Chalet Americana

MARK D. SIKES SEIZES ON THE CAMPY PARLANCE OF A SUN VALLEY, IDAHO, CABIN, ELEVATING ITS RUGGED SENSIBILITY WITH COLORFUL FABRICS AND ALPINE WARMTH.

- ALICE WELSH DOYLE

RESTRAINT may not be the most provocative word in interior design, but it certainly has its place. For instance, designer Mark D. Sikes landed a rare opportunity, in part, for what he planned not to do. The project was a classic Adirondack house set on 16 acres in Sun Valley, Idaho. "We interviewed a lot of designers, and so many of them wanted to paint everything white and completely transform the identity of the house," says the homeowner of the existing architecture by Cleveland-based Paskevich & Associates Architects. "Mark wanted to stay true to the original design and work off of this as a strength. He didn't view the style as something to fix."

The western ski town is an unusual location for this woodland style of architecture, which originated in the Swiss and German Alps before being imported and adapted in New York's Adirondack Mountains. But Sikes saw a distinct sense of belonging-and opportunity-in its elements, particularly the southern yellow pine paneling, the bentwood slatted stair rails, and a wonderfully quirky built-in hutch fashioned almost entirely of twigs. "As a designer it's always a joy to work on a project that is so atypical," he notes. "And we were all on the same page about how far to take the renovations. We didn't want to erase the essence of it. A house this whimsical gives you a good bit of liberty."

It was a freedom he would use to undo the interiors" "very western cowboy sensibility," according to the homeowner. "The house was very thematic, which may be OK part time, but it was kitschy," he says. "We wanted a moodier, warmer feeling."