Imagine you are planning to build a vacation home from the ground up. You are staying away from destinations like Orlando and Las Vegas in favor of something quieter and more rustic. You opt for a piece of property on Utah’s Wasatch Back. Chances are your architect will recommend Mountain Modern design.
Meanwhile, your brother-in-law is building a vacation home on a piece of semi-rural property in New Hampshire. His architect recommends Mountain Sophisticated. The two of you know there is a difference, but you just cannot put your finger on it.
That’s the way it goes sometimes with modern architecture. There are so many styles underneath the ‘modern’ umbrella that you often need a program just to keep up. Rest assured that architects know the differences. You might not, but they have got it all nailed down. For instance, a good architect can distinguish Mountain Modern from Mountain Sophisticated at a glance.
Part Rustic, Part Modern
source: onekindesign.com
Sparano + Mooney is an architectural firm with offices in California and Utah. They have recently been working with a number of clients looking to build vacation homes in Park City, Utah. They specialize in Mountain Modern design.
The architects at Sparano + Mooney describe Mountain Modern as part rustic, part modern. The rustic portion encompasses things like natural stone and plenty of wood. Open timber ceilings and expansive wooden decks abound. As for the modern portion, think straight lines and floor-to-ceiling glass.
Another staple of Mountain Modern is sourcing local materials whenever possible. The idea is to design a structure that looks like it belongs in the setting in which it’s placed – as opposed to looking like an out-of-place, external influence.
Part Rustic, Part L.A.
source: onekindesign.com
Mountain Sophisticated is a cross between traditional rustic and Southern California influences – mainly the Los Angeles area. People who appreciate this design style still want things like natural stone fireplaces and timber beam ceilings. But they also want smooth walls, ceramic floors, and commercial-grade kitchens.
The idea is to be rustic. Just not too rustic. Mountain Sophisticated places a heavy emphasis on the ‘sophisticated’ portion of the deal. In this design arena, there can be no mistaking that the homeowner has a taste for the finer things in life and is willing to spare no expense to get them.
Because Mountain Sophisticated is so heavily influenced by Southern California, there is less emphasis on sourcing local materials. More emphasis is placed on sustainability, energy efficiency, and minimizing environmental impact – just as there is in Mountain Modern.
Very Little Mountain
source: pinterest.com
The irony of all this is that both design styles incorporate the word ‘mountain’ even though mountains have very little to do with being rustic. Let’s face it, before the advent of modern architecture, mountain dwellers were not the only ones to build homes out of logs. You could find log homes all across the plane states and from north to south.
Mountain homes also do not have an exclusive lock on stone fireplaces, natural stone floors, and so forth. There is nothing distinct about the mountain environment that makes it the epitome of rustic. A cabin in an Arkansas forest can be every bit as rustic as a ski chalet in Colorado.
Perhaps the two styles should be renamed Rustic Modern and Rustic Sophistication. They probably won’t be, given that architects and builders use the current names to sell new homes in the mountains. And that’s fine, as long as home buyers get what they want.
And now you know the difference between Mountain Modern and Mountain Sophisticated at The Architecture Designs. Is it as exciting as you had anticipated?
