The Butler residence is a 5,800-square-foot house used as a family retreat and future retirement home. Like its predecessor, the Atwater House, its forms derive from local vernacular ranch and mine buildings. Exterior materials are selected to blend with the forest setting and to endure harsh climate and fire. Walls and roof are dark purple slate, the base is dark red stone, and trims and accessions are blackened copper. The wooden interior, by contrast, is lofty, sunlit, and white.