Designer and builder, Robert “Bob” Etchells is the design principal and lead master craftsman of Outbuilding Montana - a design studio & build firm dedicated to the art of creating timeless modern farm homes.

Robert has pursued his passion for drawing, designing and building structures since a young age. He discovered that the development of architecture was an ideal way to combine all three passions.

Throughout his career, he’s been notably inspired by the aesthetics of older homes, barns and agricultural structures. “Vernacular architecture” is used to describe structures built by people whose design decisions are influenced by traditions in their culture and the use of locally sourced materials. Bob is known for this fundamental approach to design and the use of time-tested materials. The use of timbers, sawn lumber, concrete, glass, stone & steel are thoughtfully incorporated into his custom home designs.

Bob believes architecture and building performance are intrinsically connected and that the longevity of a home is the true essence of “green” design and building practices. While his work easily falls into the modernist orbit, his approach to design exudes a dramatic sense of timelessness. The dualities of ‘modern and timeless’ are a persistent theme in Bob’s work—the confluence of the primitive and the refined of the handmade industrial— forged with purpose and beauty.