Featured Home | Bear Haus

When Darsi and Dan approached us about building a custom home, they didn’t have a property to build on, only a vision for what their eventual future would be. They wanted to work together and create a space that reflected both of their values and made every aspect of their day-to-day lives easier and more enjoyable. Darsi wanted access to downtown, and Dan wanted proximity to the river valley. Very quickly, Highlands was put at the top of the list, and an old house was purchased with the vision of redeveloping it into something truly special.

Darsi had piles of inspiration, of beautiful spaces he had been in, houses he loved and architecture that inspired him. Dan was more pragmatic. He wanted space to cook and share with friends and family, places for his outdoor equipment and wanted to solve problems like “where do we put Padfoot our dog?” Darsi wanted to ensure that we had appropriate space for some treasured art, most importantly, a bear photograph. The house would henceforth be known as the Bear Haus. 

John and Jesse, design and drafter, took all of this and created a West Coast modern-inspired Timber Haus. With a foyer inspired by beautiful hotels, an open kitchen with huge windows, an abundance of stone, a huge pantry, and custom-built steel doggy doors with a dog wash for Padfoot, not a single detail was overlooked. 

We worked closely with their interior designer, Vanessa (VW Design), on finalizing the details and ensuring that the Bear Haus stayed true to the vision. Once we started construction and our site supervisor, Ryan, came into the picture, everything started to come together, and excitement continued to grow as the concept moved into the build phase. We had special site meetings to determine things like the height of a beer shelf beside the bathtub and where every light switch went as we built a treasured home and relationship with Darsi and Dan. 

As we hand the keys over on this special Timber Haus in 2025 and move into the service phase of our relationship, we can confidently say that we are all proud of what we have accomplished together. The Bear Haus is truly spectacular and a house we will be known for. Our relationship will last a lifetime, and we are proud of our team and trades for coming together to accomplish such an incredible home.