Dream Big

A 550-gallon aquarium filled with native Utah trout. Reclining leather seats in a home theater stocked with 100 movies. Waterfalls. Fire pits. Hot tubs. Indoor/outdoor fireplaces and bars. Stained glass. Brazilian teak. Persian rugs. Twenty-four hour concierge service. A DJ booth. A wine cellar. A golf simulator. Kitchens you’d kill to throw parties in. A car wash bay in the heated garage. Slopeside access at the #1 rated ski resort in North America and 360-degree panoramic views of the Wasatch. All of this could be yours. Are you dreaming? Nope. This is the SKI Magazine Dream Home, right here in Park City.

Here’s the story: SKI Magazine set out to create the ultimate ski vacation home ever — asking for input from its readers as to what that home should look like. Ski enthusiasts from all over the county used their collective imaginations to conceive of a ski town home that would make all of their dreams come true.

The involvement of so many locals in this nationally recognized project truly makes it a source of pride for our entire community. The building of the SKI Magazine Dream Home was a collaborative effort among Park City’s own Resorts West (a luxury property management company), Deer Valley Resort, Casa Bella Furniture and Design, Salt Lake City architect Michael Upwall, builder Jeff Hill (Midway Construction Company) and countless Park City-area laborers, painters, stone masons and craftsmen.

Deer Valley Resort was chosen as the site for the first-ever SKI Dream home because, as SKI publisher Jamie Pentz said, “We’ve chosen Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, as the quintessential resort in the quintessential ski town for our quintessential home.” (Deer Valley has won SKI’s reader survey ranking of #1 ski resort in North America three times in the past five years.)

But back to the house itself. Joe and James Ballstaedt of Resorts West started working on the home in 2005, assembling a team of professionals, from visionary architect Mike Upwall to housekeepers to realtors, to discuss every aspect of the house — from the nuts-and-bolts of needed housekeeping features, to just how much curve could be accommodated in the sweeping central staircase.

Three years later — a hard three years of construction, during which snow hampered progress over and over again — the home sits finished, at 8,000 feet in the Deer Crest neighborhood, comprising approximately 14,000 square feet, with three floors, six bedrooms, ten bathrooms, 14 Persian rugs, 17 fireplaces and a wine cellar and storage holding over 1,000 bottles.

The “Chill Room” on the lower level is party central, boasting the cutest bunk room ever for kids, a DJ booth, bar, billiards table, the trout tank, golf simulator, home theater with 14 leather reclining seats, a performance stage and gobo lighting, allowing guests to flood the place with any type of mood lighting from a disco-ball flickering effect to soft leaf or star shapes washing across the floor.

A glass elevator takes you up to the main level, wherein lies the Great Room with its floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, a gourmet show kitchen with two Wolf 60-inch dual ranges, wine chilling drawers, warming ovens, and of course, a butler’s kitchen as well. The windows from the Great Room overlook the sun rising from sparkling Jordanelle Reservoir on the front side, and the outdoor heated pool, hot tub and fire pits from the back. Massive glass doors open like accordions, allowing visitors to slide them back for seamless indoor/outdoor access. The open dining alcove features a gorgeous custom-made table from France and seats 10.

The third floor houses more bedrooms, a balcony library and the in-house spa/treatment rooms (you can hire an on-site masseuse to come in and rub you the right way anytime) and the après-ski room, which you access from the ski slopes over a ski bridge, past the waterfalls and fire pits, offering immediate post-ski satisfaction with comfy couches, ski lockers, a bar/kitchen and boot and clothes dryers.

Although the home is admittedly mega-huge, amazingly, there are intimate spaces throughout — little gathering spots sheltered within the large open spaces, perfect for a quiet conversation or reading a book from the library. Another element that makes the home so special is the effect of layering colors and textures. The interior designers sought to surprise and soothe guests’ senses with special touches such as embossed leather upholstery paired with mohair or silk, or onyx in bathroom counters. They used organic materials throughout the home like granite and marble that show fossilized imprints of plant and bug life; smooth Brazilian teak and African mahogany for floors; and even drawer pulls made from polished rock, petrified wood and shells. What Casa Bella calls the “jewelry” of the home are irresistible, sparkly accessories like the glass drop beads on chandeliers, glass tile, and tassels, tufting and metallics scattered throughout surfaces and furnishings.

The soul of the house, though, is in its master plan of circular design. The sweeping central staircase, which took six months to complete, is the spine of the home, with its graceful, curved lines setting a fluid tone to the entire structure. Cupboard doors, counters and sinks all mirror a semi-curved shape, making a soothing juxtaposition to the large geometric beam work and rugged mountain peaks outside. The home feels fluid, like the water in the Jordanelle Reservoir outside, the waterfall and pools out back, and the ebb-and-flow creative process that allowed this home to come into being.

Although Resorts West intends to sell the Dream Home (they’ve already had nibbles of interest from Arab shieks, Hollywood moguls and eager corporations), for now, guests can live the dream for a nightly rental fee of between $10,000 and $14,000. (Contact Resorts West for rates and availability at resortswest.com.)

SKI Magazine staffers say, “It’s hard to put words on the finished product. It’s almost too amazing to talk about. There are a lot of amazing homes in the Park City area, but we’re pretty confident that because of the masterminds behind this project, this will rival any home, anywhere. This could be one of the most spectacular homes in ski country.”

Kristen Gould Case is editor of Park City Magazine. She had the honor of following the progress of and writing about the Dream Home for SKI Magazine. This demanded multiple visits to the site, which have resulted in a serious case of Dream Home envy.