Vermont Ski House

On a prime site in Stratton Mountain’s elite Tamarack Estates, this new 8,000 square foot house pushes against stringent design rules to break the classic ski McMansion mold, while paying homage to its New England locale. The design for this ski house blends two classic Vermont archetypes: the covered bridge and the fieldstone wall. Like a covered bridge, the main body of the house is a simple linear gabled shed, with its regular timber structure exposed where the cedar siding peels back to open the interior to views and light. A stone wall meanders picturesquely through the main volume, announcing the entrance and carrying the visitor’s eye to the mountain view beyond.

Built as the winter hub for a large, active multi-generational family, the nine-bedroom house revolves around two grand spaces: the great room on the main floor and the ski lodge on the lower level. The dramatic double height great room features a heart pine timber structure, a towering stone chimney, and a wall of over-sized windows opening onto a vista of mountains and ski slopes. The ski-in ski-out lodge becomes a second living space, with stone fireplace, kitchenette, built-in cubbies, boot, ski board and ski storage. It is a place where family members stop in for a quick snack or hot cocoa between runs.

Additional features of the house include a large family room, two dorm rooms each housing six younger children, radiant floors throughout, two laundries and a striking steel and timber open stair connecting all three levels of the home.