John Dodge Residence

This full-time family house is located among stands of cottonwood trees on 14 acres adjacent to the Snake River.  The 7,200 sf house is sited to take advantage of mountain and river views.  It is laid out along an east-west axis with a south-facing gallery, oriented for solar exposure.  The south side of the house and the main entry are designed to open into gardens that are sheltered within low stone walls and located to benefit from the southern exposure.

The clients wanted the house to be less rustic on the inside than many of the houses they had seen in the area; yet they wanted the exterior of the house to fit into the western context.  The solution is a house with a stacked limestone base up to the second  floor windows and cut sandstone above.  The main entry porch is a curved wall of weathered copper, a color also found in the stone of the house.  Generous overhanging eaves are supported by fir timbers under a gently sloping roof.  On the interior, cut limestone floors, plaster walls and reclaimed fir beams continue the theme of simplicity.