Colorado mountain homes have, for the most part, followed a design trajectory: rustic cabins, then basic condos, and now mountain modern houses.
“We think of mountain modern as dark wood, earthy tones and texture, stone, and live-edge tables. Basically, anything you could use outside moved to the inside,” says Emma Fraga, lead interior designer with Collective Design, under the umbrella of The Pinnacle Companies, a Frisco-based homebuilding, interior design, and vacation rental management firm.
Summit Sky Ranch in Silverthorne is a haven of mountain modern design. But when a young family of five bought one of the new homes in the development, they wanted a different look. So, they hired Collective Design to create a refined Scandinavian-style interior reminiscent of mountain chalets in Europe.
“You don’t see this style traditionally in the Colorado mountains,” says Adrienne Rynes, Collective Design’s president of interior design. “When 70 percent of the year, the view out your window is white, people don’t lean into white interiors. But there’s a lot of white space in this house.”
Collective Design embraced the opportunity to do what Rynes calls “something a little different in the mountain modern market.” The result is a house that she says has had “a ton of feedback. A lot of people are loving the Scandinavian style.”
This house had “every right to just be another ski retreat,” says Collective Design senior marketing manager Alex Fitch. But the clean, uncomplicated style gives it “the more homey feel of people who live here full-time,” Rynes says.
AN OVERARCHING FIRST FLOOR
The 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath house was already constructed when Collective Design took over the interior design. Along with a timeless Scandinavian feel, the homeowners wanted a playful aesthetic that could evolve as their three young children grow up.
The design team chose all the finishes, including flooring and fixtures. They kept the color palette simple and classic: white, light wood, and black metal with subtle pops of jewel tones like an azure blue leather cushion on the bench next to the fireplace and emerald green beds in the bunkroom.
They didn’t remove any interior walls but added arched doorways, ceilings, and even bunk beds to create a more traditional European look.
On the main floor, there’s a sweeping arch from the great room to the dining room. Doorways to the office and powder bath are also arched. The curved tongue-and-groove ceiling in the dining room serves as a focal point, while custom-stained wooden beams span the length of the great room and kitchen, highlighting the peak of the ceiling.
The rounded furniture and lighting complement the arches. In the kids’ dining area adjacent to the living area, the oval table is designed for informal meals and also as a place to build a puzzle or do homework. The black sconces mimic the archways in the great room and add contrast to the white furnishings. High-performance fabric on the chairs and a protective coating on the table make the area stylish but still kid-friendly.
In the kitchen, the curved wooden bar stools echo the archway into a hidden pantry. The white stone backsplash and waterfall island are “an exercise in subtlety. They add to the sophisticated feel and are different than the traditional mountain home granite,” Fitch says.
In the great room, the rock fireplace matches the home’s exterior stone and adds a mountain modern touch. But it’s offset with curvy white couches that were custom-made by Tom’s Upholstery in Morrison, leather swivel chairs that match the beam color, and a bleached milpa wood and antique brass coffee table.
The three-stripe brown and white blanket on one of the couches complements the color scheme and also has an interesting provenance.
“It’s from Hangai Mountain Textiles in Basalt. The company was started by former diplomats in Mongolia who now design blankets and import them,” Fitch says. This blanket, made from Mongolian cashmere, yak down, and baby camel fibers, is outdoor-rated but stylish enough for indoors.
UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS
The primary suite on the second floor also has a Hangai blanket, which the owners like to cuddle up with on the oversized chair as they look out over the mountains.
“The house backs up to the Gore Range, and this room has the best views other than the great room. You can see the Williams Fork Mountains and Ute Peak from the windows and the deck,” Fitch says.
The bedroom’s tongue-and-groove ceiling echoes the ceiling in the dining room, and the stone fireplace is carried up from the great room.
In the primary bath, the white and light wood aesthetic is offset with dramatic black plumbing, light fixtures, and mirrors. The patterned tile floor is “a little bit of a change and a little bit of fun,” Fraga says.
The kids’ bunk room is even more playful, with bright colors and a secret staircase through the bunks, rather than a traditional ladder. And the arcade room next to the garage is designed for both children and adults.
The centerpiece of the room, the Penfield arcade game, was custom-built for the family and is complemented by a shuffleboard table and a built-in custom wet bar. With its green velvet sofa and ski artwork, the room is more traditionally Colorado than the great room and primary suite.
“There’s a cool duality between the Scandinavian upstairs and the mountain modern downstairs,” Fitch says.
The design team suggests this duality may be the beginning of a new phase in Colorado mountain homes.
“As we see these newer mountain markets sort of dry up, people are buying existing homes and changing the interiors. They want to take a big jump from what’s typical in the old ski towns,” Fitch says. “We’re seeing a new style that’s different than the traditional ski home.”
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