Consistently winning awards for the quality and character of their homes, High Country Builders is synonymous for quality and livable designs that blend gracefully and appropriately with the land and the views. Building in Whitefish and the Flathead Valley, the people at High Country Builders understand why people choose the area, and how the home’s design can enhance day-to-day life. This is accomplished through a design that embraces place and the surroundings, and sets the background for enjoying the company of family and friends.

Seventeen years ago, Walt Landi hung up his ranching spurs and brought his work ethic, innovative thinking, love of the land, and experience making things happen to Whitefish, Montana, where he founded High Country Builders. Now a sizeable firm of 43 employees, High Country Builders is a one-stop, full-service design-build firm specializing in the Montana look of natural logs, timber, and stone.

Walt Landi explains his approach, “There are several things that set us apart from other builders, but the first thing is that our homes fit harmoniously into the mountain setting, and accentuate the site’s natural beauty. This, along with our careful craftsmanship, brings aesthetics, functionality, and value to the client. It’s a quality that people sense with our homes, but can’t always put a name to it.”

The key to this design approach is maximizing the aesthetics of the building site and its surroundings. High Country Builders start with a careful topographic study and map out the most commanding views to lakes, valleys and mountains. Included is attention to the solar orientation and planning to avoid glare and summer heat gain by the orientation of the windows and treatments like overhangs.

The design process is an ongoing collaboration with the client. Discussions start early and continue right up to the point that the keys to the front door are turned over. Throughout the home’s construction, budgets and schedules are regularly updated and sent to the client along with photos showing the progress of construction. It is a process designed so the client gets just what they want for the price they are anticipating. “A design-build process needs relaxed and open communications, so when you face decisions, you can work through them creatively together,” says Landi.

By combining the home design, site preparation, construction, and interior design under one roof, communications are simple with one point of contact. They also work together toward one common vision and timetable under the same guidance. Walt Landi adds that by having skilled people in-house, there is minimal reliance on subcontractors and risk that they will be overbooked or unavailable and hold up the schedule and drive up costs, “We can put together reliable costs based on past projects without the risks of a potential 20% fluctuation in subcontractor costs.”

With care to the siting throughout design, each home balances privacy with views, and the floor plans are unique to each client. Says Walt Landi, “We create only spaces our clients will use and enjoy on a daily basis, and not space only for the sake of increasing square footage. Downsizing in this way means that you can emphasize and upgrade the spaces you will use, and our homes become cozy and inviting instead of overwhelming.”

While each home design is different, High Country Builders’ homes share the commonalities of livability, wholeness, flow, and comfort. These were the findings of various independent judging panels, as they have recognized High Country Builders for both craftsmanship and design with a long series of awards: Best Interior Design; Best Craftsmanship; People’s Choice; and Judge’s Choice.

Walt Landi finds Whitefish and the Flathead Valley to be a truly special place with the Flathead River system, Whitefish and Flathead Lakes, skiing, outdoor recreation, and the expanses and views. “At High Country Builders, we work to create homes worthy of this unique area, one of the last great places.”

You can learn more about High Country Builders on the web at www.highcountrybuilders.com, and you can make the first step toward creating your own home by calling Walt Landi and his experienced colleagues.

High Country Builders is located at 903 C Wisconsin Avenue in Whitefish, Montana 59937; (406) 863-9511; www.highcountrybuilders.com