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he Robbins’ cabin is quintessentially Big Sky: The master bedroom

with its grand windows framing Lone Peak. The expansive deck with

its views to the east, where the earth falls away and rises with the Gallatins.

The exterior with its hewn logs and reclaimed barnwood siding. The vaulted

great room with its cavernous fireplace.

Like a lot of homes in Big Sky, Moonlight and the Yellowstone Club,

the Robbins’ residence flaunts fine craftsmanship and attention to detail. But

its size makes it remarkable.

“We just wanted a 1,500-square-foot cabin,” says Paul Robbins. “But it

wasn’t easy to come by.”

For about a decade, he and his wife Annie wanted to build on acreage

up on the hill in Moonlight. But under the covenants, homes could be no

less than 5,000 square feet, and the Robbins were encouraged to build far

bigger.

Sure, they had the money. Paul’s metal manufacturing companies, ten

of them around the world, do $200 million in annual sales. But he and Annie

had no desire to escape from their large home in Uxbridge, Ontario to a

TThe True naTure of “a cabin in The woods” prevails in This big sky reTreaT

Opposite page: High above the Robbins’ cabin looms Lone Peak, which Paul and his eldest daughter scan each morning before making laps on the Lone Peak Tram. Right: A modest front door makes for an understated entrance to the cabin’s vaulted great room. Below: With high-end finishes and the finest appliances, the Robbins’ cozy kitchen echoes many Big Sky trophy homes in every way but size.

127Big Sky Journal HOME

W R i T T e n B y A L e x T e n e n B A u m

P H o T o g R A P H y B y k A R L n e u m A n n

“I have a lot of access to a lot of skiing, but I’d rather ski

here than anywhere else,” Paul says. “I suppose you could say

I’m a (Lone Peak) Tram junkie.”

It was the tram that brought the Robbins to Big Sky in 1996,

after they read about it in a ski magazine. In 1999, they bought

a cabin and sold it a few years later to buy a two-bedroom in

Moonlight’s slope-side Cowboy Heaven development.

But as their three daughters — the twins now 19, and

the eldest, 20 — grew up and began bringing friends and boy-

friends on vacation, the family was running out of space. They

wanted more square footage, just not that much more.

“I was pioneering around in 2008, and I came across a

couple of unfinished cabins,” Paul says. They were just shells

-- begun before the meltdown, sealed up from the weather and

waiting out the sub-prime financial storm.

None of them had the acreage the Robbins had hoped

for. But there was one, way up at the top of the subdivision

— back against the woods and high enough to look out over

the homes below — that felt plenty remote. And it had ski-in,

ski-out access to the White Otter lift.

sprawling trophy lodge. The key word for them was cabin.

“Cabins should be small and relatively easy to care for.

The last thing we need on vacation is more work,” Annie

says.

“Nobody got what we were doing. The real estate agent

thought I was out of my mind,” says Paul.

Despite the resistance, the Robbins didn’t want to build

their dream cabin at another ski area. They’d traveled the

world in search of the best snow and terrain. Paul skied,

taught, patrolled and raced for years, and one of his companies

is headquartered just a half hour from Verbier, Switzerland

— famous for its off-piste terrain and 6,000-foot vertical.

Opposite top: During the day, the Robbins tend to split up and explore Big Sky on their own. When they come back to the cabin, there’s plenty of room at the dining room table to gather around and tell their tales. Afterward, the energetic family will spill out onto the spacious deck and into the hot tub for some aprés ski relaxation. Opposite bottom: The living area is built for close-ness and comfort, where the Robbins can gather for movies, board games and conversation, set to the warm crackling of the wood-burning fireplace. Above: The walls are hung with pictures of skiing lore, including old photos of Warren miller’s early ski film career, and original sketches by Warren miller and Doug Coombs, addressed to the family.

128 129Big Sky Journal HOME

B O Z E M A N • M O N T A N A

It was just about perfect.

The cabin was listed at $995,000 at a time when a million

dollars would have bought perhaps three times the square foot-

age, and likely more land. But they had been years searching

for something like this, so they jumped in.

“I don’t think [the builder] could even believe they’d sold

it. We bought in a terrible market, and still we paid way too

much — probably 20 to 30 percent more than the market would

say it’s worth. But when you want this cabin on this lot, that

kind of becomes secondary,” Paul says.

They partnered with RMR Group, the cabin’s original

construction company, to begin the work of finishing it. Paul

laid out the interior walls to create two bedrooms with large

closets, an indulgent master suite, a guest bath, an airy great

room and a small-but-well-appointed kitchen.

Everything is compact, yet quite upscale. A hall closet

holds their washer and dryer — a Swedish-made set, stacked

and shimmering in a silvery finish. The kitchen holds a built-in

Subzero fridge and a hooded Wolf range.

Because of its size, even when it’s just Paul and Annie,

it feels warm and intimate. When the girls are there, it’s brim-

ming with the vibrant energy of a family. And come Christmas,

it’s downright festive as a dozen or so guests pack the cabin.

“To add a basement or more square footage would just

detract from what we’ve got,” Annie says.

Paul agrees, saying that real estate seems a lot like the

boat market, where a bigger, nicer boat is always better. People

buy the biggest boat they can’t afford, and then neglect it

because it’s not the optimum size for ease of use and enjoy-

ment, he says.

“A lot of it seems to be about sex appeal and social com-

petitiveness. But that just creates work and more to worry

about,” he says. “And it’s not about spending less, necessar-

ily. You can spend an awful lot on something smaller and be

happier.”

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because of its size, even when it’s just paul and annie, it feels warm and intimate. when the girls are

there, it’s brimming with the vibrant energy of a family.