Perched at the top of a mountain, surrounded by stunning views, pine and aspen trees, and a dusting of snow in the winter, Summit Haven already had a sense of place. What it needed was an interior worthy of its grandeur.
That’s where Johnna Martin comes in.
Martin is a co-founder and principal designer at J Studios, a full-service interior design firm she built around a gap she saw in the market. Big firms handled high volumes of secondary residences, meaning projects were often managed for efficiency instead of personalization. Clients, many of them out-of-towners, often felt it too.
“I saw a massive hole in the industry,” she says. “My forte is connection and focusing on a few projects at a time.” So, she left, brought along Jeff Larsen—one of the top designers she’d worked alongside—and J Studios was born.
By Martin’s own description, the partnership is yin and yang and every project benefits from that balance. Larsen brings exceptional technical precision and Martin brings the entrepreneurial spirit and natural ability to develop close client relationships. Over the course of multi-year projects, Martin strives to make clients feel genuinely cared for and constantly connected with what’s happening with their projects.
What surprises people most is the nearly identical aesthetic instincts shared by both Martin and Larsen. “We go about projects in very different ways but see them through the same eyes,” Martin explains. “We know when we love it. We know when we don’t.
The Three Pillars
A ski-in/ski-out home in Deer Valley demands a different conversation than a farmhouse in Midway. So, every J Studios project begins with three questions: Where is the home? What does the architecture say? And who, exactly, is living here?
Martin calls these her three pillars—location, architecture, client—and they’re non-negotiable for creating personal, timeless design. “We really, really cater to those three things and that makes a very unique home in any area,” she says. The result is a portfolio where no two homes look alike, even when they sit next door to each other.
For Summit Haven, the location spoke first. Secluded acres at the summit of a private development, ringed by pines and aspens. “It felt like a gem up in the mountains,” Martin recalls. “And we tried to create a gem on the inside.”
From Entry to Entertaining
Before you see a single room, Summit Haven makes a statement. The entry is anchored by an oversized black steel pivot door—its sheer scale making each arrival feel like an event. Cross the threshold and your eye is drawn upward to an arched recess in the ceiling covered in a deep blue plaster treatment, accented by a sculptural cluster of glass globes glowing softly overhead. On one wall, stacked ledgestone grounds the space and creates visual unity with the great room beyond.
One step inside and you can sense this is somewhere special.
The great room validates this sense. A steel fireplace climbs the full height of the wall, commanding the room but not competing with the floor-to-ceiling windows. The unobstructed view makes nature feel so close, you get an immediate sense of calm. Welcoming neutral sofas and slate-blue leather swivel chairs are complemented by dark woods and warm textiles. The color palette echoes the landscape, tying indoor and outdoor together with intention that makes the space feel inevitable.
The kitchen sits across from the living space and was touched lightly in the remodel with new light fixtures—four perfectly scaled matte black dome pendants that mirror the materials on the fireplace—and a tucked-away prep kitchen. The new back pantry handles the work, so the main kitchen can host the party at the three islands. The light-color cabinets and stacked tile in the pantry create their own sense of place that coordinates with the deep-toned cabinets and luxurious countertops in the main kitchen, creating unique spaces that flow together effortlessly.
The Gem Reveals Itself
J Studios was originally hired to solve one problem. The client—a dedicated entertainer with a steady stream of guests and a collector’s passion for rare spirits—needed a way to display his collection. The firm designed an entire gallery around it, adding elevated details like hide wallcoverings, and the client saw what was possible.
“When they saw what we did with that gallery,” Martin says, “it turned into the entire home.” Every bathroom was reimagined. Every bedroom elevated. The transformation was total.
The bathrooms excel at telling the story of J Studios’ skill. Each is different but all are unmistakably from the same hand. From the floating marble vanity with a sculptural trio of staggered brass pendants to a more moody space with cool grey linear stone tile, marble floating vanity, and frosted teardrop pendants—every bathroom is its own moment—distinctly not cookie-cutter.
The primary bath is a masterful retreat. The soaking tub sits in front of a steel-framed window with the pine canopy, mountain sky, and nothing else between you and the view. Above it, a vintage-inspired chandelier resembles sparkling jewels. The shower is clad in striking Calacatta Gold marble with crisp white and dramatic grey-and-warm-gold veining. The waterfall-edged vanity in the same stone turns the functional surface into something more like furniture.
“Clad it in marble,” Martin says simply, “to create a sense of luxury with elevated materials when you redesign the space.” And ensure quality installation. Martin credits European Marble and Craftsman Cabinetry for bringing the vision to life with craftsmanship evident in every detail.
What the Walls Were Hiding
Every project has a surprise. At Summit Haven, when the contractor opened the walls, they found a hidden concrete safe room that J Studios turned it into the home’s best-kept secret. It’s now somewhere to sit, pour something special, listen to music, or strum a guitar.
As you walk through the concealed entrance, you encounter a space ensconced with rich walnut. Integrated shelving lined with LED light displays curated collections. A smoky mirrored ceiling reflects warm light back into the space, making it feel intimate and sultry. Sensuous textures abound: suede wallpaper, a cognac velvet sofa, low chairs with glimmering fabric. Even the oversized canvas in deep forest green and gold is textural, glowing under a brass picture light.
“It’s the next level of entertaining,” Martin says.
Livable. Luxurious. Entirely Theirs.
In the primary bedroom, a four-poster bed in warm walnut with slim black crossbars sits next to a full wall of steel-framed windows. The views once again call the eye, with a direct sightline beyond the balcony into the trees. Behind the light oyster-white headboard, the wall is clad in contrasting dark woven grasscloth, creating a dramatic focal point. A cozy rug underfoot and curved cream bouclé chair invites you to lounge beside the stacked stone fireplace. The room feels sophisticated and completely, deeply restful.
Even the closet was reenvisioned during the remodel, leaving everything elevated, luxurious, and livable.
When the keys were handed over, there were tears. There almost always are, Martin shares. “That is the paycheck for me—the reveal. It’s connecting with my clients for a year or two and then watching them see what we were able to make from what they knew they wanted but didn’t know how to make happen.”
Summit Haven was already a gem. J Studios just brought out the cut.
How to Create Livable Luxury
Advice from Johnna Martin J Studios
Less is more. Don’t try to incorporate everything you love into one room. Simplicity reads as elegance at any price point.
One wow moment. Choose one element and let it lead. One tile, one material, one statement piece. Build everything else around it.
Choose timeless finishes. Unlacquered brass, classic brushed nickel. It’s real and therefore lasting. Trendy finishes date. Go for something natural and it will look just as good twenty years from now.
