Article on small home, photography by Karl Neumann

1. 10 | at home April 20, 2010 April 20, 2010 at home | 11
retired couples looking to build that last home. They want to plan for the
future. That’s why this home has ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
compliant features such as wider doors and a recessed shower big enough for
a wheelchair, for example — they wanted to make it easy for the long haul.”
The modest entryway leads into a proportional, open plan kitchen
Little Things
and living room area. A rock fireplace surround with reclaimed timber
mantle competes for visitors’ attention with a nook that features 270-
degree views looking out on the mountains. Circle-sawn white oak floor-
ing in random widths adds visual interest down below.
Mean A Lot
“We hand-selected all of the timbers for character, and we tried
to add in some smart features,” Tim Rote says of the living area. “We
enclosed the television in this recessed cabinet and included invisible
speakers in the ceiling and for an in-home sound system.”
The granite, alder and stainless kitchen sits below a coffered ceiling
South Bozeman home — Kevin Sullivan’s brainchild for giving the space more fine details.
“We fabricated it on the ground and then lifted it up and fastened it
demonstrates master craftsmanship from the top,” Sullivan says, adding that Dovetail performs “all the car-
pentry in each of the houses it does, from the rough framing through all
while celebrating lasting ties the finish details.”
Dick says that the kitchen ceiling was just a small part of Kevin’s
contributions to the overall vision of the home.
BY N I CO LE R O S EN LE A F R I T T ER “We really trusted Kevin,” he notes. “It got to be that we would tell
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY K A R L N EU M A N N him to do whatever he thought would work best. He just had a tremen-
dous vision that added to the whole house.”
T
In the light and airy master suite, however, the vision came largely An open kitchen and living
from Nancy — in honor of the retirement site that lost out. room area combined with
“Mom wanted the feel of a Cape Cod beach house,” Tim explains. generous use of windows
HE PROCESS OF BUILDING A HOUSE is frequently described “We were going back and forth,” Nancy recalls. “I was opting for Cape Cod, Pickled whitewash accents and a pitched ceiling with exposed beams make the home feel spacious,
as difficult at best, excruciating at worst. The phrase “a very and Dick was favoring Montana because he loves to fish. Then Tim decided to enhance the coastal feel, while small touches — a built-in window seat with while taking advantage of
positive experience” doesn’t seem to come up quite so often. move to Bozeman and it was kind of a no-brainer.” storage underneath, for example — amplify the craftsmanship on display. mountain views. Below right,
Yet that’s exactly how Nancy Rote describes her and Another easy decision came as they tried to figure out what to do about hous- The ADA-compliant master bath sports simple pedestal sinks, a the homeowners worked with
Dovetail Construction and Frog
husband Dick’s experience with having Dovetail Construction ing in Bozeman. Tim and Kevin were new business partners — after both having steam shower and an enviably sited garden soaker tub with views of the Rock Design to create the look
build their house. The pair of retired teachers from Pleasant- worked in the construction industry separately for two decades — and who better Spanish Peaks. Porcelain tile work conceals the programmable radiant and feel of a Cape Cod beach
ville, New York moved into the house just over two years ago to build their forever home? floor heat that keeps the space comfortable year-round. continued house for the master suite.
and are still raving — in a good way — about the process. “Tim and Kevin have been best friends since they were five years old,”
“So many people have said to us, ‘Oh, it’s such Nancy explains. “Even then they were always building
an awful process! I’d never go through it again!’ tree forts and lugging stuff home from construction sites.
but that was not our experience,” Nancy says. We knew they could build us a house that we could grow
The casual observer might conclude that old in.”
their enthusiasm stems from the fact that one half After finding a site just off of South 19th Ave., the
of the Dovetail Construction ownership team is Rotes turned to architects Tammy Minge and Ann Orser
their son, Tim Rote. (And the other half, Kevin of Frog Rock Design.
Sullivan, is Tim’s best friend from childhood.) But “We were able to give them a pretty good footprint
Dick insists that it’s not just fatherly pride talk- and vision of what we wanted, and then they were really
ing. “Really, leaving aside that our son was part of able to take what we wanted and put it together, while
the process, it was just remarkable how good not working closely with Nancy and Dovetail,” Dick says.
only the Dovetail crew, but also the subcontractors “They all worked so well together, and what you see here
were,” he says. is the result.”
Tim Rote says that satisfaction with not only The result is a home perfectly at ease with the sur-
the product but also the process is something that rounding landscapes, incorporating timber, glass and stone
he is proud to hear from Dovetail clients all the time for a look that is all Montana — without any trite stereo-
— and not just the ones he calls Mom and Dad. types. At less than 3,000 S.F. and mostly on one level, it
“Each and every one of our clients has said spreads out gracefully to take advantage of the views.
that they have enjoyed the process,” he says. “They really were looking for quality over quantity,”
For Nancy and Dick, the process began with a Tim explains. “It’s something that I hear from a lot of
stark choice: Cape Cod or Montana? Ready to retire Above, the single level home was designed with the practical
and launch a new adventure, they knew they didn’t considerations of aging in mind, balanced with upscale details
want to stay in New York but weren’t entirely sure including a spatious patio. Left, ADA- (Americans with Disabilities Act)
where to land. Their daughter was living in Hawaii, compliant features such as wider doors are stylishly designed into
while son Tim at that time was in Seattle. the home as exemplified by the use of reclaimed sliding barn doors.

2. 12 | at home April 20, 2010
A breezeway leading out cably decorated guest room with a suite bath
Little Things from the master suite holds — is located up a short flight of stairs, in the
a small sitting room and opens onto a patio, bonus area above the home’s generous, fully
providing additional opportunity to bring the finished garage. “I figure if it gets to the point
outside in and to separate the master area from that I can’t bring sheets and towels up the stairs
the rest of home using repurposed barn doors. anymore, I can make my guests do it!” Nancy
“My dad’s instructions about the antique quips.
doors were that he wanted any old livestock With everyone sitting around the dining
hair and manure left in place,” Tim laughs. room table, Kevin muses the home that he and
On the other side of the house, another Tim built for Nancy and Dick does not rep-
breezeway leads to a brilliantly blue-green resent the biggest or most elaborate house that
office that can double as an extra guest room. Dovetail has ever made.
Built-in alder bookshelves make up one wall, “It’s funny,” he says. “We’ve built ‘grander’
while the unexpected mini-cathedral ceiling houses — houses with a huge ‘wow factor’—
gives the room an open feeling as well as addi- but at the end of the day, when Tim has toured “Everything we have done is designed and detailed with that
tional space for some of Nancy’s antique finds. someone through this and several other of our in mind,” he concludes. @
“I believe in not wasting opportunities,” houses, this is oftentimes their favorite house.”
Kevin says of the room’s unique ceiling line. It comes down again to quality over quan- Nicole Rosenleaf Ritter is the managing editor of At Home, LEAP
Just one portion of the home — an impec- tity, Tim opines. and Business to Business.
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