This Gorgeous Wyoming Cabin Is an Off-the-Grid Dream

When Brooklynites talk about “getting a place in the country,” they usually mean a weekend house in the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, or maybe, if they’re pushing it, Connecticut. But when Stephanie Housley and her husband, tech executive Chris Lacinak, decided to decamp from their Williamsburg apartment in favor of a quieter lifestyle, they set their sights on somewhere significantly more remote—as in, two-hours-from-the-nearest-convenience-store, no-Amazon-Prime-available, snowshoe-to-town-for-supplies remote.

“We were both aching for more access to open spaces, fresh air, and wildlife,” says Housley, who owns decor-and-textile brand Coral & Tusk. She and Lacinak considered buying a house in one of the usual spots near the city but couldn’t help but imagine themselves out west—in Wyoming, specifically.

Housley had always loved it there (“my parents took me to Grand Teton and Yellowstone when I was young; and when my husband and I were still teenagers, we came here on a road trip”), and after a return visit years later, she was still dreaming of it—literally. In late 2014, she had a vision of living there; soon after, they were house hunting.

At first, Housley considered buying and building a prefab tiny house, but the idea was deemed impractical for hosting out-of-town visitors and working from home. There were plenty of log cabins, but she resisted: “A lot of the older ones were dark and needed a lot of maintenance, and the newer ones were very cookie-cutter,” she says. “I didn’t want something that felt like a novelty.”

That resistance shifted when the couple found an especially unique A-frame cabin in Bondurant, about an hour south of Jackson. Custom built by previous owners three decades prior, it was located on a 20-acre plot of land surrounded by three mountain ranges and had a detached studio that would make for an ideal work space. Housley was sold.

Luckily, the house was already in move-in condition, which meant that Housley’s main focus was on bringing in furniture and decor that fit the setting without being too “cabin-y.” Much of it is hand-hewn or vintage, and there is, of course, plenty of Coral & Tusk. (The brand’s signature embroidered motifs-woodland critters, arrowheads, foliage-fit in seamlessly.) The biggest hurdle, says Housley, was figuring out how to decorate log walls: “You quickly realize your old tricks don’t work without drywall!”

While Housley and Lacinak had intended to only spend summers at the house, they decided after just a few weeks there to move in full-time for a “trial” year. That winter ended up being the worst in 40 years, but 400 inches of snow weren’t enough to deter the couple from settling in permanently. Though they still keep a spot in Brooklyn, it’s the wilds of Wyoming they call home, making them more prepared than most to handle lockdown life in a pandemic.

“Our day-to-day routine is no different-we have to make a concerted effort to see another human under regular circumstances!” she laughs. “I appreciated this home before, but I feel a newfound gratitude to have landed in exactly this spot.”

Dining Area

Wild bird feathers, a frequent Coral & Tusk motif, hold special meaning for Housley, who has collected them all her life. “To me, they’re like seashells, a found treasure,” she says. Pendant: vintage, through John Derian. Dining table: handmade by woodworker and family friendGabe Dikel. Lampshade and table linens: Coral & Tusk. Rug: vintage, through Tribal Arts Morocco.

Great Room

“Even in the depths of winter, it feels open and light in here,” says Stephanie Housley of the A-frame home in rural Wyoming where she and her husband live year-round. Sofa: Gus. Tapestry, embroidered pillows, and chair fabric: Coral & Tusk. Marbled pillows: Rule of Three. Rug: vintage, through Tribal Art Morocco.

Bedroom

The high-ceilinged room “feels so luxurious after 20 years of postage-stamp bedrooms in New York,” says Housley. Headboard: custom in Coral & Tusk fabric. Pillows: Rule of Three (marbled) and Coral & Tusk. Kantha quilts: purchased by Housley in India. Pendant: Robert Ogden. Painting: Molly Virginia Smith.

Outdoors

In warmer months, Housley moves a vintage table out back to serve as a work surface and a place to host dinner guests: “If I can be doing what I’m doing outside, then I’m outside!” Linens: Coral & Tusk.