The Cabin is a lovely 1940s log home set into a hillside on the slopes of Snow King, the original ski mountain in downtown Jackson. Green lawns, wildflowers and woods apron The Cabin; towering shade trees keep it cool and secret in summer and brimming with sunlight in winter. Summer concerts at Snow King fill the house with music; the Alpine Slide is within walking distance, and the bustling boutiques, restaurants and galleries of Jackson are just down the hill.
The Cabin is fully and beautifully updated, with handcrafted furnishings and rich Great Camp décor – the inspiration of Fighting Bear Antiques, a wonderful local antique furnishing store. An atmosphere of elegance, warmth and welcome pervades the house. Thick log walls are adorned here and there with vintage photos and glowing oil paintings. Old oak floors are spread with antique Navajo rugs in traditional crimsons, grays and black-browns; skylights flood the house with light.
The Cabin is built around a massive central column of fieldstone – a wood-burning hearth with two fireplace openings, each facing a different area of the open ground floor. The hearth serves as both anchor and axis for The Cabin; the life of the house literally revolves around it. The antique, iron-studded front door opens to a wood-paneled vestibule and the first of the fireplace openings. A second faces the living room, where handsome, stick-built armchairs with leather cushions are gathered before a coffee table and a flat screen TV. In the dining room, a long, simple wood table stands in front of a wide window and French doors opening to the back yard.
The Cabin’s kitchen is light-filled and open, and blends with perfect harmony into the high, traditional standards of the house. A moose-antler chandelier hangs from the vaulted wood ceiling; a center island serves as breakfast bar and food prep station. Top-flight appliances, leaded-glass cabinets, Arts-and-Crafts sconces and a view of the lawn and leafy woods make the kitchen a delightful place to cook, and converse. A few steps away is a walk-in pantry with a Dutch door, and adjacent, a regal grouping of 19th Century German antler chairs looks out through a wide picture window to downtown Jackson.
A half-flight of stairs leads from the living area up to the bedroom wing. There are three bedrooms on this level and a four berth bunkroom at the top of the house; in all, ten people can sleep at The Cabin. The master bedroom has a grand king bed flanked by two nightstands, facing a pair of handsome chairs, and windows trimmed with glossy green paint and flowered curtains. The master bedroom has both a spacious, walk-in closet and a big antique dresser for clothes storage. In the master bath is a wonderful, walk-in shower tiled in stone, with an interior window for extra light; double mirrors hang over a single sink.
Two guest bedrooms and a shared bathroom stand along a short hallway on this level. In the first guest room, spacious and sunlit, a king bed built of peeled logs faces a flat screen TV. The second bedroom is a true camp classic. A nightstand separates two vintage twin beds made in Cody, Wyoming in 1955, their headboards painted with Western scenes, and thick mattresses spread with Hudson Bay blankets. A dresser and a leather-upholstered rocking chair stand at the foot of the beds. Antler sconces – as well as low-profile track lighting tucked into the rafters - provide ample reading light.
The shared guest bathroom is a gem, with brilliant, garnet-hued walls, a soaking tub/shower combination and a wide, carved wood door. A sunny, cheerful mud room is reached through a door in the bathroom. Abundant storage space and an outside egress make the mud room perfect for stashing gear, unlacing boots, spreading out beach towels, and storing skis, snowshoes or inner tubes for the next day’s adventure.
A staircase with rustic banisters climbs to the top of the house, where the bunkroom and “play” room await. These slope-ceilinged spaces are a perfect hangout for kids and teens. The rustic bunk beds have four welcoming berths, piled with pillows. A desk and a hide-covered chair offer a fine spot for writing postcards, drawing, or checking email. In the playroom, a deep couch and comfy armchairs surround a game table; a flat screen TV is mounted on the wall. Windows at both ends of the eaves let the mountain breezes sail right through, but the bunkroom also has an air conditioner, just in case.
The Cabin is tucked in to a hillside just above town, a rare and graceful retreat in Jackson Hole’s vibrant center. Everything is quickly and easily accessible from here – downtown Jackson, the rodeo, the Teton County Fair. And yet the property is a true sanctuary, screened with trees, blessed with fresh mountain air, with a wide green yard big enough for lawn games, outdoor dining, fireside ghost stories - even campouts, lit by lanterns and a million stars. The steep rise of Snow King Mountain behind The Cabin forms a natural jungle gym and adventure center for kids of all ages. The kitchen windows make a perfect pass-through for serving picnickers outside, and it is a fine thing to toast the day from an outdoor seat, dinner spread out on the picnic table and the jovial sounds of Jackson nightlife filtering up through the trees.
