Grande Terre

Farmer Payne Architects and Creative Building Solutions teamed up to create a contemporary home that delivers maximum Teton views in a minimalist package.

Chicago-based family commissioned Grande Terre, a 6,400-foot contemporary home in Wilson, to create a legacy property worthy of passing down through the generations. The 5-bed, 3-bath (plus two powder rooms) haven is perched on six acres in a small development that’s filled with traditional big-timbered houses. Grande Terre is a departure from this—its contemporary forms are nestled into the hillside and appear modest and unassuming. “The whole intent was for the architecture to respond to the terrain, to not overpower the site,” says Jamie Farmer, a principal at Farmer Payne Architects, the firm that served as both architect and interior designer. “The home really celebrates the beauty of the land.”

The property was sited to capture views of the Grand Teton through the main entryway, a Reynaers door that’s mirrored at the back of the home. Inside, the space opens up to an expansive view of the Tetons, the Snake River, and a pond just below the property. The home’s communal spaces are connected to the primary wing by a bridge that spans a dry creek bed. To the left of the entryway, a large cascading window traces a floating stairway to the lower level. “The way we pushed and pulled these forms gives you a lofted, elevated feeling from any of the spaces,” says Farmer.

Building a home with huge volumes of glass and steel on a significant slope with loamy loess soil presented the team with technical challenges. “We built a pretty intensive foundation system on helical piers,” says Chad Grohne of Creative Building Solutions. Both he and his partner, Trevor Klein, grew up in the construction business. For Grande Terre, the builder employed structural counterforts for cantilevering the primary suite over the hillside and helical piers to create a solid structural foundation. “We had to dig close to 30 feet down to get to decent soil,” he says.

“Because the forms are so contemporary, we brought in natural materials to bring a warmth to the minimal design,” Farmer says. The exterior features hot-rolled steel, cedar cladding, and a gray Pacific ashlar stone with hints of browns, blondes, and metallics. “That stone inspired the interior aesthetic,” says Meredith Leonard, Farmer Payne’s director of operations and interiors. “We pulled a lot of those color tones to the inside, with stone and wood accents and a patinated natural steel to tie everything together.”

Throughout the home, Farmer Payne used expansive windows from Loewen and high ceilings to maximize the views. “As you descend the staircase, the volumes grow,” Farmer says. Curtain windows in the great room, a low wall in the kitchen, and the cascading window along the staircase bring in enough natural light so the owners can read during the day without turning on lights.

Leaning on neutral tones in the interior design, kitchen cabinets are made from a cerused white oak with a walnut finish, countertops are light-colored quartzite, and ceilings are fashioned in custom European white oak. To anchor the space, the designer chose a slightly darker tone in the fumed white oak flooring. “While the architectural interiors tend toward a neutral palette, there are lots of pops of color—blues and deep reds—within the furniture and rugs,” Leonard says. Over the dining room table, see-through hand-blown Bomma pendants from the Czech Republic are arranged in a cascade that fills the space without overpowering it.

Because the forms are so contemporary, we brought in natural materials to bring a warmth to the minimal design.
—Jamie Farmer,
Principal, Farmer Payne Architects

Completed in the summer of 2023, Grande Terre has become the perfect mountain sanctuary for the homeowners, who were so happy with the final project that they pulled up their Midwest stakes and made this stunning Wyoming property their primary home base.