A 1920s Mansion Evolves Into A Modern Home
In the living room, Armijo arranged a Vanguard Furniture sofa from Highlands Design Resource and two Burton James wingback chairs from C.A.I. Designs around a new limestone fireplace surround from Materials Marketing. A floor lamp by Arteriors and a chandelier by Visual Comfort & Co. lend metallic accents to the room. The coffee table is by Kravet; the carpet is from Floor Coverings By CPA.
Strictly speaking, young people seeking real estate favor low-maintenance houses with open floor plans and big kitchens over rambling estates with acreage and outbuildings. But one couple with three small children was determined to preserve a 1920s mansion replete with pergolas, pools and fountains and transform it into their family home.
To make it happen, designer Beth Armijo and builder Dan Fuller fearlessly faced down crumbling walls, disintegrating moldings and windows in total disrepair. Fuller hired skilled artisans to reskim walls and restore windows, while Armijo spearheaded peeling back decades of wallpaper and paint from walls and paneling.
With the Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, home stripped to the core, the designer introduced furnishings meant to honor the property’s history while standing up to young family life. In the living room, clean-lined wingback chairs upholstered in a durable wool cotton blend fabric strike the perfect formal/informal balance. Similarly, the wood coffee table makes a traditional statement, but the metal base can be kicked with impunity and, “You can do puzzles on it,” notes Armijo who also used metallics in a variety of ways.
“There were so many salvaged silver and bronze door knobs and hinges that we decided to make metals a secondary design theme.”
The result? A house that shimmers with new life.