Jessica Black, James Odorczuk and their three children are avid skiers. After years of renting and then owning a condo in Lincoln, the family found the perfect piece of land to build their dream ski-in, ski-out home.DEPENDING ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW and personal comfort zone, northern New Hampshire winters can be either exhilarating or inhospitable. Those who choose “exhilarating” embrace the allure of “cruel season” in the White Mountains. We love the challenge of outdoor sports, while managing to make ourselves comfortable no matter what ornery elements Mother Nature throws our way. The perfect ski house makes those challenges much more palatable.
Jessica Black and James Odorczuk—along with their three children Jayla, Jaden and Jorja— offer a marvelous example for this mindset. Longtime skiers and big fans of Loon Mountain Resort, the family from Boston’s North Shore opted for a condominium in Lincoln for years.
“We originally rented a ski place in Lincoln in 2009, and by the end of that season, we had purchased a condo,” Black says. “We loved being at Loon and the ski life overall. On a whim, we started looking at homes and land with Realtor Steve Loynd, and found the perfect piece of land at South Peak. It was ski-in, ski-out with a great view, which were two of our biggest wants.”
That “perfect piece of land” was a 1.6-acre parcel that borders the White Mountain National Forest and the ski trails at Loon. As a result of the couple’s collaboration with Cargill Construction, they now have the ideal ski house that will be able to grow with their young family and eventually become a four-season escape.
Far left: A quintessential New England stone fireplace is a perfect fit for the home.
Above and left: The goal, says Pamela Greene, a certified master kitchen and bath designer, was to give the home “a fresh edge on the rustic aesthetic.” This is exemplified in the kitchen and dining area, with its sleek countertops and tasteful furniture paired with rustic alder cabinets.
Below: The cozy threeseason porch
“The vision for the ski house was to have a real second home that we could consider as a place to retire in the future,” Black says. “That vision didn’t really change at all during the building process. I was really clear on what we wanted the house to be, and our architect and builder were right on board with us.”
Fortuitously for Black and Odorczuk, they joined forces with a company that prides itself on enhancing, and not overshadowing, the interests and intent of the owners.
“Our primary goal is that the house is a direct reflection of the client and their vision for the project, not ours,” says William “Liam” Cargill IV, project manager and president of the Campton-based firm. “It’s our job to discover what their vision is and help them to guide us through the process of putting it into physical form.
“Selflessness is a quality we strive to provide all our clients,” Cargill says. “The design/ build projects being produced in our firm are not about us as a firm, but about the wants and needs of our clients. We are there to offer our clients the knowledge and experience we’ve attained in our 50-plus years in business.”
Top and above left: A finish carpenter spent 14 weeks building the stunning staircase.
Right: Charming rustic touches, such as this birch wallpaper, can be found throughout the home.
Right: The elegant and welcoming master bedroom has gorgeous views of the mountains.
Likewise, Black says a seamless partnership between client and contractor is crucial.
“We had an excellent experience with our builder,” she says. “I found Liam to be really helpful, and he even helped with some design suggestions. For example, the barn door for the mudroom was his idea as well as the barn board we used on one wall of my son’s room.
“My advice would be to do your research on finding a builder,” Black says. “Get references. But in addition, make sure the builder is someone you can get along with.”
Ground was broken for the ski house in September 2014 and completed in November 2015 as a stunning contemporary Shingle-style house of roughly 6,000 square feet. The home has five bedrooms and a bunkroom, 4½ bathrooms, a mudroom, a locker room, a home gym (complete with weight and cardio training equipment), open living areas with vaulted ceilings and a quintessential New England stone fireplace— which are all arranged around a spectacular, spiral hardwood staircase.
“The staircase is my favorite feature in the home,” Cargill says. “We had one finish carpenter building it for 14 weeks.
“The ski-in, ski-out ability makes this property very unique,” he says. “Our client can quite literally ski to their front door, go inside and have lunch. After lunch, they can walk back outside, click back into their skis and ski their way back down to the lift.”
Black says the house is situated on the “owner trails” that flow from Loon’s Boom Run on South Peak, near the Pemigewasset Base Camp.
“Every time I ski to our house, I think, ‘I can’t believe I live here,’” she says. “It feels like being a kid again.”
According to Cargill, Black and Odorczuk “came to us with only a vision and a dream.” The multifaceted company was able to offer what amounted to a “one-stop shopping” experience, providing all the necessary services to transform the couple’s dream into a reality. Cargill’s sister company, Alpine Lakes Real Estate, helped select the parcel that fit the couple’s requirements.
“Once the property was under agreement, we began design work,” Cargill says. “Under one roof, we were able to find our client the perfect property, design their home and then build it.
Opposite page and top: The master bath features outstanding views for ultimate relaxation while soaking in the tub after a long day of skiing.
Above: This is a house built for family and guests. In addition to the bunkroom pictured here, the home has five traditional bedrooms.
“To our knowledge, we’re the only firm that staffs Realtors, an architectural/structural designer, interior designer and builder under one roof,” he says. “This allows us to simplify what can be a very daunting and complicated series of tasks for our clients.”
While the couple’s initial vision for the house was heavily focused on winter use, Cargill says the versatility of the home’s design, and its connection to the surrounding landscape, provides a level of adaptability so the family can enjoy every season. Those adjustments were the result of a genuine and robust give-and-take between client and contractor over the 14-month build period.
Homeowner Jessica Black wanted guests to feel at home, which informed the design. The house was built so that everyone could have their own space—the master bedroom and the kids’ three rooms are on the second floor, while the lower level is dedicated to guests’ space.
“The overall design and build process develops organically, step-by-step, until the home’s completion,” Cargill says. “This is an exciting journey, where we can literally make dreams come true.
“Each of our clients is as unique as the designs that leave our office,” he says. “While they all share some commonalities and intermediate goals, the overall design process is tailor fit for each specific project.”
Pamela Greene was a chief participant among the Cargill team to work with Black and Odorczuk, where she served as the project’s principal designer, and a certified master kitchen and bath designer. Her role with Cargill is to support the design and build process, as well as to consult with clients on cabinet design; countertops; hardware; tile; lighting; paint and wallpaper selections; window treatments; flooring, including hardwood floors, carpeting and tile; and the selection of appliances and plumbing fixtures.
“My scope may change from client to client, depending on their needs, but I’m available for any and all interior design work,” Greene says.
“Since this couple is young, their taste and selections were certainly rustic but more on the contemporary side,” she says. “My goal was to give them a fresh edge on the rustic aesthetic. This can be seen in the kitchen, with the sleek quartz countertops, laminated edge and square waterfall edge counterbalanced with the rustic alder cabinets.”
Black’s two favorite features of the house are the spacious master bedroom and a cozy threeseason porch.
“The master bedroom has a beautiful view of the mountains and is my own little retreat,” she says. “The three-season porch is a great place to read and have a glass of wine. It’s really become a four-season porch by turning on the little gas stove that heats the whole room. During the pandemic, I turned it into my part-time yoga room as well.”
Black also reserved special praise for the large, copper range hood that highlights the kitchen appliances.
“Our designer said, ‘You’ll always regret the things you didn’t do, not the things you did do,’” Black says with a chuckle. “So, I went with the copper.”
Large windows allow copious amounts of sunlight to stream into the house, while allowing curious eyes to take in the natural beauty outside. “The view from the tub in the master bathroom is pretty amazing,” Greene says.
Black says she enjoys having her own space, but also wanted to make sure her guests felt right at home. The house was designed and built to allow natural spacing, so everyone would be able to stretch their legs. The master bedroom and the three bedrooms for the couple’s children are upstairs, while the finished basement features a single queen-sized guest room and a bunkroom.
“We wanted a house where we could have friends and family gather together but wanted them to have their own space at the end of a long day of skiing,” Black says. “That’s why we designed the layout with all our bedrooms on the second floor, and the guests on the lower level with a separate living area and bedrooms.”
The home’s main floor, with kitchen and dining areas, boasts expansive open-space concepts to create an atmosphere that’s both “warm and functional,” Greene says.
“I feel it is very important to listen carefully to my client’s requests, and to make suggestions based on their needs and desires,” Greene says. “My goal was to truly make this home all about them as people and reflect their own personal taste.
What started as a winter ski home has turned into a home for any season, with plenty of space for family and friends.
“Designing every home is a process,” Greene says. “This process starts with questions pertaining to who will be using the home, how will it be used, how many will be using it and so on until the main emphasis emerges as a clear direction. Those answers will continue to drive the choices and selections for the home.”
And, if all goes according to plan, the process ends with a satisfied client and a contractor confident in a job well done.
“We are so happy with the finished product.
It’s everything we had hoped for and more,” Black says. “It’s a place to gather with friends and family during holidays, a place where I can escape with some friends for a weekend in the spring, or a place to get warm and be together after a long, cold day of skiing.
“With busy schedules, it’s hard to get to the house as much as we would like, but we do try to as often as possible, since it really is designed for year-round use,” she says. “I would say my favorite season at the house is winter. Most people in New England dread the cold and the snow, but for us, it’s something to look forward to because we know we will get some great skiing and good times with family and friends.”
All made possible by the perfect ski house. NHH
RESOURCES
Alpine Lakes Real Estate - Campton • (800) 926-5003
alpinelakes.com
Cargill Construction • (603) 726-3939 • cargillconstruction.com
