By Megan Paulson Explorebigsky.com Staff Writer
BIG SKY – Any child’s dream is to have a room so inviting and fun it transcends an ordinary bedroom and becomes an escape for adventure. Inside Yellowstone Club, a fortress awaits that surpasses one’s wildest dreams.
The adventure bunkroom in Four Peaks Lodge is a child’s dream–and an adult’s dream for that matter. “Go to your room” takes on a whole new dimension here, where your room includes the option to descend an indoor 10 foot slide, balance on a suspended rope bridge, play hide-and-seek among hidden turnstile doors, navigate wall tunnels with LED lighting, and scale vertical wood and metal ladders.
Built-in bunk beds provide room for four, so sleepovers are a must. Any child that experiences an adventure palace of this magnitude would never want to leave.
Inspiration for the adventure bunkroom came in an unassuming way.
“I told the architect, Jerry Locati, about a room that I did for my kids when they where young–the room had a slide, ladder and some other fun features,” said the residence owner. “Jerry stayed in the office all night and in the morning had an initial drawing for the amazing adventure loft in the house. It was perfect.”
The interior design elements were also a key component to bringing the adventure loft to life.
“The whimsical bunkroom called for playful colors and extraordinary details for both children and adults,” notes interior designer, Michelle Varda. “The tunnel system is comfortable enough for adults to climb through and actually stand up in the separate girls and boys lofts.”
Every element was considered: Cable lighting flanks the rope bridge and incorporates a variety of fun fixtures, from Montana dragonflies to planes and balloons; each bunk bed has an individual reading light, book ledge and a window for natural light; wide drawers offer extra storage, and the multi colored chest of drawers catches the eye as one of the many focal points of the room. Even the slide is wrapped in leather and bordered with studded nail heads.
If the kids ever tire of their adventure room, they can easily slip downstairs and watch a movie in the home theater or play in the custom arcade, which is equipped with machines ranging from vintage Pac Man to CSI Pinball, and a popcorn snack cart to top it off. A survey was given to 20 designers, builders and audio-visual experts to select the particular games, and they draw players of all ages and tend to provoke cheers heard throughout the house.
Beyond the adventure bunkroom and the arcade, Four Peaks Lodge is a masterpiece in itself. Its location in Yellowstone Club near the boundary of Big Sky Resort sets it in close proximity to both the private and public resorts. Full ski-in/ski-out trails from the home provide unhindered access to powder days and more than 8,000 combined acres at the adjoining resorts.
True to its name, four prominent peaks surround the home. A gilded compass in the entryway, invites you to locate each of them. Four Peaks Lodge’s design takes advantage of the topography of the lot, with walkout decks on all three levels of the home. Perhaps the most beloved room (aside from the adventure loft, of course) is the Tower Suite, which boasts 360-degree windows and endless mountain views.
The home’s furnishings, dubbed “mountain eclectic,” were sought out by a team of six, including the owners, interior designer, translator and personal buyers. The team traveled together for weeks throughout the Far East combing warehouses, flea markets and visiting many local artists to create the collection of furnishings, natural boulders that evolved into plumbing fixtures, wall finishes and historical pieces that now detail the home.
“Each room has a unique feel, and yet there is continuity throughout that makes 11,000 square feet feel comfortable and a place to call home,” Varda said.
Whether enjoying the youthful indoor adventure or admiring the Far East fusion that meshes with Montana’s Big Sky country, Four Peaks Lodge provides an escape for the imagination and the soul.
The perfect heart-shaped Thai monkey tree table
The library was in need of a special coffee table, and the owner presented an idea for a heart shaped piece.
“Years ago I saw coffee tables crafted from natural wood in Thailand that had very unique shapes, so I contacted the woodworker to see if he could find a piece of wood as close to a heart as possible and build a table from it,” the owner says. “He responded by saying he could try to find the right tree, and that he would send people to the forest to look for it.”
Amazingly, six months later the owner received an email that the woodworker had indeed located the heart-shaped tree, which turned out to be a Monkey tree, and that he would build the table for the residence.
This truly unique, one-of-a-kind centerpiece symbolized the owner’s love for the entire building process—from finding the right piece of land, to spatial design, building in extreme elements and landscapes, all the way to the details of art and décor selections.
Zen Room
Stepping into the Zen Room, a wall of old, hand-painted doors are the core focal point of the space. The team had been searching for a special feature and came across this antique masterpiece, formerly used as a room divider, from the Mongolian countryside. They later found an antique rug made of Indian wedding dresses for the central placement in Zen room to complete its peacefulness.
Find more on Four Peaks Lodge through L&K Real Estate.
