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The blue painting—by emerging Australian artist

The original fireplace was painted charcoal to sync with the exterior and make for a dramatic focal point.

Floor plan of Silhouette House by Lazor/Office

In Darby, Montana, just steps from the Bitterroot River, John Shoemaker and Greg Case built a home base for their fly-fishing group vacations.

“You lie in bed at night and see the sky—it’s like you’re camping. You don’t really want to go to sleep—you just want to look at the stars,” Greg says.

In an upstairs bedroom, glass panels offer views of the sky. The sconce is from Schoolhouse Electric, and the blanket is from Pendleton.

In the living/dining area, rough-sawn wood-plank screens cover a wall of windows. The removable panels keep the space cool in summer but are taken down the rest of the year so that the sun can heat the interior. The dining table is from Restoration Hardware and the wood chairs from Barnaby.

Designed by Minneapolis firm Lazor/Office, the structure is contemporary but evocative of the past. “We took the classic Montana barn and played around with it to find other geometries within that silhouette,” says firm founder Charlie Lazor.

Lockers are conveniently located along the deck to provide storage for fishing gear and items.

Holiday Home Side Elevation

Expansive glazing allows gorgeous natural light to flood throughout.

The Monocular - Interior Firewood Storage

For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”

The living room is furnished with vintage items, including a leather-and-chrome chair by Suekichi Uchida and a stacking stool by Florence Knoll.

It is important to remember that just because you use an item regularly doesn't mean it has to be displayed. If the item doesn't match the other kitchenware you're opting to showcase, it won't naturally blend in.

A band of precast concrete, which holds a custom bench, wraps around the downstairs living area. The striped cushion fabric was purchased in Antwerp. A wood-framed AP71 lounge chair by Hans Wegner and a seat by Wim Rietveld, the son of famed Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld, outfit the space. Underfloor heating installed throughout the house allows for a flexible layout: “There aren’t any radiators cluttering up the rooms,” Jeffries explains.

An industrial style steel staircase gives the space a cool Manhattan warehouse look.

The passageway leads out to a raised terrace at the back of the plot.