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Stirling Ranch House by Black Shack Architects

The 5,240-square-foot Stirling Ranch House by Black Shack Architects is located on an 11-acre ranch site in Garfield County, Colorado.

From the architects:

The best campsite in the campground…Stirling Ranch is a rural neighborhood in the foothills of Garfield County. The southern sloping topography is covered with an abundance of sage, tall grass, small cactus and twisted juniper trees. The Stirling Ranch House sits on an 11-acre site and is pushed to the lowest end of the building envelope in order to minimize visual impacts on the landscape and maximize privacy. The wandering curve of the gravel entry drive ushers you between pairs of mid-size juniper trees, down through a small sage meadow. The house is positioned in an area of old juniper, near the edge of a steep embankment. Due to the somewhat significant house size, it was a challenge to make the house seem unimposing and modest in scale. This was achieved through massing, location on-site and mottled exterior materials. Although there are five bedrooms, there was a desire for them to remain intimate in size. Much attention was paid to the common shared spaces and how they would support the comfortable interaction of a multi-generational family and the environment. The main living space is tent-like, and its location within the house becomes an unofficial border between the distant view of Mt. Sopris to the south and the intimate courtyard to the north. When the two large window walls are open, a small stream seems to run through the living room and collect in the rectangular steel trough at the southern edge of the living room porch. Upon completion of the project, an old friend came into the main living space and declared, “This just makes me want to sit down and read a book.”

The main living space is tent-like, and its location within the house becomes an unofficial border between the distant view of Mt. Sopris to the south and the intimate courtyard to the north. When the two large window walls are open, a small stream seems to run through the living room and collect in the rectangular steel trough at the southern edge of the living room porch.

Photos: Greg Watts Photography

Jaime Derringer, Founder + Executive Editor of Design Milk, is a Jersey girl living in SoCal. She dreams about funky, artistic jewelry + having enough free time to enjoy some of her favorite things—running, reading, making music, and drawing.