Earth Tones Envelop A Contemporary Steamboat Springs Abode

The allure of Steamboat Springs built up over a 30-year period for one couple who, after many years of vacation rentals, finally decided to build their own holiday home there. Based in Florida but already in love with the Yampa Valley’s splendor in both summer and winter, they wanted an all-season spot to gather with their friends and adult sons’ families. And, as the pair had already both built and extensively remodeled nine homes together—and actively enjoy the design process—they were fearless about jumping into a 10^th.

The sloped lot they chose, a private enclave beside an aspen grove that overlooks a nature preserve, was an opportunity for some clever out-of-the-box thinking on how to make the most of the stunning surroundings. “We turned this house sideways into the hill,” explains architect Sarah Tiedeken O’Brien. “The site pushes up against a ridge, so it was a cool opportunity to tuck the home into the grade and then utilize different levels.” The owners desired an open-concept layout and liked the idea of keeping the public spaces all on one floor. To do so, Tiedeken O’Brien essentially integrated a single-story dwelling into the slope, placing the owners’ suite and an office on the same main level, then stacking guest quarters and additional entertaining spaces below. “The clients also embraced a courtyard experience, so siting the house this way let us create a dramatic entrance at the same main level,” the architect continues, noting how the glass of the entry door and a tall front window offer a peek of the panoramic views beyond. “Another big request from the owners was to see the sunset from the main living room, so we have oversize doors and windows there to capture the views,” comments general contractor Jeremy MacGray. A broad floor-to-ceiling stone-lined fireplace also stands between the living and dining rooms—a striking design element itself—and a wraparound deck and patio seamlessly connect to the main spaces via sliders.

“It was interesting to experiment with this floor plan and find ways to make the dining and living rooms work in tandem with the outdoor spaces,” Tiedeken O’Brien says. “And the kitchen was the most important thing to get right.” Devised with Exquisite Kitchen Design, the resulting clean-lined layout offers “stations”: a bar and a coffee nook, a wall of appliances and a large island workspace, all positioned to allow for an easy flow outdoors. Seeing it come together was a highlight of the design process for the wife. “Our family likes to cook, and this is my favorite room—it’s beautiful and functional, even when several of us are in there at once,” she shares, adding that their built-in pizza oven gets especially frequent use. “We like to say that we really nailed it with our Steamboat kitchen.”

From there, the rest of the house fell neatly into place, with an earthy palette that cedes focus to the views. The architect and the owners collaborated on the furnishing plan, lighting and interior scheme, incorporating some of the couple’s beloved pieces (like the living room’s dove-gray Eames loungers) alongside other key finds such as the dining area’s butterscotch-hued chairs. “This color palette is a little different for Steamboat,” observes Tiedeken O’Brien of what she dubs the “warm greige softness” that plays out within the various spaces. “ ‘Greige’ is king, but the house has a lot of honey tones; it feels warm and inviting.” As the owners’ residence in Florida is very modern, Tiedeken O’Brien took care to blend in similar moments, too. An acrylic coffee table, gold hardware that glimmers in the kitchen and powder bath, and an ivory-colored upholstered bed in the couple’s suite “are all little nods to Florida glam,” she notes. But what’s distinctive, Tiedeken O’Brien goes on to say, is that “this house is modern, but not typically ‘mountain modern’—the crisp interiors and clean styling feel really fresh.”

With the home designed to wholly embrace its hillside locale, landscape architect Mitch Rewold stepped in to make that fit seamless. “The steepness of the lot was a challenge, so we designed multiple levels of boulder retaining walls to create beds and usable lawn spaces around the home,” he explains. He also designed a more formal landscape in close proximity to the house, choosing plants “with lots of color and variety,” then peppering in more native species toward the perimeter. A stone stairway joins the upper and lower terraces, where Tiedeken O’Brien arranged inviting groups of outdoor furnishings picked by the homeowners. The result has only deepened the owners’ love affair with Steamboat Springs. “I still catch my breath when we arrive here,” says the wife. “We are always aware of how lucky we are.”