Creating homes where multiple generations can—and want to—gather.
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HOMESTEAD TEAM
Jackson Hole makes sense for such a gathering place because it has so many amenities and experiences that there will be something everyone will love, according to Latham Jenkins, a broker with Live Water Properties who has twice been recognized by Real Trends as a top individual sales agent in Wyoming. “It is attractive to multiple generations,” he says. “You wake up here and there is something to do for everyone.”
Collin Vaughn, an associate broker at Sotheby’s International Realty Jackson Hole, says, “The majority of families looking at legacy homes in Jackson Hole could do anything in the world, at any time. How do they coordinate that? When there’s a home base in Jackson, where the family spends every July or August, there’s no planning around schedules. The whole family just knows that is their time.” Vaughn has clients with 20-plus-member families that gather like this annually. “It is a significant event for them,” he says. “The kids and grandkids grew up spending time and having experiences, so the significance, unique nature of the property, and of this area is passed down through the generations. Family time in Jackson Hole is religious for them.”
But, as amazing as Jackson Hole is—with two ski areas, two national parks, the 3.4-million-acre Bridger-Teton National Forest, rafting and fishing on the Snake River, and wildlife often wandering through the backyard—legacy properties aren’t only about the location. Clients want homes that are comfortable for the entire family. “We’re always trying to right-size a house so that it can function for two people but accommodate the 20-person gathering,” CLB’s Burke says.
Designing for Connection
Smaller bedrooms make for more family time. So do open and public spaces. “We often shrink the size of the bedrooms—realizing that you’re only sleeping in that room—and put more space into public spaces,” Bertelli says. “In terms of what those public spaces look like, it’s specific to the family. We do game rooms, libraries, movie rooms, exercise rooms, wine cellars, and the occasional billiard room.” In a legacy home near the Snake River, JLF did some of these and also substantial outdoor living spaces that include a full outdoor kitchen and a hidden observation deck. “Outdoor rooms are a component we increasingly see on wish lists of public spaces,” Bertelli says. “These are two- or three-season outdoor spaces, usually for dining, but also with barbecues and fireplaces.”
In a 7,500-square-foot project, CLB designed modestly sized bedrooms on the home’s lower level as a way of encouraging family members to congregate in the main living areas. In turn, these main living areas were designed to feel—and be—connected to the outdoors. “The clients wanted a legacy home that would get their three kids outside, so the design emphasizes a link to nature from every room,” Burke says. Indoor entertaining areas directly connect to outdoor spaces. CLB even created a network of trails on the 20-acre property. “The client had vivid childhood memories of spending time on his grandfather’s tree farm in western New Hampshire and wanted to create the opportunity for his own kids to experience the outdoors as they grow up and to create their own memories,” Burke says. The result is a home that encourages the family to connect to nature and each other.
Open indoor spaces also bring families together. “We haven’t done formal dining rooms in more than three houses in 15 years,” Bertelli says. Instead, the firm does dining areas that are open to kitchens and great rooms. “The concept of people cooking, dining, and enjoying a multi-use living room is a consistent and successful combination of spaces,” he says. “And it is a way of bringing the whole family together—some can be in the living room reading a book, but others are cooking, and they’re still connected.”
The Long View
You can’t put a price on bringing the family together.
—Latham Jenkins,
Broker with Live Water Properties
From the beginning of a multigeneration project, Bertelli works up masterplans that include where an addition or guest house(s) might be built in 15 or 20 years when the kids who are now in high school are married with kids of their own. “We really consider the ‘what-if’ components and what a program would look like for them.” For example, for a family with two kids that might each have kids of their own in 15 years, he might plan an addition that is a separate bedroom wing with at least two bedrooms and bathrooms that would be attached to the main house. “It’s not built until it’s needed, but from the beginning, we already know where it would go,” Bertelli says. A guest house can also serve this purpose. “About 75 percent of our clients build a guest house, and that guest house works very well for the second and third generations,” Bertelli says.
The long view isn’t only about planning, but also design and construction. “We’re trying to think beyond 20 or 30 years and design and build for permanence,” says Burke. Of course, a family dreams that a legacy home will be loved and used by many generations to come. “I see families buying these properties to serve as a nucleus for the extended family for generations,” Jenkins says. CLB’s Burke says, “We think of these homes as a 100- or 200-year residence that will last the test of time. We design in a way that is timeless and that doesn’t get dated.”
More than an Asset
Every site is a little different, and every family unit is different, but they’re all planning for the next generation.
—Kevin Burke,
Principal, CLB Architects
Any home in Jackson Hole is an asset, but a legacy home is more. It doesn’t just build wealth, but meaningful value for your family. Grandkids get to fish, hike, or ski with their grandparents. They see their first moose or bear. They camp with their siblings. Families even climb the Grand Teton together or hike the Teton Crest Trail. And then there are also quieter moments—watching a sunset over the Tetons while making s’mores at the outdoor fire pit, star gazing and marveling at the Milky Way from the observation deck, cooking dinner together using produce bought that morning at the Jackson Hole Farmer’s Market. “Ultimately these homes give parents what they all long for—the ability to spend more time with their adult children and grandchildren,” Jenkins says. “A legacy home in Jackson Hole is very experiential-based, and that’s how deep bonds and memories are created.”
Vaughn says, “Grandparents or parents know that if they don’t have something like this, it is hard to get everyone together, and more often than not, the home does very well as an asset, too.”
