,” says Heckmann, who was born in Sun Valley but lived in San Diego with his family at the start of the project. “Now, I keep falling in love with it more and more every day.”
Heckmann joked with the team at Farmer Payne that he hoped the build and design would be so incredible that his wife Katy would want to call the Wood River Valley their home. Now, they do. Whether its cousin time in the bunk room, barbecues at the heated outdoor patio, or watching Sun Valley from their large-scale, fishbowl windows, the house has become their home.
But beyond the deep roots in Sun Valley, nearby familial ties, and the love of mountain living, the team also felt an extra sense of pride in creating a structure worthy of celebrating.
“This is one of the more visible homes we have ever worked on,” says Aaron Belzer, an associate with Farmer Payne Architects and the director of design. “You can see the home from Dollar Mountain where all the kids learn to ski. It is such a fun thing to get to continue to experience the home from that view. Having this home in a promote spot, we felt a responsibility to the Sun Valley area in some ways.”
The result? A 5,000-square-foot space tucked discreetly into the hillside, effortlessly complementing the surroundings, thanks to a flat green roof that integrates the terrain, a natural palette of interiors, and thoughtful design at every angle.
“Brock and Katy wanted a mountain modern look,” says Scott Payne. “They loved the idea of making a timeless piece of architecture, which means the proportions are right and the materials are right and real natural materials.”
To accomplish this, Farmer Payne utilized materials with authenticity and longevity in mind: dark-hewn siding, re-sawn Douglas fir, blackened steel, and tumbled native stone create a rich, tactile composition, all of which will weather well over time.
As one approaches the home, the first floor is set down 3 feet from the street level, creating an intimate experience that welcomes guests with a “wow factor” amplified by the views from the interior.
“The way Farmer Payne set the house on the land was so precise with the views,” says Kelly Hinchman, the founder and design principal of Studio H Design Group. “It really feels like it grew out of the land. That led to taking advantage of those incredible views.”
Brock envisioned a space that encapsulated the feeling of being in a historic ski lodge, and Katy brought an elevated California modern vibe that blended into a contemporary mountain home.
“The vision was an all-weather mountain home,” Hinchman says. “It feels light in the winter and not too heavy with the furnishings for summer months. The color palette is more neutral, but we wanted to use landscape colors to add depth.”
A deep green sofa alongside two lush swivel chairs gives a nod to shades in the surrounding views. Pops of color that evoke a mountain sunset add balance to the landscape rather than contrast.
“We played with a lot of neutrals with punches of color alongside golds and black,” she continues. “They have a bit of a modern edge.”
The living room has vaulted ceilings before dropping down in the kitchen area. The bar area and pantry to the left of the kitchen can be closed off, creating an open functionality with hidden pockets for entertaining.
The use of Tumbled Chief Cliff stones by Select Stone extends from the outside to the interior, including an iconic bedroom wall that wraps around into the main bedroom.
“We knew that our footprint had to be pretty compact,” Belzer says. “Our most private space lent itself to being by a public space: the entryway. The bedroom and the entryway share a wall, but the material ensures they feel very private.”
For Katy, the view from the living room’s large-scale windows is what sets the space apart. “When you sit in that space, no matter the season, and have your coffee in, whether it’s watching golfers or people on the path Nordic skiing, it feels really special.”
“We can watch a storm roll in facing the mountain,” Brock adds.
Whether it’s Belzer and his family seeing the home from atop Dollar Mountain, Brock and his daughter listening to the symphony from their backyard while they play baseball, or cousins stopping by to say hi, the Skyline Drive home has deepened roots for everyone involved.