October 6, 2026 | DESIGN & INTERIORS
ABOVE the RESERVOIR
words Karine Monie
photos Malissa Mabey
styling Jen Paul
Set high above the Jordanelle Reservoir in Park City, Utah, this home was conceived as a retreat from the pace of everyday life. For its owners, a Chicago-based family of five, the appeal of the site lay in its proximity to both summer trails and winter slopes, and in the openness of the landscape around it.
Completed in 2025, the two-level house changes with the seasons. Mist often settles over the reservoir in the morning, softening the light, while winter brings snow and the warmer months open the landscape to horseback riding, mountain biking and long stretches outdoors.
Interior designer Cari Giannoulias, who had previously worked on the family’s Chicago home, began by reconsidering how the house met its surroundings.
FRAMING THE VIEW
“I began by reworking the windows and skylights, recalibrating each opening to better engage the surrounding landscape and draw natural light deep into the interiors,” says Giannoulias.
From there, she refined the circulation and proportions of the house, developed custom millwork and reworked the bathrooms. The interventions are measured, allowing the architecture to sit more naturally within its setting.
In the main living room, a custom corduroy sofa and sloped yellow chairs designed by Cari Giannoulias Design are paired with a Nickey Kehoe ottoman, a soapstone-inlaid side table and a horse-head sculpture by Chris Riccardo. Textiles from Zak + Fox and Yarn Collective add depth without competing with the view.
As Giannoulias describes it, the house moved “from generic to grounded, from concept-driven to deeply lived in.”
COLOUR WITH WEIGHT
One of the project’s less expected references was Le Coucou in Méribel, whose mix of Alpine warmth and eclectic interiors stayed with Giannoulias. But rather than translating that language directly, she began imagining it through the colour world of British painter Peter Doig.
“What if the interiors of Le Coucou Méribel were filtered through a different lens?” she recalls asking. “What if they were painted by Peter Doig?” Doig’s rich, saturated palettes offered a way of moving beyond the expected neutrals of a mountain home. “His palettes are deep and immersive, the kind that mesmerize you,” says Giannoulias. “I don’t typically work with tones this rich, but that was part of the appeal.”
The furniture follows the same instinct. Giannoulias looked for classic forms that felt familiar without becoming nostalgic, choosing pieces with enough weight and character to resist trends.
In the kitchen, custom cabinetry is paired with Allied Maker sconces, Luteca counter stools and Dornbracht fittings. The choices are restrained, but specific enough to give the room its own identity.
THE ONE PERFECT FIND
Giannoulias’ approach is perhaps clearest in the way she works with objects. She sources widely and often keeps pieces for years before finding the right place for them.
“Sometimes I hold onto an object for years, waiting for the right home — or the right moment — for it to make sense,” she says. “I’ll build an entire room around that single piece. It becomes the anchor. The one perfect find.”
That idea also became the basis for One Perfect Find, her new curation project focused on singular objects, makers and stores discovered gradually over time.
The Utah house feels closely connected to that way of working. Custom pieces sit alongside vintage finds, contemporary lighting and crafted objects, giving the interiors a sense of having evolved rather than been assembled all at once.
“When you enter this home, it feels lived in,” says Giannoulias. “Everything is purposeful.”
