Tamarack Ranch

For builder Jake Wille of James Co. Homes, the attraction was immediate. “Acreage-style properties are just my jam,” he says, recalling the first time he drove past the site: a mix of prairie grasslands, wetlands and a hilltop of mature oaks that demanded an equally measured response.

Rather than forcing the landscape into the background, the project foregrounds it: stretching across the land to preserve horizontality and keep the experience intimate. “We held it down right close to grade,” Wille explains. “Your front entry and your rear patio space are just one step into the home. The glass goes right to the floor.”

With the front elevation facing east and the rear opening west, the home becomes a daily instrument for light – “an unreal sunrise experience and an unreal sunset experience,” Wille notes – framed by expansive glazing and uninterrupted sightlines across open fields.

That continuity, inside to out, morning to evening, is where Marvin became central to the build. Specified from the Marvin Ultimate collection, the windows and doors were selected to support ambitious spans of glass while maintaining the clarity and alignment the architecture demanded. “We’re kind of stretching how much glass surface coverage area we can fit on a wall,” Wille says. “Marvin’s right there with their team to help.”

It is a collaboration rooted in detail and early problem solving – the kind that allows a complex home to feel effortless. “We get to sit down with the team, we have direct lines to their engineers and we can problem-solve stuff as it gets on paper.” Inside the home, a glazed breezeway and full-height assemblies set the tone on arrival, leading into vaulted living spaces where light travels deep into the plan.

The result is a home that feels composed, tactile and deeply connected to its setting. As Wille puts it: “It just feels grounded… I’ve never been in another home that feels so well connected to its land.”