Most windows in John and Jennie Tietema’s new 5,000-square-foot home have some view of Heart Mountain — it’s where the couple was engaged.

So, when the Powell High School alumni moved back to the area it was a requirement their home had a view of the mountain that played a part in such a big moment in their lives.

The two story open concept house, built by Richmond Brothers Construction, is done in a distinctive modern design; friends who’ve been in their past homes in San Francisco and Washington have commented, “it’s kind of like your last three houses had a baby,” Jennie said. 

“It’s not really my typical style of home, which was nice because with that more modern look it just comes with different challenges than other homes have,” Kade Richmond, of Richmond Brothers Construction said. “So it was nice to build out something a little bit different [with] other challenges that you have to figure out and work through. So it made it fun for me.”

Richmond, whose construction business began in 2019, has been involved in construction for the past 30 years, he said, working dry wall, stucco and “almost all aspects of houses,” over the years.

There aren’t a lot of modern style designs around the area, Richmond said, but they are starting to become more popular. 

Richmond and the Tietemas were connected by mutual friend Jeff Sheridan who started the subdivision the Tietemas reside in south of town. Richmond has been buying property from Sheridan and has built four homes in the area, three of them custom builds, including the Tietema’s house. 

The initial designs for the home were actually done by the Tietemas first on a napkin and then on John’s phone using SketchUp.

“We were sitting at a table, and we grabbed a napkin and started sketching, and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if this, and wouldn’t it be cool if that,’” Jennie said. “And then [John] went to SketchUp, and if you look … it’s almost exactly what we had put in there.”

It was a combination of three houses and Pinterest, John said. 

They also sought input from other homeowners to figure out what they might want, Jennie added.

“We wanted to be able to have a very fluid, entertaining space, but also some place that we could hide stuff away,” Jennie said.

One example is a prep space, tucked away behind a black panel door, where John can cook ahead of entertaining guests, or a hallway they call the “locker room” that allows extra storage for the family.

“We wanted a place that our kids could grow up in, have family and friends over and hopefully it was comfortable, and so we were comfortable with the open concept,” Jennie said.

They’ll be glad when they can get some more paintings on the wall. While Jennie’s mom jokes the home is “a black and white box,” Jennie said, they wanted something where they could hang art and have different pieces that made a statement. This comes through in several pieces: a beautiful wood and epoxy table and barn door (the latter was a house warming gift from Jennie’s parents) and a pivot door out of Colorado which John had always wanted. The door is roughly 1,000 pounds and the only one that Richmond has seen in the area, he said. 

The Tietema’s personality and lifestyle can be seen throughout the home, and if one looks closely they may notice that a book shelf in the living room is also a door. It leads to a small book nook for the children and then to a home theater where they have Friday movie nights as a family. Their daughter was insistent they install a popcorn, star and film reel carpet. They’ve screened a few movies in the room including “Top Gun: Maverick.” It was crazy to watch, as the seats vibrated because of the subwoofers, Jennie said. 

“I never thought I’d say this, but I had to turn the sub down,” John joked. 

Elsewhere in the house are sagebrush and barbed wire lamps in the entry, which John made and sourced himself from a property in the area and some old barbed wire he found. The house also has many smart features and lights he programmed himself. John likes automation, he said, and the home has been programmed with Alexa throughout the house, two small TVs serve as digital picture frames and monitors for a Ring doorbell, and many of the lights in the house can be controlled by John through his phone. 

There’s even a blind over a large floor to ceiling window in the main room that rolls down when certain temperatures are reached.

Upstairs in the kids’ area is an extended windowsill for reading and a foosball table from John’s parents’ house. It’s the family foosball table, Jennie joked.

“Foosball was always a big thing for me, growing up I had a table as a kid, so it was my favorite game,” John said.

Down the hall, their son’s room has personal touches to remind him of home, a gaming area and, of course, a window facing Heart Mountain.

Each of the children has their own bathroom and the faucets, picked by Jennie, can shoot water out of the top for an easier time wetting hair. 

John and Jennie’s bedroom has their favorite view in the house, showcasing both the McCullough Peaks and Heart Mountain.

And in the bathroom is another callback to the couple’s love story. 

“This was John’s love note to me,” Jennie said. “The bathtub, once again, perfectly frames Heart Mountain.”