What happens when a property’s designer is also its owner? For starters, that property is created as a home, not an investment to be flipped, not one of many projects developed to meet clients’ briefs. The result is instead a deeply personal manifestation of that designer’s tastes, wants, needs, emotions. A space to love and to live in.
Such is the case with Florida-based designer Lori Faison, who first visited Whitefish, Montana in the early ’90s while on a cross-country tour with her husband and some friends. The area’s “charm, natural beauty and endless recreational opportunities left an indelible impression,” she says. Returning in 2017, Faison was again nudged by a feeling she just couldn’t shake—that she and her husband should “plant roots in this gorgeous spot.”
That spot is the Whitefish neighborhood surrounding pine-lined Elk Highlands Drive. During the pandemic, Faison worked with Sonja Burgard of National Parks Realty to find the ideal lot to build
44 Elk Highlands Drive. “This is her baby,” says Burgard of the turnkey property, completed in 2023. “And [Faison’s vision] is so evident the moment you walk inside,” she adds, commenting that during showings, “jaws are dropping… and the words ‘serene’ and ‘calming’ are overheard a lot.”
Wrapped in cedar, corral board and Montana moss rock, this home’s exterior exudes warmth—a first impression that makes it seem established and settled into, not the turnkey new build it is. “My vision for this home was guided by both early homestead cabins of Montana’s past and the newer, more modern vernacular that’s becoming more prevalent in new builds,” Faison reflects. “I wanted to honor both styles and partnered with Jill Lawrence of Montana Creative to create a design that had an intentional crossover of modern and traditional mountain architectural elements, with the aim of seamlessly blurring the line between each style and creating a modern-day chalet.”
Inside, 4,200 square feet (390 sqm) of living space flow effortlessly throughout an intentionally neutral palette and a natural yet sophisticated aesthetic—as if this home just rose up ready-made from the mountains. Floor-to-ceiling glass enfolds you in forest, sky and mountain views so vivid that you need to remind yourself they’re not 3D photo murals but a pine-scented vignette of right here, right now. “The design intention was to create a home with walls of windows for an abundance of natural light to stream in during the long Montana winters, and of course to capitalize on the beautiful view corridors,” says Faison. Warmth is maintained, she adds, by using wood like Douglas fir on the walls and reclaimed European white pine floors.
Tactile material natural materials tempt you to give in to the pleasure of running a hand along a waney-edged timber table, the easy glide of buttery leather, the coziness of tweedy upholstery. The great room’s custom-designed tunnel fireplace is shared with the dining room, adding comfort and atmosphere to both zones. A bi-fold door system opens wide from the indoor living spaces to a heated outdoor deck that seems to float amongst soaring pine trees. Downstairs, a games room is set up to shoot pool or hunker down with Texas hold ’em, and a bunk room for guests means hosting and entertaining is always relaxed and easy.
Whitefish, with 10,000 residents, has the charms of a small town with a not-to-be-underestimated sophistication as well. During the pandemic, celebrities took notice and visited or purchased homes, and in 2024 Chef Todd English, four-time James Beard Award winner and Aspen Food & Wine Classic pioneer, co-founded the Whitefish Food and Wine Festival, which celebrates the culinary scene in the Flathead Valley. Lovers of live music will want to catch the Under The Big Sky Festival at Big Mountain in July set on a 350-acre ranch over three days with Tyler Childers, Mumford & Sons and The Red Clay Strays headlining.
44 Elk Highlands Drive is listed at $7,500,000 and represented by Sonja Burgard of National Parks Realty, a member of Forbes Global Properties—the invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.
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