Ready For Change, A Colorado Couple Seeks Comfort

Details

traditional brick exterior black roof

Furnishings from the homeowners' collection inhabit the outdoor living spaces, where landscape architect Phil Steinhauer employed on the patio the same Pennsylvania bluestone used for walkways on the front side of the house. Tall oaks beside the fire pit provide privacy, and potted annual plantings add seasonal color.

traditional neutral foyer stairs green...

In Washington Park, a couple's house comes to life with a comfortable and sophisticated look.

traditional white kitchen wood floors...

Together, the designers, homeowners and builder Jeremy Larson teamed with Aspen Leaf Kitchens Limited to conceive the kitchen's custom cabinetry. Bar chairs and stools from the homeowners' collection were reupholstered with a C&C Milano houndstooth linen from John Brooks Incorporated and gather around the island. Ann Sacks tile composes the backsplash, and the island's Rohl faucet is from Ultra Design Center.

traditional white kitchen island

The kitchen's perimeter cabinets and island are crowned with quartzite from The Stone Collection; the Wolf stove is vented with a custom hood designed and painted by Liquid Metal Coatings. An opening looks toward the husband's office, which features draperies fashioned from a Holland & Sherry fabric and a Formations pendant.

traditional neutral dining room glass...

Newsome and Eitemiller created a collected look in the dining room, where an antique table is surrounded by side chairs upholstered with a Calvin Fabrics tweed and host chairs by JJ Custom. The Paul Ferrante pendant and Holland & Sherry rug are from John Brooks Incorporated, while the Stephen Gerould table lamp on the owners' existing buffet is from Town.

traditional white bathroom glass shower

Bianco Venatino tile on the shower wall and floor defines the master bathroom. The glassed-in shower features Rohl showerheads, and a Rohl faucet spills into the BainUltra tub; all are from Ultra Design Center.

traditional master bedroom gray accents

In the master bedroom, custom nightstands crafted by Woden Woods flank a bed designed by C+A Interiors and upholstered with a Romo fabric from Town. An existing chair was reupholstered with a Rose Tarlow Melrose House fabric, and the draperies are fashioned from cloth by Dominique Kieffer by Rubelli and a Sahco sheer, both from John Brooks Incorporated. The carpet is from Aztec Custom Rug & Carpet.

traditional living room neutral green...

In the living room of a Washington Park home, designers Conni Newsome and Ashley Larson Eitemiller layered a fresh mix of patterns with muted hues. A pair of JJ Custom chairs upholstered with a custom Rose Tarlow Melrose House fabric provide a graphic element, as do draperies made with a fabric by Raoul Textiles. These items, along with the coffee table by Paul Ferrante, are from John Brooks Incorporated.

traditional neutral living room TV...

Bedford sofas by JJ Custom covered with a durable indoor-outdoor Clarence House fabric anchor the living room, which the designers grounded with a wool rug from Aztec Custom Rug & Carpet. The floor lamps are by RH, and the antique console table is from the homeowners' collection.

After raising their three children in a large home in the Denver suburbs, a pair of empty nesters were ready for a change. For the couple’s fresh start, a corner lot in the Washington Park neighborhood offered the perfect opportunity. “One day I was standing in my last home, and I felt totally overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we’d accumulated,” the wife recalls about the former site of sleepovers, prom parties and countless team dinners. “This time, we wanted something casual and comfortable, because that’s who we are, but also beautiful and sophisticated.” So they turned to designers Conni Newsome and Ashley Larson Eitemiller to help them bring those qualities to life in their new home.

“One of the first things we do with a new client is share design books and magazines to get a feel for which styles they gravitate toward and what colors they like and don’t like,” Eitemiller says. “Next, we explore how they want to live in a house–are they casual or more formal? Then we craft rooms that respond accordingly.” Their initial meetings with this couple revealed a desire to lean traditional but, in the wife’s words, “with flair and sass.”

That conventional slant is reflected in the architecture as well. Thoughtfully designed by architect Richard Whetsel, the structure, encircled by a wraparound porch, nods to the couple’s East Coast roots as well as their new neighborhood. “It was very important to the owners that the house fit in with the surrounding architecture,” says builder Jeremy Larson, who worked on the project with his father and partner in the firm, Rick Larson. “The husband wanted a totally brick home–no stucco, no siding.” To get the look they were after, Larson created on-site mock-ups of several options before settling on a tumbled-brick mixture with the right combination of colors. Hand-cut Pennsylvania bluestone caps and door thresholds completed the look.

For continuity, landscape architect Phil Steinhauer selected the same brick along with wrought-iron pickets for the front fencing and Pennsylvania bluestone pavers for the walkways and patio. “In keeping with the traditional design, we used boxwood hedges to skirt the house and plants like hydrangeas for that East Coast look,” says Steinhauer, who also introduced outdoor living areas. “It was a typical tight city lot, so I pushed everything as close to the setbacks as possible to maximize space and make room for a covered living space, a fire pit and an open dining area.”

Having met the neighborhood integration criteria on the exterior, the traditional theme shifts to a more relaxed transitional look inside, starting with the entryway, a bright space with a curved staircase and a Paul Ferrante chandelier. “The paneling is formal, but instead of using an expected dark wood, we painted everything white,” Newsome says. “And the light fixture is classic, but it’s not a crystal chandelier.” From there, the plan leads to an intimate library before reaching the main public spaces. These areas–including the living and dining rooms as well as the kitchen–are more open to one another, and the designers brought a contemporary flavor to the spaces through a curated palette and discerning fabric choices. “The wife wanted things light and fresh,” Eitemiller says. “So each space has a level of formality but is comfortable for everyday use.”