Designer hiring another designer is pretty much the stuff of fairy tales—it doesn’t really happen. But in the instance of new construction in Big Sky, Montana, a novel collaboration turned out to be key. The series of events, which included a little professional matchmaking, an Italian meet-cute, and a symbiotic sense of style, made for a harmonious process and a home where a family can vacation happily ever after.

Poised on a ridge in the heart of the Yellowstone Club, a renowned enclave of ski-in, ski-out estates just west of Big Sky, Montana, a six-bedroom retreat created for an international couple tells a compelling story of the Rocky Mountain West’s past, present, and future.

It’s an oft-heard story in Big Sky: a Bay Area couple who owned a home in Deer Valley, but were considering a change, went to visit friends at the Yellowstone Club. “It was a bluebird day and super quiet,” recalls the wife. “On day one we just fell in love with the place.”