This Deer Valley Residence by D’Apostrophe Design Artfully Balances a Bold Collection of Works with Relaxed Family Living

Editor’s note: Shortly before this story went to press, Galerie was deeply saddened to learn that Francis D’Haene had died. The text was written and edited before receiving the news. Our thoughts are with his family and the D’Apostrophe team.

Several years ago, Francis D’Haene, founder of the New York firm D’Apostrophe Design, received a call out of the blue. On the line was a woman who worked at a gallery he had renovated on the Upper East Side. Her parents had just bought a vacation home in Deer Valley, Utah, and needed a decorator. “She asked if I knew one,” recounts D’Haene, “and I said, ‘How about me?’ She hadn’t realized I don’t do just architecture.”

The couple’s attachment to Deer Valley began with their first visit 35 years ago. “We weren’t necessarily skiers back then,” the wife says. “But the majestic mountains became something we loved.”

The house they bought is located in a mountainside enclave of around 50 properties. They chose it for the spectacular views and because it was large enough to accommodate their expanding family—four children and, at the last count, 12 grandchildren. They also liked that there’s a run directly in front of the residence. “We can wave at skiers going by,” says the husband.

It was, however, no architectural beauty. “It was a typical logwood house that was not pretty,” recalls D’Haene. “Inside, it was very convoluted. There were split levels and strange staircases.” His clients initially intended to just refresh the interiors, but the more they talked with D’Haene, the more they realized radical action was required. “We couldn’t get the views or the number of bedrooms we wanted,” says the wife. “Finally, Francis said, ‘You won’t get out of this house what you want if you don’t start over.’”

D’Haene retained most of the old structure’s foundation walls as well as one of its chimneys and largely kept within the existing footprint. The rest was swept away. The new house he designed consists of four distinct volumes linked by glazed passageways. The first volume contains the garage, two others are dedicated primarily to the eight bedrooms, and the last hosts a double-height great room with free-flowing living and dining areas that can be opened up to an expansive outdoor terrace.

Above the base level of stone, the exterior is faced in ledge stone, cold-rolled steel, and dark-stained cedar. “The color is like at the bottom of mountain forests, which are always in shadow,” asserts D’Haene, who framed the windows—many with casement-style openings—in darkened steel.

When it came to the interiors, D’Haene sums up the approach as “simple and quiet.” Though that description doesn’t do justice to the sinuous staircase the firm conceived to connect the great room to a catwalk above with serious flair. The top priority for the clients was to make the rooms feel cozy. “We’ve rented a lot of ski homes over the years that are kind of cavernous and cold,” explains the husband. To warm things up, D’Haene used reclaimed timber for the great room ceiling and old-growth oak for the floors, while most walls are finished in a creamy lime plaster. Throughout, the designer emphasized soft, luxurious carpets and sumptuous, make-you-want-to-touch fabrics.

One of the wife’s requests was for a dining table that could seat 22. D’Haene came up with a 16-foot-long custom design in reclaimed oak, which he surrounded with Pierre Jeanneret rattan-back chairs. He was less responsive to the husband’s desire to integrate his favorite hue—the green of the PGA Masters jacket. “I have an aversion to green,” explains D’Haene. “It became a running joke not to put it in the house.”

With the exception of a vibrant upholstery choice here and there, much of the animating color is provided by an art collection that includes works by Harold Ancart, William Eggleston, Sue Williams, and Robert Rauschenberg. The clients, advised by their daughter, already owned much of the art. A newer addition is the Rose Wylie diptych at the base of the stairs; it’s the subject of much family discussion. “It’s one of those pieces you study and wonder what it is,” says the wife. “Every child and grandchild thinks it’s something different.”

The couple’s emotional introduction to the finished house came just before a Christmas they spent there with the family. “I walked in with great trepidation and burst into tears,” admits the wife. “It was beyond anything we’d imagined.” For the husband’s bath, D’Haene had a special surprise. When he opened the double closet doors, he discovered one shelf had been clad in leather—in unmistakable Masters green.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Spring Issue under the headline “Peak Chic.” Subscribe to the magazine.