Timber Home Living – September 01, 2019

32 TIMBER HOME LIVING October 2019

Throughout the common areas, Monica
took a keep-it-simple approach
towards decorating. “You won’t fi nd
a single picture hanging on a wall,”
she says. “We let the fi nishes and
the views speak for themselves.”

W

ashington’s Cle Elum River

Valley, due east of the Cas-

cade Mountain Range, is

known as much for its million-dollar

houses as its million-dollar views. Rising

up against the landscape, these mono-

lithic structures vie for your visual at-

tention against the majesty of nature.

But at least one home — a modest

mountain cottage owned by John and

Monica McArthur — knows its place

among the grandeur and is content to

coexist rather than compete.

Interestingly, the home’s quiet pres-

ence was a happy accident. After pur-

chasing seven acres in Colorado, the

couple had begun making plans to

build on the land when they rediscov-

ered a long-forgotten love of Cle Elum,

known for its towering forests and crag-

gy terrain. “We both spent a lot of sum-

mers here as kids, but we hadn’t been

back since,” says Monica. While meeting

up with a local builder to discuss their

project, John and Monica rediscovered

their love for the resort town, sold their

Colorado property and teamed up with

Idaho-based PrecisionCraft Log & Tim-

ber Homes to design a house that would

harmonize with the rugged landscape.

From the beginning, their 3,000-

square-foot creation was a breath

of fresh air, says lead architect, Matt