This story about Elizabeth Wolf and Bill Blahd's home was published in the February/March 2009 edition of Treasure, the Idaho Statesman's features and lifestyles magazine. To read more Treasure stories from the February/March issue, visit IdahoStatesman.com/Treasure.

The North End home belonging to Elizabeth Wolf and Bill Blahd is stacked with creativity. It starts when you first set eyes on the place: The house, which nudges the Boise Foothills, is a dramatic structure with sharp angles, three levels and a modern combination of wood, steel and concrete.

Walk inside and the first thing you'll see is the 30-foot-high foyer and a set of steel stairs. Artwork adorns the walls, and most of the artists behind the work live in this home.

Wolf, who is an artist, created the 36-foot-diameter floor medallion that greets visitors at the Boise Airport terminal and has done several public art pieces around the city. She now designs and hand-paints plates, through her WolfWare line, that are available at the J. Crist Gallery and online (wolfwaretableware.com).

Blahd shares his wife's love of art. He enjoys painting and is a musician, but he has made his career as a physician. Blahd practices emergency medicine at the veterans hospital in Boise. His medical career includes work at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, where he cared for President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s when he was brought to the hospital for an irregular heartbeat. Blahd has maintained his interest in art throughout his medical career. He continues to balance both passions and regularly spends time at his studio painting. It was never a question of choosing one interest over another.

"If you have an interest in something it doesn't just die off because you're doing something else," he says.

Their two children have the same artistic passion. Sophie, 22, works in product development at Macy's in New York. Tony, 19, is a sophomore studying film at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Wolf and Blahd, who have been married more than 24 years, moved to Idaho in 1996. The family moved from Washington, D.C., to be closer to Wolf's parents in Sun Valley. Over time, Wolf and Blahd decided they'd like to buy some property and build their own home.

A commercial building was the inspiration for what would become the family's dream home - the Hummel Architects building on Bogus Basin Road.

"It's amazing," Blahd says. "We thought, 'This is exactly what we want.'"

They went directly to the source and discovered architect Greg Ugrin. Although Ugrin had never worked with a residential client, he agreed to take on the work and now considers it one of his favorite projects.

"Doing a residence is a breath of fresh air," Ugrin says. "It gives you the ability to explore new ideas."

CREATIVE FREEDOM AND TRUST

Mutual respect for the creative process fueled the project from both ends. Wolf and Blahd gave Ugrin a few initial guidelines, then stepped aside to let him create.

"We didn't want to stand in the way of his vision," Wolf says. "Leave someone alone and they usually do their best work. So we didn't want to tie his hands."

Wolf and Blahd wanted three things: an open room that included a kitchen along one wall (partly because it would make entertaining easier), a flat entrance so people wouldn't need to climb a steep set of stairs to reach the front door, and an elevator that could be used as an alternative to the stairs (for older guests or to transport heavy objects).

In the end, the home had everything they wanted and more. Strategically placed windows offer views of the Foothills or North Boise, depending on where you are standing in the house.

"I like the views from all the windows," Blahd says. "It's like a little painting."

The kitchen cabinets were designed to fit underneath the countertop rather than overhead, allowing windows along the entire wall.

Decks built off several rooms give a taste of the outdoors, and Wolf says it's a great place to watch the fireworks in July. Even the bookshelves seem ideal: Ugrin looked at the different sizes of books the family had in their collection and designed the shelves to be large enough to accommodate what he saw.

"He thought of everything," Wolf says.

LET THE ART SHINE

As it turned out, Ugrin had several observations of his own. He made careful choices that wouldn't compete with the art displayed throughout the house.

"I set it up as a gallery space," Ugrin says.

The house, as Ugrin describes it, was "stripped to the bones" during the design process, as he utilized raw elements that would allow the family's art and furnishings to be the main focus. Keeping it simple meant the focus could stay on the interior; the art and collectibles that would make their house a home.

"Bill and Liz have a large collection of art and furnishings that are a wide variety of mediums and styles," Ugrin says. "We wanted to showcase those and allow the flexibility to change things out or move furnishings around to define other spaces within the whole."

A stunning collection of pottery made by Tony in high school lines one shelf. Self-portraits painted by Tony and Sophie are displayed on the walls. A plexiglass display case filled with old food (yes, it is real) is also here. The collection belongs to Blahd, and he calls it his food museum. Wolf's work is also on display in the main living area, including the first theater poster she illustrated in New York.

Even elements of daily living seem like art in this home. The doors in the house are painted with chalkboard paint to allow the family to jot down notes, ideas, grocery lists, and even homework. High school math problems can still be seen on some of the doors, because the family rarely erases them. In the kitchen, the counter is made from a manufactured, solid material similar to what is found in chemistry labs. It is durable yet attractive, and over the years it has taken on different subtle characteristics from stains and handprints and other daily use. In Wolf and Blahd's eyes, this is part of the charm.

"I really like the idea of surfaces evolving; things that age and change," Wolf says.

The relationship between the couple and Ugrin evolved during the project's progress. Along the way they became friends. And in Ugrin's eyes, that friendship is the biggest success of all.

"They are a couple that really wanted to create something different in a residence," he says. "Something very special that I believe is a reflection of both of their personalities, interest, and how they want to live. I feel great comfort in knowing that they've been very happy with this home since its completion."

Chereen Langrill writes for Treasure Magazine and the Idaho Statesman. To offer story ideas or comments, contact her at cdlangrill@idahostatesman.com or 672-6733.