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DESIGNING AN INTUITIVE FAMILY HOME
by Cassidy Mantor
Just down the road from the old mining town of Triumph, Idaho (population: 50), Latham Interiors has helped bring thoughtful design to a new family home. A place of history and meaning to a family with roots in the Wood River valley, this home is meant to last generations to come. Keeping the designs throughout focused on the family and their love for the area, the design team was able to create a place truly unique to the family in their current needs but lasting in classic design. This thoughtful home near Sun Valley is not only intuitive it feels like it was always meant to be.
Sarah Latham, principal of Latham Interiors, first met the clients in 2019. Along with the architecture team at RLB Architectura and the construction team at Lee Gilman Builders, Latham Interiors began brainstorming with the homeowners, exploring all design options and getting a sense of what would best serve their family. They went through a number of iterations, relocated the kitchen a few times, and eliminated a formal dining room, opting for a media room that they would use more for their family. It was a well thought out process. Then Covid hit.
Living in NYC during 2020, the clients felt the pressure of the pandemic and put the pedal to the metal on completing their Sun Valley home. Design and development progressed and over the coming years, the team delivered an elegantly designed and thoughtful family home to serve generations to come.
THE MORE, THE MERRIER
“We had the luxury of time to get to know the family before the pandemic. We were able to explore a lot of options for them to make sure we were designing what they had hoped for,” Latham reflects. The clients were building on family land, and RLB Architectura designed a 13,000 square foot house that, along with a primary suite, encompasses four ensuite guest bedrooms and a bunkroom that sleeps There is also a 2,500 square foot caretaker house and an original barn on the property that was restored for storage and a potential pickleball court.
“THEY’VE HAD A NUMBER OF GATHERINGS THIS PAST SUMMER WITH UPWARDS OF 50 PEOPLE AT TIMES, AND IT’S LOVELY TO KNOW THAT THE PROPERTY IS SUCCESSFULLY BEING UTILIZED FOR SUCH ENJOYMENT.”
–Sarah Latham, Latham Interiors
The house is an exquisitely designed expression of what makes Sun Valley so attractive. It gives equal importance to family, quality, and character as it does to fine art and custom designed furniture and fixtures. Latham Interiors worked with the family to design not just for present needs, but also for things they foresaw down the road.
“When we presented them with stair designs, the clients remembered when their children were little and climbed on everything. They expressed concern that an open railing might be dangerous for future grandchildren,” Latham explains. “I have young boys, and I completely understand that concern. So as a team, we came up with the concept of adding tempered glass panels in between the steel stringers to keep the aesthetic they wanted but to also prevent children in the future from ever having the opportunity to injure themselves climbing on the railing. It came together as a very seamless and purposeful solution.”
Another place where the design was adapted to best meet the family’s lifestyle is the media room. Latham shares that the family loves to gather and be in the same room. A home theater was more usable for the family than a formal dining room. Although they eliminated the formal dining room, Latham added multiple furnishings to expand eating areas throughout the house, such as a custom console under the main stairs that folds out to become another dining table when needed. “They’ve had a number of gatherings this past summer with upwards of 50 people at times, and it’s lovely to know that the property is successfully being utilized for such enjoyment,” Latham says.
PLAYING WITH PERSPECTIVE AND SCALE
On the lower level, plaster walls deepen the atmosphere, creating acoustic value and a touch of character. “The plaster adds quality that you can’t achieve with painted sheetrock,” Latham says. The owners are playful and love the color blue, so from a palette perspective, the team incorporated elements of blues in almost every situation.
In the primary bedroom, an intimate seating alcove was designed for napping. The owners wanted a sense of elegance but also sought an environment that was approachable and conducive to sleep. Latham kept things purposefully neutral and creamy, with layered textures and an inset paneled suede headwall that anchors the bed but also adds depth and softness. “With the tall ceilings, we needed a way to provide a smaller scale for comfort. The paneled headwall helps fill the space without feeling overwhelming. We softened with touches of patterned blue providing the owners with an added sense of comfort in the space,” Latham shares.
“WITH THE TALL CEILINGS, WE NEEDED A WAY TO PROVIDE A SMALLER SCALE FOR COMFORT. THE SUEDE PANELED HEADWALL HELPS SOFTEN THE ROOM AND ANCHOR THE BED. WE USED NATURAL LINENS, MOHAIR AND ALPACA MATERIALS WITH ACCENTS OF PATTERNED BLUE TO PROVIDE THE OWNERS WITH AN ADDED SENSE OF COMFORT IN THE SPACE.”
–Sarah Latham, Latham Interiors
A wood paneled hall creates a transitional journey from the bedroom to the primary bath. His and hers closets are hidden to the left and right within the paneling. With hidden pin lights in the ceiling, the hall gives the feeling of walking into a private spa. A floating full height mirror framed in steel, Carrera marble vanities with apron front sinks, marble walls in the shower, and a centralized freestanding tub enhance the spa experience overlooking the tennis courts. Drapery and solar shades create privacy and add to the flexibility and utility of the intimate space.
The kitchen is an example of how Latham worked with perspective. Metal panels span a large interior integral hood that helps create an illusion of symmetry. “There’s no center point in the kitchen,” she shares. “The clients wanted enough counter stools at a large singular island for everyone in the family, and the way the architecture worked, nothing was really centered on the range. We worked hard to avoid noticing that, and by incorporating a larger hood insert, we extended the over all scale of the hood surround, which creates symmetry in the room.” The door hardware and pulls are from Rocky Mountain Hardware, and all plumbing is from Waterworks.
“BY INCORPORATING A LARGER HOOD INSERT, WE EXTENDED THE OVERALL SCALE OF THE HOOD SURROUND, WHICH CREATES SYMMETRY IN THE ROOM.”
–Sarah Latham, Latham Interiors
The owners wanted the four guest bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms to have individual personalities. While there are similar elements for cabinetry, each suite has a different finish and different countertops. Latham explains, “The bedrooms weren’t specifically designed to match their children’s personalities, but the owners wanted each room to express a different identity and unique character.” In the bunkroom, four sets of bunk beds set the tone for a big gathering space that sleeps up to 12. She adds, “The design intention of this room was the more the merrier, with that ski lodge feeling of a space for everyone, and a bed for every head.”
“THE BEDROOMS WEREN’T SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO MATCH THEIR CHILDREN’S PERSONALITIES, BUT THE OWNERS WANTED EACH ROOM TO EXPRESS A DIFFERENT IDENTITY AND UNIQUE CHARACTER. THE DESIGN INTENTION OF THIS ROOM WAS THE MORE THE MERRIER, WITH THAT SKI LODGE FEELING OF A SPACE FOR EVERYONE, AND A BED FOR EVERY HEAD.”
–Sarah Latham, Latham Interiors
THE DETAILS
DESIGNING CUSTOM PIECES & INCORPORATING RARITIES
Part of the home’s intuition is dispelling the myth that impeccably designed interiors cannot also be comfortable family living spaces. Although there are high end features in this home and custom furnishings, at no point did it feel like a person couldn’t touch or utilize anything. “They’re a very active family with lots of comings and goings,” Latham shares. “In the main powder room, real feather wall coverings are a unique surface that could be something that deterred other families who weren’t interested in learning about a new natural finish, but this family wasn’t afraid. They want to live and use and love the space. The bird feathers are intuitively resilient, after all they survive in nature every day.”
The real feather wall coverings, while hard to fully appreciate in photography, are made by hand and composed of natural, spotted feathers that are organically malted from the Guineafowl bird. They are hand gathered and applied one by one to create a luxurious wallcovering with a unique presence that is also a sustainably sourced product.
“It’s a very delicate process of putting them onto wall covering panels. If you rub it the wrong way, you’ll have to brush it back,” Latham shares. As an animal feather, it tolerates moisture. The touch in person is astounding. “Feathers are natural elements that we see dropped all over the ground from different birds, and here we’ve created a special wallcovering that is really something to behold. You look at it and are just blown away by the natural beauty,” she reflects.
The feather wall panels are a rare offering from Schumacher that requires installation within three weeks of delivery. Latham’s installer worked carefully to position it correctly around door jams and around the sink. “So much has to be taken into consideration with these panels,” Latham says. “We had to coordinate with the construction team well in advance to make sure they were installed within a certain timeframe, otherwise their integrity wouldn’t hold up. They’re a high touch, high stress installation.” Once finished, the investment transformed into a showstopper that everyone loved.
Another unique element of the home involved Latham Interiors’ lead designer, Elizabeth Vos, who worked with Bocci to custom design a lighting fixture where the stairs wrap around and ascend from the main level. Using clear, smoked, frosted, and amber hued glass, the light fixture is truly an art piece. Its playfully elegant bubble like orbs drape from the ceiling down in between the stair space, guiding the eye to other levels. Behind the staircase, a wall of windows opens to expansive views of the property and surrounding peaks. Latham notes, “This lighting fixture is a decorative touch that enhances a voluminous area with a strong inside/outside experience.”
“THIS LIGHTING FIXTURE IS A DECORATIVE TOUCH THAT ENHANCES A VOLUMINOUS AREA WITH A STRONG INSIDE/OUTSIDE EXPERIENCE.”
–Sarah Latham, Latham Interiors
Moving to the dog wash area, Latham’s team custom designed the wall coverings, adding the owner’s favorite blue and adjusting the pattern’s scale to fit the room. Elsewhere, a custom billiards table in the billiard room was designed to complement one of the numerous David Yarrow photographs hanging throughout the house.
PLAY
The owners are a very athletic family. In addition to tennis courts and an outdoor pool, they consulted with Peloton to design their home gym. Working with recommendations for equipment placement and floor treatments, Latham created an easy transition from the outdoors and designed a gym and spa room that met the family’s needs. In the spa room, a custom designed quartzite sink with a side lit mirror ethereally floats next to an all plaster shower. “Sometimes the simplest elements can be the most beautiful too,” Latham says. “In a house of this scale, because there’s so much to look at, beauty exists in natural moments such as the lovely glow and calming feeling one gets in this neutral space.”
On the lower level adjacent to the billiards table is the whiskey bar. Metal displays, where the unique bottles sit, double as shelving and are mounted in front of the backlite natural stone, offering a welcoming glow. While the space is inviting, it also has a sense of intimacy and privacy in a similar fashion to a speak easy. This is where the owner celebrates his passion for whiskey.
Just off the kitchen, the media room lets young adults or families crawl in to watch a movie or game. Instead of opting for a full home theater install with acousticians, Latham worked with the team to create an extensive movie theater experience through various architecture, construction, AV, and interior design techniques to add acoustical sheetrock, batting, and fabric to deaden the sound and help carry it through the room. “Adding wall and ceiling upholstery helped achieve an enviable aesthetic as well as benefiting the acoustic value,” she shares. With two swivel chairs and a custom mohair blue sectional built into the space, blue wool drapery panels to darken the room, and large camel leather ottomans, people can relax in front of the big screen.”
Upstairs, an additional game room offers more opportunities for entertainment. Doors can close off the space to keep the sound in if it gets too rowdy.
The main area holds a custom walnut ping pong table with an adjacent sitting area that houses a round table for playing poker. “There’s constant energy and movement through the house, and when all their friends come over, this space is very inviting but it’s also easy to close it off if it gets too loud,” Latham shares. The area opens out into an upper passageway that looks down into the great room. Lighting designer Lori Robertson from Robinson Design added unique accent lighting opportunities throughout the home. The team selected small orb lights from Allied Maker that were designed to replicate ping pong balls in the ceiling to light the table.
The house offers different experiences that either match the homeowner’s current energy or what they’re trying to achieve, from lounging in the media room or entertaining at the bar. “Our designs were meant to be intuitive,” Latham says. “You can flow through the home easily from one activity or space to another without noticing the transition. Spending time in the kitchen is just as comfortable for one chef as it is for accommodating the entire family around the island. You can effortlessly connect to entertaining outdoors with the pass through windows to access the BBQ area and outdoor dining.”
“SOMETIMES THE SIMPLEST ELEMENTS CAN BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TOO.”
–Sarah Latham, Latham Interiors
With private his and hers offices, there is an opportunity to retreat when needed. In his office, a rock wall fireplace and picture windows overlooking the barn create a productive and private functional space that feels like Idaho, not a corporate office space. “It is a quiet area that he can retreat to and utilize when needed, but still feels like he is very much at home,” Latham shares. A custom slab desk hides internal wiring, and a George Nakashima coffee table helps create a refined sense of place.
CREATING AN INTUITIVE HOME
“This family was a treasure to work with,” Latham says. “From those early planning stages all the way up into installation, designing for them was so rewarding. It was touching to see their eyes wide with gratitude when they walked into the space for the first time and loved it, after years of planning and developing. Their trust throughout the design process allowed the project to be a success.”
“THIS FAMILY WAS A TREASURE TO WORK WITH.”
–Sarah Latham, Latham Interiors
To help the family feel settled in their new surroundings, Latham Interiors worked with the rock architecture and wood exterior paneling designed by RLB to embrace the organic materials that are place appropriate for the home. The owners were attracted to the lodge style architecture that RLB is known for in the valley and wanted Latham to add some unique modern elements – such as the sleek plaster walls in the spa – to create a combination of traditional and updated design.
“Our clients were open and trusting, knowing what they liked but in no way seeking a replication of other homes,” Latham shares. With their openness, and the collaboration of what she calls a dream team of the architect, builder, landscape architect Kurt Eggers, and lighting designer, the clients got a home that is truly reflective of their kindness, gratitude, and family, and one that is very true to its place.
THE TEAM
Interior Design: Latham Interiors
Architecture: RLB Architectura
Construction: Lee Gilman
Landscape: Kurt Eggers
Photography: Andrew Wrisley
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