Glimm Custom Homes

By DAVID REESE, Montana's Finest Homes

It's deep in the winter, and five horses graze in the snow as the sun drops behind the mountains near Ashley Lake.

But even though it's the cold of winter outside, a warm house beckons from across the snowy field as the Glimm family sits down for dinner. The Glimm family, owner of Glimm Homes, created this 4,000-square foot home on 23 acres as their family enclave. But as custom home builders they've also built a reputation doing the same for other families around Northwest Montana. "What we really enjoy about building custom homes is that every home is different," says Amy Glimm. 

"We get to work with each client to build them a home that fits their unique lifestyles and tastes. We want every client to have fun and really enjoy their building experience.  We had a lot of fun with this project, getting to make our perfect family home become a reality."

As a builder of custom homes who takes only a few projects each year, owner Carl Glimm is able to focus on the details of each project. He does all of the finish work himself. Warmth abounds in the two-story home, and it starts at the front door. Accenting the front entry is timber-frame woodwork and custom door created by BMC Millwork. Walk into the main room of the home and you're greeted by a two-story fireplace built out of rock from from a nearby McGregor Lake quarry. It was installed by West Masonry.

The home, designed by Impact Drafting and Design, is rich in its simplicity. With two young children, the Glimms built the home with family in mind. "No matter where people are in the home, it's a real open feeling," says Carl Glimm. "With the kids running around, whether we're cooking or working, it all feels like it's really close. It feels like everybody is connected." The home was designed for energy efficiency. A geothermal heat pump from McRorie Heating and Cooling keeps the home at a constant, comfortable temperature, and propane fireplaces help create ambiance and backup heat when needed. Triple-glazed windows and blown-in fiberglass insulation keep the home comfortable all year. Even for a two story, 4,000-square foot home, Carl Glimm says the home's heating costs in winter are about $80 per month.  

The home doubles as a family estate but also provides a working area for the family business - Glimm Homes. "We got everything in it that we wanted for our family and our business," Carl says. His wife, Amy, had grown up in nearby Lost Prairie, a remote mountain valley 30 miles west of Kalispell. There are certain design flairs throughout the home, including a fireplace in the master bedroom that is framed by old barnwood from Amy Glimm's grandfather's ranch. In the dining room there is an old-fashioned tin ceiling and there are hammered copper sinks in bathrooms throughout the home.   

 The couple had searched long and hard for a place to build their family home, and when they found this 23-acre parcel about 24 miles from Kalispell, they knew they'd found it. "When we found this property, it felt like home," Amy said. "We knew this was home. We knew this was where we wanted to stay and where we wanted to build our dream house." •