The Ranch Home

This ranch house is built in the middle of six thousand acres outside of

Sula, Montana. It is called the Shining Mountain Ranch and it is truly

one of the most exquisite homes ever built. The attention to detail is

unsurpassed in the nation. Mr. Mark Adams, a furniture restorer from

the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum, believes that it will

someday be listed on the National Registry. The main lodge shown

here is designed to be a gathering and dining place for all guests on the

ranch.

Every attention to detail is viewed as the eye wanders this

beautiful monument to ranching history. Chief Joseph camped

here and Lewis and Clark met him in these very hills. The stone

work was planned stone by stone to give the feeling as if the

lodge was growing naturally, right out of the ground. This

stone, covered with moss and algae, taken with care out of the

nearby mountain ridges. The slate roof matches the soft color of

the sage range. In the upper right photo you see the porch that

comes off the house and gives a view of the wide open range.

The porch is lit for evening entertainment.

Inside the lodge, the clients requested a more

“European Hunting Lodge” feeling rather than a

“round „em up cowboy” look. The whole home is

implemented with the highest quality European

antiques found on specific buying trips for the

lodge. The large scale coffee tables were originally

dining tables. They were handpicked in France by

Tony the owner of Anthony‟s Antiques. Don de-

pends on Tony for several excellent pieces for

each home he does. Don had Tony rebuild the ta-

bles, cutting them down to tea table height. The

floor is hand hewn white oak. The oak leaf ranch

fabric is from Clarence House.

High quality antique rugs from Aga John were used throughout the house and

give a warm beauty that only old rugs can give. The railing on the upper bal-

cony is woven with stripped oak branches with burrow knots on each branch.

The fireplace openings are five feet high. The large stone on top of the fire-

place opening weighs two thousand pounds and the log mantel is twenty feet

long. When such a large volume of space is in one room, the scale on every-

thing is very important to keep pieces from looking dwarfed. The leopard fur

on the dining chairs is Ralph Lauren.

A large room off of the entry is where you could place your

fresh hunt on the table for show and tell. The clock and ba-

rometer are from the Black Forest along with several other

pieces in these entry rooms.

The bar to the side of the living room shines as its‟

own unique gem among all else that is rustic. The cli-

ents decided on under scale, and to use simple bar

stools, instead of the ones we had on order, as not to

detract from the beauty of the bar itself. Every detail

of this bar, down to the small Black Forest replica

animal heads, gives the feeling of having been there

forever.

Another view of the bar shows the massiveness of the log structure

around it. The bar sits like a jewel nestled inside a forest of timber.

The kitchen (above) was completed with solid cherry cabinets, yet

done in a practical, utilitarian style. This kitchen is the setting for

the Shining Mountain Lodge‟s executive chef, Troy. He dazzles

guests with his excellent cuisine cooked in this fully equipped

kitchen. It is complete with walk-in refrigerators and freezers in the

back of the kitchen (not shown) with enough room to serve up-

wards of two hundred people.

Theaters are complicated because you have go with theater seating

which is sometimes cold and commercial looking, or opt for furnishings

with comfortable seating that is more relaxing and versatile in look and

feeling. The client chose a more relaxed look, using comfortable antique

French leather chairs, ottomans and very long sofas with individual seat-

ing cushions. The theater floor slopes toward the screen, and to accom-

modate this the sofas were made with shorter back legs.

Off of the theater is the women‟s lounge. Here, Don Brady chose an-

tique terra cotta French pavers cut and laid into a herringbone pattern.

Large French pavers are laid in a brick pattern under the wainscot. Be-

tween the two is an intricately carved limestone pattern of regional ani-

mals, done in European styling and softly stained with age and slightly

hand colored by Don Brady‟s sister, Pat Jones, a renowned local artist

(see next pages). The sinks are carved limestone and set into a 17th cen-

tury desk. The light fixtures, mirror and tapestry settee are gold leafed,

which adds a romantic feeling to the setting and contrasts with the rustic

texture of the room.

The more dramatic, fierce ani-

mals are found in the men‟s

powder room: wild boars, bears,

moose, wolf, eagles, etc.

These designs are original Don

Brady designs, but inspired by

European hunting tapestries.

These stones were all hand

carved by Don‟s friend James

Brunning and his stone carvers,

and then hand painted by Don‟s

brother Mike, sister Pat along

with assistant Sue Harman.

The rabbit and vines below were first

drawn out in detail and then given to the

master stone masons who carved these

beautiful, little animals for the women‟s

theater powder. There are bunnies, birds

and deer, more timid animals for the

women‟s bathroom.

This library- office- pool room- gun room is really quite impressive as you

enter. The massive fireplace is made of red limestone. The firebox is 84”

wide x 66” high. The heavy limestone benches that flank the fireplace get

warm from the fire and are comfortable to sit on.

An upstairs sitting room off of the balcony is a relaxing area for TV or for in-

timate quiet dining for two to four people. The colorful, worn antique rug is

from the family‟s personal collection and eventually found its‟ current resid-

ing place here.

There will eventually be six to eight guest houses that are spread

throughout the property so that you can barely see them. They are

small duplicates of the main house, except that they are made of origi-

nal old log timbers, part of dismantled small cabins gathered through-

out Montana. This particular one is called the School Marm cabin and

was originally found in another location on the property in disrepair.

There is an old school house near the entry to the ranch and the school

teacher lived in this original cabin.

Inside the cabin, a feminine

attention to detail resides

everywhere. Starting with

the master bedroom, the fur-

nishings are all European an-

tiques, like some classy

woman who moved to the

sticks would have owned.

White antique linens are on

the duvet and back pillows,

with new white linen to

sleep in. A claw foot tub and

French buffet are in a large

master bath.

The living room and kitchen/dining area is furnished will all antique

pieces found in L‟Isle-Sur la Sorgue, France. A few pieces are American

antiques that were found in Santa Fe. The formal, silk velvet draperies

complete the room and add contrast to the rustic feeling of the walls.

Above the kitchen is a sleeping loft with two beds for children.

In another guest cabin, called the honeymoon cabin, you find a

lighter feeling with a touch of humor. A slight cowboy approach is

used starting with the soapstone kitchen countertop and carved soap

stone sink. The master bedroom has an accumulation of old rugs,

some American Indian. Lace is nailed to the windows with rustic,

antique nails.

On the living room windows and all other win-

dows of the cabin, leather boondoggle and bail-

ing wire was strung from old nails and hung

with antique quilts and cowboy blankets (and

some Ralph Lauren fabrics). Above the win-

dow is an original half canoe. HOT MEALS

hangs over the kitchen entrance.

In this beautiful Deer Valley mountain home, the clients wanted a

more European feeling rather than the traditional rustic mountain look

that is common in Deer Valley homes. Starting with the library office,

knotty pine wood was used to create the warm glow on the walls. The

rugs are all older antiques and slightly worn. Notice the excellent

lighting in this room done by the infamous lighting designer, Glen

Johnson (also notice the entry lighting). The lighting of a whole room

can be strong for living or soft for entertaining, with just the touch of

a button. He and Don Brady are personal friends and have collabo-

rated on most of the homes in this book. The living room is a collec-

tion of new and old furnishings to give a warm, inviting and comfort-

able feeling. The cocktail table is one of Don‟s favorites from

Randolph & Hein.

Jackson Hole is the setting for this wonderful home.

Again, the clients had very specific tastes. They

wanted something that was simple and elegant which

is not the regular Jackson Hole look. The front doors

are new, but finished to look old. Many asked where

Don Brady found old doors in such good shape.

European antiques were used throughout the home,

with mainly new upholstery. All beams are “post and

beam” manufactured in Montana and brought down

to Jackson and installed for support of the main

room. The client wanted a softer finish on the beams

instead of a darker colored stain.

The living room sofa is 144” long, demonstrating again the importance of correct scale in large spaces. The coffee table is 96” x 96” and was custom designed and manufactured by Don

Brady and his craftsmen. The legs are made of scrub oak, which is indigenous to Wyoming, hand picked by Don and then cast in bronze by a local Utah sculptor. Each leg has a branch that

comes out and all four meet in the center of the table for support. The gigantic Moose is from Canada and is one of the largest ever found, it has an antler span of 97”. Notice the antique

doors leading to the library. They were completely remade, saving all pieces. Antique doors are used several places throughout the home.

The library was requested by the book loving husband who

wanted a definite deep, dark library feel to read in. The

striped chenille on the loveseats came from J.

Robert Scott. The gallery hall is flanked with

antique paintings and an original Fairbanks, Chief

Joseph. The powder room, off of the gallery

hall has a finely etched French door and

flows into this French 1860s buffet sink.

Every dining room has its own personality, especially this one. The

chairs are large and comfortable, made by Ralph Lauren. The host and

hostess chairs are 18th century Spanish. The clients loved the feeling of

the mix of everything including the long 18th century South American

bench and the table which was made new out of old wood. The chande-

lier is cast bronze. The rug is from Aga John, and is the same one

shown in Jack Nicholson‟s apartment in “As Good as it Gets”. The din-

ing hall flows into the library showing off the large Wyoming quartzite

stone pieces that are used throughout the home.

A breathtaking kitchen came about as a result of the clients‟ request to

use her favorite fabric from Clarence House. A close-up of the fabric

can be seen on the barstools. The tiles were painted, the limestone is-

land countertop was carved, the sculpted tiles were handmade and

painted all to match the bulbs and flowers in the fabric. The sculpted

tiles are framed in French limestone and the large sink is hand carved

from a solid piece of French limestone.

The floral prints above the cabinets

were found on a trip to Venice, Italy.

Two rawhide lights hang over the is-

land. The “Moana” carved in the is-

land countertop is the name of the

Jackson Hole home, and is formed

from the family‟s first name initials.

The sitting room off of the kitchen

is all done in Ralph Lauren linen

stripes. The elegant wicker chairs

are from the Ralph wicker collec-

tion, which has since been discon-

tinued. The over scale settee and

chair are from Belgium. They were

refinished, restrung and reuphol-

stered for the client.

The master bedroom suite is simple yet dramatic! All the black/brown furnishings give the room an elegant presentation. The bed is Italian from Michael Taylor Designs and linens are from

Bishoff from Germany. The platinum leafed bench at the foot of the bed is from Quatrain. The Victorian mirror is circa 1890, hung over a Randolph & Hein desk. The large night-stand to left

is a leather top desk/dining table from Ralph Lauren. The rugs are from Aga John. A large 114” custom Don Brady designed armoire that matched the bed cannot be seen in this picture. It

was manufactured by another of Don Brady‟s craftsmen.

In the guest bedrooms, log beds

were used to give a mountain

feeling to the rooms. Dark beds

above match the 18th century

English dresser used for the

nightstand.

The canopied log guest bedroom

gradually took on a fishing theme,

one of the favorite pastimes of the

family. In the rafters of this room

hangs a wooden canoe, a similar

color to the bed. An African senafu

table with a carved turtle, stands at

the foot of the bed.

River Ranch encompasses 1,000 acres of stunningly

beautiful meadows and soft rolling hills. It‟s most

enchanting feature is that the home is built right on

the Weber River, one of the largest rivers in Utah.

Designed in 1989, River Ranch takes the form of an

English riding ranch. Upper right, the family room/

kitchen area is where the clients spend most of their

time. Comfortable in bright Ralph Lauren cowboy

blanket fabric, the sofa cradles a large, drop leaf ta-

ble that opens to seat twelve, but serves most of the

time as a sofa table. The cowboy boots are the from

the 1940s and were the client‟s boots as a little girl.

Don had them made into lamps and found antique

hand painted rawhide shades to top them off. The

guest cabin at lower right is cozy with an antique

rug and antique crazy quilts on the wall and for up-

holstery on the log chair. The cocktail table is made

from an old oil lamp. To the left, one of the guest

rooms in the main ranch house is for grandchildren

with custom made furniture all in a Three Bears

theme, complete with a papa bed, a mama bed, a

baby bed and more.

Don Brady completed the ranch house

above, which overlooks the Jordanelle res-

ervoir in 1990. Situated on 155 pristine

acres all alone on top of the mountain, the

house looks directly at the Deer Valley ski

area. At right, Don Brady also owned and

operated Cowboys and Indians, a retail and

interior design store in Park City. He closed

the store in 1992, when he moved to Salt

Lake.