USA Houzz: A Confluence of Influences Build a Home
Stylish inspiration from around the world helped this talented couple craft the perfect home for their small family
Design styles from Europe and Asia influenced this family’s new home at the edge of the Rocky Mountains. After finishing up a stint working in China, Wim Jager and his family were transferred to a ski and climbing equipment company’s headquarters in Park City, Utah. Among the inspirations they gave to designer and builder Chris Price: a Dutch philosophy of design, unique furnishings picked up in China, and even a Japanese charring technique used to protect the exterior of the house. The result is a rugged, modern mountain home that functions just the way the family needs it to.
The talented homeowner also crafted the surround on the wood stove. He bought the flue and insert (the part with the glass door) and fabricated the rest of it, which includes a box for logs and a shelf for a TV.
Wim is a designer himself and has had a lifelong fascination with architecture and interiors. “The houses in the Netherlands are small; to make them look more open and larger, we create what translates roughly to ‘let the sun go through houses,’” he says. In such homes, sunlight passes completely through the house from front to back; standing in the middle of a room, you can see the outdoors from both sides.
Wim is a designer himself and has had a lifelong fascination with architecture and interiors. “The houses in the Netherlands are small; to make them look more open and larger, we create what translates roughly to ‘let the sun go through houses,’” he says. In such homes, sunlight passes completely through the house from front to back; standing in the middle of a room, you can see the outdoors from both sides.
While a lot of houses in this neighbourhood are 5,000 square feet and up, the Jagers felt no need to have space for the sake of space. “It seems like often the only object is to build as big as your budget will allow just because you can,” Wim says. “It’s so much better to spend the money on quality, on the feeling of the house and the atmosphere, and how you live.”
The house is broken up into modular boxes tied together by a large shed roof. The garage is on the right, with a deck overhead. The large overhang shades the deck. This front facade faces due south toward the Wasatch mountains.
The house is broken up into modular boxes tied together by a large shed roof. The garage is on the right, with a deck overhead. The large overhang shades the deck. This front facade faces due south toward the Wasatch mountains.
The north-facing back of the house shows the smaller windows used in more private areas. Behind the home are mountain biking trails, and ski trails are a five-minute drive away.
“They wanted a house that was simple and modern but still fit into their neighbourhood, which is full of more traditional homes composed of big timbers and lots of gables,” Price says. The home nestles into the hillside, its wood siding complementing the neighbouring residences.
The recessed area at the lower left has a sliding door that leads to the kids’ room, and the orange door opens to a storage closet. At the right is the garage, with the deck above it.
The recessed area at the lower left has a sliding door that leads to the kids’ room, and the orange door opens to a storage closet. At the right is the garage, with the deck above it.
“On an uphill site it can be hard to place the front entry,” Price says. “When you use a split-level strategy, it saves space – there’s already going to be a staircase, so you can make the most of the landing and create a foyer that has extra height.” The staircase, of reclaimed oak and steel, leads down to the lower level, which contains bedrooms and the kids’ lounge; it also leads up to the main level and the public areas such as the living room, dining room and kitchen.
The shou sugi ban charring technique continues indoors around the staircase. Wim built the stairs, the railings and the front door himself.
The shou sugi ban charring technique continues indoors around the staircase. Wim built the stairs, the railings and the front door himself.
Most of the public areas are on the main level. Here, a charred accent wall creates a beautiful contrast with the ceiling and connects the interior and exterior. Pieces the couple collected in China are on display in this room, including the chest against the wall and the small stools in front of the sofa. Three spherical pendant lights create a sculptural effect in front of the wall. “Both Wim and Suzanne have a great eye – I told them they have to decorate my next home for me,” Price says.
The south-facing windows take in the view of the mountains and harness the sun. Price found many ways to make the home energy-efficient. The windows are high-performance, low-E, double-paned glass. The overhang allows the sun to come in and warm the floors, which serve as a thermal mass and also have radiant heat as backup. The design also includes staggered-stud, 20-centimetre-thick walls. This type of construction eliminates thermal breaks in the walls. There’s also extra insulation around the roof, foundation and slab.
The home has a passive cooling system for those rare hot days in Park City. Two 15-centimetre earth cooling tubes extend 46 metres into the ground, where the temperature is usually 10 to 12 degrees. Fresh air is drawn from the outside, cooled as it travels through the tubes, then enters the house with the help of a simple small fan. “This is a simple, effective and cheap way to get cooling,” Price says.
The home has a passive cooling system for those rare hot days in Park City. Two 15-centimetre earth cooling tubes extend 46 metres into the ground, where the temperature is usually 10 to 12 degrees. Fresh air is drawn from the outside, cooled as it travels through the tubes, then enters the house with the help of a simple small fan. “This is a simple, effective and cheap way to get cooling,” Price says.
The great room is completely open to the kitchen. Skylights help to delineate the spaces.
“When designing a house, it’s so important to imagine what you want to do when you come home – ask yourself where you’ll take off your coat and boots, where you’ll move through from there, what you’ll do next and how you’ll want to move around,” Wim says. “Then create spaces in the house to support that vision.” He knew that most of the time it would just be his family hanging out, making dinner and spending the majority of their time together here. Accordingly, he knew that these spaces would be the most important rooms.
“When designing a house, it’s so important to imagine what you want to do when you come home – ask yourself where you’ll take off your coat and boots, where you’ll move through from there, what you’ll do next and how you’ll want to move around,” Wim says. “Then create spaces in the house to support that vision.” He knew that most of the time it would just be his family hanging out, making dinner and spending the majority of their time together here. Accordingly, he knew that these spaces would be the most important rooms.
Price inset a piece of barn wood the homeowners loved into the quartz benchtops.
The kitchen is sleek and fits right into the large, open plan. On the right you can see the top of the staircase.
Just off the kitchen is the dining room, which is very much a ‘let the sun go through’ room. The doors at the right lead to the massive deck above the garage. To the left, doors open to the backyard. A large buffet brought back from China adds some bright colour to the room.
The couple ordered the buffet from a vendor near their home in China. Wanting to add colour to the all-black piece, they had him customise it by using the other colours the piece came in, but only on the drawers. “The guy looked at us like we were nuts,” Wim says.
When the vendor put the sample piece out on the showroom floor and saw the reaction from other shoppers, he realised the Jagers weren’t so crazy. “It’s the most popular piece in the showroom – now he makes his living off these,” Wim says with laugh.
When the vendor put the sample piece out on the showroom floor and saw the reaction from other shoppers, he realised the Jagers weren’t so crazy. “It’s the most popular piece in the showroom – now he makes his living off these,” Wim says with laugh.
Putting the floorspace where they needed it most was a top priority. “When I started drawing up a 6-by-6 [3.6 square metres] powder room, Wim said ‘What are you doing? That’s such a waste of space – make it 3-by-3!’ [1.8 square metres]” Price recalls. “After living in China and the Netherlands, they wanted spaces like this to be as efficient as possible, and it really works.”
All of the toilets in the home are wall-mounted, saving precious space. “All you need to do in here is use the toilet, wash your hands, maybe look in the mirror and get out,” Wim says.
All of the toilets in the home are wall-mounted, saving precious space. “All you need to do in here is use the toilet, wash your hands, maybe look in the mirror and get out,” Wim says.
In the office, smaller windows provide privacy from the house next door. Wim did all of the built-ins himself, mixing in some ready-made pieces from Ikea and adding custom touches.
The office connects to the master bathroom.
Again, the couple were going for an efficient space. Price found a way to incorporate a tub, shower stall, a semi-private area for the toilet and a vanity within the layout, without making it feel too cramped.
The couple wanted to be efficient with the bedrooms as well. “Because we made the master bedroom small, we were able to fit in the office,” Wim explains.
Downstairs on the lower level is the kids’ TV and play room.
“In order to save space, they wanted the kids’ beds shoved against the wall instead of taking up the middle of the room,” Price explains. “This way the room can serve as other things at the same time, like a playroom.”
A red Ikea cabinet adds a stripe of colour in the kids’ bathroom.
A mudroom-laundry room is right off the garage. Wim made the metal boot locker on the right from leftover siding material.
“These were the most talented homeowners I’ve ever worked with,” Price says. “I’m hoping to partner up with them and build more houses together in the future.”
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What do you like best about this beautifully rugged mountain home? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
“These were the most talented homeowners I’ve ever worked with,” Price says. “I’m hoping to partner up with them and build more houses together in the future.”
TELL US
What do you like best about this beautifully rugged mountain home? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Wim and Suzanne Jager, who are originally from The Netherlands, and their two kids
Location: Utah, USA
Size: 297 square metres; 4 bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Designer: Chris Price of Park City Design Build
After seeing a friend’s home designed and built by Chris Price, owner of Park City Design Build, Wim and Suzanne Jager knew he was the right person to help them design and build their own home. “The neighbourhood is full of more traditional homes – we wanted a modern-contemporary home, but we also wanted it to fit in,” Wim says. “In order to do that, we made it natural, rough and deliberately rugged with the concrete, weathered steel and siding.”
The siding gets its rugged look from a Japanese charring process called shou sugi ban, used for preserving exterior timber. At night and on the weekends, Wim charred and then sealed every board with natural oil himself. Having never tried it before, there was trial and error involved, but once he got the hang of it, he used his experience in production design and manufacturing to streamline and speed up the process.
“It’s amazing – this siding will last from 30 to 50 years, repels insects, never needs re-staining and requires little to no maintenance,” Price says. “The charring adds an extra level of protection.” A hot-rolled-steel wainscot around the bottom of the house adds contrast and a weathered look.