Location: Bellevue, Ida.
Price: $3,500,000
The Skinny: Designed by Seattle starchitect Tom Kundig,
this 2,700-square-foot escape lies 24 miles south of Sun Valley at the foot of Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains—and light-years away from reality. For one, the new owner will get a whopping one bedroom for the $3.5M ask. And despite the lofty list price, the materials could be described as plebeian at best. Cinder block and plywood feature prominently in place of the typical mountain-home granite and timbers.
But let's be honest, Kundig didn't win more than 30 AIA awards by being conventional. Here, he manages to achieve drama without resorting to mountain architecture tropes like the massive stone fireplace. The oversize windows and a lack of unnecessary walls give way to expansive mountain views, but the real coup might not be welcoming nature in but keeping it out—of the garden, that is. Kundig enclosed the property's "paradise garden" with high walls that prevent desert wind and sand from disturbing the roses and fruit trees within.
· Contemporary Masterpiece [Sun Valley Brokers]
· Olson Kundig Architects [official site]
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