Photograph by Ryan Dorgan
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
I WAS TWENTY-TWO when I signed a lease of my own for the first time. The apartment was a second-story space above a garage that itself had been converted into an apartment. The groundfloor garage apartment, with its plywood walls, sunken floors, and one window, was gross. Mine was open and light-filled. I didn’t care that mold grew in two corners of the carpet. The walls were once whitish, but, by the time I moved into the place, were beige on the way to brown. The linoleum kitchen floor wasn’t just rippled, but had whitecaps. The kitchen counters were canary yellow Formica. The fiberglass shower stall was half-size, and pretty much in the middle of the living room. Its “door” was a curtain. In the ceiling above one of the moldy corners was a hole in the drywall. Insulation, and sometimes water, occasionally fell through. The place needed some help, but I loved every inch of it. I put up the artwork I wanted—posters, really—wherever I wanted. I invested in a new shower “door.” It wasn’t long before I wanted to do more. “Do you mind if I paint the walls?” I asked my landlord. He agreed to it, and even
reimbursed me for the paint. He didn’t care what color(s) I used. A couple of months later, the carpet started looking shabby against the new walls. The landlord then allowed me to buy new, inexpensive carpet. Without asking, because he really didn’t seem to care, I installed new shelves—the open kind—in the kitchen. Within a year of my moving in, the place had been completely redone (but still had a hole in the ceiling). When I bought my first place several years later, I was able to do real remodeling: Concrete floors were torn up, and wood was put down; kitchen cabinets were refinished; every room was painted (some multiple times); bathroom vanities were upgraded; the shower was tiled; and an addition was built onto the deck. With the completion of each project, I marveled at how much it transformed the condo, whether it was new paint or a new wood floor. If you consider painting remodeling, which I do, most everyone remodels a living space at least once in their life. And whether it’s big or small, it’s always intimidating, yet also exciting. Many of the articles—and all of the features—in RANGE ISSUE FOUR 6
this issue of Range focus on remodeling, from what tile can do for a room (p. 20) to turning a traditional log cabin into a bright, contemporary space (p. 56). We spoke to valley contractors, architects, and realtors about remodeling here (p. 43). Even coming at it from different perspectives, all agreed on one thing: The future of building in Jackson Hole is remodeling. Most of the lots that can be privately owned already have homes on them. Whether you’re looking at updating your kitchen or transforming a nondescript home into something spectacular—or need inspiration to make a change—this issue should be helpful. As always, you can trust that everything in Range, from products to homes, is in it because it has merit, and we think deserves to be shared. We hope you agree.
– Dina Mishev @dinamishev