Montana Dreams Magazine April 2014 | Page 20

Twin sisters Joyce Barnett and Jeanne Majusiak, owners of Whispering Pines, an antique
and decorating shop in Red Lodge, maintained
the O’Neils’ vision with rustic decor. “We
wanted it to look as if everything had been
there a while,” says Jeanne. “We used a lot of
hickory furniture in the tradition of Old Faithful
Lodge. We also employed blanket fabrics that
are reminiscent of the Old West.” Animal skins
are a theme throughout: axis deer skins hang as
curtains in the windows; brindle cowhide covers dining room seat cushions; beaver-and-hide
pillows accompany a mink throw on the sofa;
and a bearskin rug sprawls on the downstairs
floor. “We even used beaver skins for mats in
the bathroom,” says Joyce.
Outside, Gregory was worried about that
500-foot cliff. “There’s a lot of fog up there,
and you can’t always tell where the drop is,”
he says. So he half buried 80,000 pounds of
boulders along the edge to provide some textural warning. Then he landscaped. “We spread
1,000 pounds of wildflower seeds. It looks
fantastic in the spring. Anita got up one morning last spring and picked 23 different kinds of
wildflowers.”
MTD

©Gibeon Photography

PIONEER AUTHENTICITY, 21ST-CENTURY TECH
A primitive cabin may be charming, but without mod-

ern amenities, it’s hard to actually live in it. “Other than
watching the fireplace burn at night, there was nothing to do,” says home owner Gregory O’Neil. “There
wasn’t even enough light to read.” So he brought
electricity, water, telephone and TV to their mountain
home.
“We ran power more than 2 miles up the mountain in
underground lines,” says Gregory. “All the mechanicals are hidden underground. It took more than a
month to get the work done, because there’s so much
granite. They had to break through the stone, feed cables through a little spool and bury them 3 feet below
the ground.”

About 200 yards out of sight of the cabin is the power center, complete with gas tanks and a generator that
comes on automatically if there’s a power failure. Enough juice can be generated to power the cabin for about
a year. Oh, and the TV? “The satellite dish is hidden on the property,” confesses Gregory.
— K.T.A.

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