A Flathead Valley Mountain Home

In a mountain home in the Flathead Valley, Montana, MV Works built the rooms where the household gathers, pours and comes in from the weather. Gregg Murphy and John Ramsay made every piece by hand in the MV Works shop: a bar island crowned with hand-patinaed steel, a black back bar and coffee bar, plain-sawn white oak mudroom lockers, and an eight-foot floating vanity with a matching linen tower. Dark, quiet finishes run through the house, so each room feels of a piece with the stone, glass and timber around it.

The Bar Island

The island top is steel, patinaed by hand over about a week with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide until the surface took on its depth and movement, then sealed in epoxy so it keeps that character in daily use. Beneath it, the base is horizontal rift-sawn white oak stained black, with leather belts wrapping the front.

Bar island with a hand-patinaed steel top and black-stained rift-sawn white oak base, ringed by leather bar stools, in a Flathead Valley mountain home
Angled view of the patinaed steel bar island top over its black-stained white oak base

The Back Bar

Behind the island, the back bar with its sink is built in the same horizontal rift-sawn white oak, stained black, so the grain runs level with the island and the long windows beyond.

Back bar sink set into a dark top over horizontal rift-sawn white oak cabinetry stained black
Back bar in black-stained horizontal rift-sawn white oak beneath tall windows

The bar, in motion.

The Coffee Bar

Beside the stone fireplace, a coffee bar in red oak stained black sits against the stone, with lit open shelving above.

Coffee bar in black-stained red oak with lit open shelving beside a stacked stone fireplace

The Mudroom Lockers

For the entry, plain-sawn white oak lockers with open cubbies and benches, finished in a clear poly that lets the natural grain show.

Plain-sawn white oak mudroom lockers with a clear finish and open cubbies above a bench
Facing runs of white oak mudroom lockers leading to a glass door

The Floating Vanity and Linen Tower

In the primary bath, an eight-foot floating vanity and a linen tower in wire-brushed white oak with an aged barrel stain. Wire brushing raises the grain, and the stain settles into it like an old cask.

Eight-foot floating vanity in wire-brushed white oak with an aged barrel stain and double sinks
Angled view of the wire-brushed white oak floating vanity and its drawer fronts
Wire-brushed white oak linen tower beside a freestanding tub and mountain-view windows

Specifications

  • Bar island: hand-patinaed steel top sealed in epoxy; horizontal rift-sawn white oak base stained black; leather belts wrapping the front

  • Back bar with sink: horizontal rift-sawn white oak, stained black

  • Coffee bar: red oak, stained black, beside the stone fireplace

  • Mudroom lockers: plain-sawn white oak, clear poly

  • Floating vanity (8 ft) and linen tower: wire-brushed white oak, aged barrel stain

  • Built by: Gregg Murphy and John Ramsay, in the MV Works shop

  • Location: Flathead Valley, MT

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