"I wanted to live in a snow globe, with as much glass as I could have,” homeowner Antonia Meade says of the Aspen residence on Red Mountain that she shares with her husband, Ronnie, and their teenage daughter. That’s what architect Charles Cunniffe delivered. The mountainside structure he devised has one side almost entirely sheathed in glass (see the great room’s row of 12-foot-high, 7-foot-wide glass panels, among other examples), keeping a panoramic display of every celebrated mountain visible on an endless reel: Pyramid Peak, Snowmass, Independence Pass, Mount Sopris, Ajax Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, the Maroon Bells. And yes, when snowflakes are falling, the surrounding scenery becomes even more magical. “It’s like a ship in the sky,” Cunniffe describes of the dwelling, which frames the outdoor spectacle through a minimal material palette. “There’s nothing to interrupt the views. This home simply floats.”
The property’s irregular shape and very steep terrain, however, turned that concept into a technical challenge. But Cunniffe—who has lived just next door for 40 years and once owned the Meades’ land himself—understood the topography intimately. His strategy, developed closely alongside project architect Grant Bankston, was to build into the mountain rather than on top of it. “This residence is carved into the mountainside; it reads as if you’d cut a slot and notched a house inside,” Cunniffe explains. The result, with construction led by general contractor Ants Cullwick and project manager Charley Speer, is both dramatic and restrained.
Home Details
Architecture:
Charles Cunniffe, Charles Cunniffe Architects
Home Builder:
Ants Cullwick, Koru Ltd
Landscape Architecture:
Marc Diemer, DHM Design
Anchored by a fireplace surround of hot-rolled steel with a leathered-granite hearth, the great room’s living area features an RH chair in one corner, with Rispal’s 1950s Praying Mantis floor lamp. The coffee table is Christophe Delcourt for Baxter.
Bespoke oak cabinetry installed by BenchCraft Custom Millwork, Inc. meets backsplash walls and an island of Arabescato Orobico marble in the kitchen. The sinks and faucets are Kallista, the range and oven are Wolf and the stools are Denver Modern.
Extending off the open kitchen, a round table and chairs by Baxter allow for casual dining near an outdoor deck. An Ethnicraft sofa faces a wall of sliding glass MHB panels.
A Ridgely Studio Works chandelier is suspended above an ash Roberto Lazzeroni for Baxter dining table and Baxter chairs in the dining room. Just beyond, the custom steel-frame doors and windows are MHB sourced from Sightline Solutions.
In the primary bedroom, a hemlock-lined ceiling with integrated lighting creates a soft setting. Floor-to-ceiling windows wrap a corner of the space, allowing the homeowners to take in panoramic views across Aspen.
Bath’s Elise tub is poised against a floor-to-ceiling window in the primary bath. Super White marble lines the floor, shower, countertops and vanity wall. The chandelier and sconces are by Ridgely Studio Works.
At one end of the primary bedroom lies an Ortal fireplace with an Aqua Blue leathered-marble surround, which sets off a custom Ridgely Studio Works pendant. The sheepskin lounge chair and the armchair near the window are Audo Copenhagen.
From outside, the expanse of the glass-lined great room is visible, with the dining area’s fireplace surround of Titanium granite at its center. A floating staircase of oak and glass is topped by a Ridgely Studio Works chandelier that cascades down multiple levels.
Maiden Stone Aegean limestone tile spans the main floor deck. An Arhaus ping pong table—used as an outdoor dining table—overlooks a broad expanse of the Elk Mountain range.
Bankston focused on dissolving the distinction between architecture and landscape, noting that the green roof—executed in collaboration with landscape architect Marc Diemer—further allows the home to appear to grow from the mountainside. “Our clients loved the idea of their house as a form integrated into Red Mountain,” comments Bankston of the effect. A palette of concrete veneer panels, gray Acoya wood, white hemlock soffits and Aegean limestone terraces blur the boundary between structure and slope. The materials carry seamlessly from exterior to interior, giving the home’s architectural envelope an uninterrupted flow. And outside, frameless glass guardrails only enhance its seamless connection to the surroundings.
Antonia helmed the interior design herself, in consultation with the architectural team, channeling the Danish concept of hygge—a celebration of coziness, contentment and well-being. “Hygge perfectly captures my intention,” she says. “Simple, relaxed, grounded, earthy and honest to who I am.” White oak, honed and leathered stone, cozy sheepskin, worn leather and textured wool rugs infuse the home with quiet harmony that mirrors the landscape. “Everything is minimalistic but soft,” comments Cunniffe. “The fireplace stone, the cabinetry and countertops, the floors, all of them aren’t fussy but elegant, and texturally and tonally beautiful.”
At the home’s center, a sculptural floating staircase rises through four stories, its cantilevered wood treads anchored into warm-gray concrete walls. A cascading light fixture descends through the stairwell, evoking shooting stars trailing through the levels. “The house incorporates a theme of the universe,” Antonia explains of the effect. “For instance, the marble in the kitchen is called Milky Way and the dining room light fixture resembles planets pierced by beams of light.” Artwork continues the celestial motif, with pieces that reference the zodiac, the wind and the earth.
Immersed in the landscape, the inverted open floor plan encourages contemplative pauses and nurtures the home’s inclusive, gentle flow. “The name we gave this home is Sunshine Mountain, and it’s about appreciating nature, staying balanced, feeling anchored and aligning with the sun, mountains, stars and moon,” the homeowner reflects. “I never want to lose the feeling of gratitude I’ve found here.”
A Ridgely Studio Works chandelier is suspended above an ash Roberto Lazzeroni for Baxter dining table and Baxter chairs in the dining room. Just beyond, the custom steel-frame doors and windows are MHB sourced from Sightline Solutions.