Taking Chances On A Colorado Cabin With A Plethora Of Pink

Details

entryway with bird-printed draperies and...

In the entry, a Lucite stair rail plotted by residential designer Richard Mullen and New Ravenna floor tile from Decorative Materials with a pattern mapped by designer Barbara Glass sets the tone for the dramatic, colorful home to come. Draperies are crafted with Kit Miles fabric and the art is by Zhuang Hong Yi.

stairwell with pink handrail, green...

A runner from Carol Piper Rugs provides a vibrant accent, along with a green console by Argento Marble & Granite. A brightly hued Robert Kuo frog stool sits underneath the console while a light fixture by Allan Knight hangs overhead.

Porch with colorful outdoor sectional,...

On the porch, Clarence House fabric covers the cushions of a Janus et Cie sofa adorned by pillows in a Holly Hunt textile with Christopher Farr trim. The coffee table is Fred&Juul and the accent table is Dirk van der Kooij.

dining room with glass-topped table,...

Surrounded by A. Rudin chairs in a Nobilis fabric, the dining room’s Allan Knight table features a glass top. The hand-embroidered draperies were crafted from Chelsea Textiles linen and the custom floor covering is by The Rug Company.

kitchen with light green tile...

Hand-painted Tabarka Studio tile from Decorative Materials stars in the kitchen, accented by an orange Dacor range. Cabinets by Watson Mills & Design pair Argento marble countertops with Philip Watts Design hardware.

Room with floral wallpaper, teal...

The family room is adorned with the flowers and butterflies of wallcoverings by Jakob Schlaepfer and Schumacher, respectively. A sectional and ottoman, both by A. Rudin, join antique chairs covered in a Casamance textile. The rug is from Aspen Carpet and Floors.

bedroom with red and white...

A bird-and-butterfly Jim Thompson Fabrics wallpaper brings life to the guest bedroom. The bed is by MTC Studio Designs and dressed in Walker Valentine linens while the drapes are Sandra Jordan Prima Alpaca fabrics. The chandelier is a Brown & Co. Antiques find.

bathroom vanity with pink countertops,...

Blush tones abound in the guest bath, where a vanity made by Watson Mills & Design is topped with a Pink Onyx countertop and Linkasink basin. The crystal-studded mirror is by Marjorie Skouras Design and the sconces are Visual Comfort & Co.

powder room with floral wallcovering...

A floral wallcovering by de Gournay lends a lush backdrop to the powder room. The sink, vanity and beaded sconces were sourced from Allan Knight and the mirror is Marjorie Skouras Design. New Ravenna tile adorns the floor.

Room with pink bunk beds,...

The bunk room beds think pink with Benjamin Moore’s Deco Rose, a Pierre Frey wallpaper, Rosemary Hallgarten cloth on the chair and Holland & Sherry fabric covering the ceiling. The window treatments are an Anna Spiro Design textile.

No one has ever called Kelly Dillard a cabin person. Her love of exuberant colors and fearless penchant for unconventional style would seem at odds with the simple rusticity of the iconic wilderness dwelling. However, the Texas resident and her husband, Jeff, have both long loved the majesty of the Colorado Rockies and soon found themselves the owners of a property in Roaring Fork Club—an exclusive community in Basalt that requires all homes to adhere to a traditional mountain aesthetic on the exterior. But the interior? That’s a story the Dillards were free to write independently.

There’s a baker’s dozen new cabins in Roaring Fork Club, all by Poss Architecture + Planning and Interior Design. They were originally built by general contractor Bill Harriman with Kimberly McCleary operating as project manager, while Mike Albert, assisted by Paul Squadrito, masterminded the landscape. From the outside, with its log walls, wood paneling and stone chimney, the Dillards’ residence still looks very much as it was conceived. But within its walls, the couple hired interior designer Barbara Glass and residential designer Richard Mullen to create spaces tailored to their family. “I wanted something in my style—and it wasn’t going to look like a cabin,” Kelly says with a laugh.

“During the first meeting with my clients, I get to know them and show different things to determine their likes and dislikes,” Glass explains, noting Kelly’s appreciation of colors, patterns and playful design. “It became obvious to me very quickly that we were going to have a lot of fun with this project.” 

The preferred elements that bubbled up in these early discussions were a love of all things pink, a penchant for motifs—a whopping 24 different wallpapers were installed—and a crystal-clear admiration for acrylic. “I wanted an acrylic stair rail, something I had never seen,” Kelly shares. “Richard had never designed one either. At first, he probably thought it would be the death of him, but as he started scribbling ideas, I could see it was clicking in his mind.”

The result is a grand entry staircase that sets the tone for all that follows—Glass calls it the “key” to the home. It features distinctive, geometric acrylic balusters that are 1 ½ inches thick and topped with a handrail upholstered in a bright-pink fabric. “It took about a year and a lot of engineering to design and manufacture this feature,” Mullen says. “But that’s the excitement of having a client who’s willing to go outside the realm of the ordinary. It makes designers put themselves out there as well.”

Glass felt encouraged to venture beyond the expected too—and she loved it. “Working on this project became like playing,” the interior designer notes. She found herself stretching to meet Kelly’s embrace of elements that surprise and delight, starting with a tile floor composed of large squares of colorful natural stone ranging from cobalt to sky blue to the palest pink. The latter hue is a through line in this home—the designer jokingly refers to the color scheme as “50 shades of pink”—appearing in its most vibrant concentration on the living room sofa, as well as in a cheerful rosy paint that covers the tricked-out bunk beds and in the pastel petals of the powder room’s flowered wallpaper.

Pattern and texture are other areas where the client was willing to floor it as the designer took the wheel. “I would show samples and she’d like this pattern and this pattern and this pattern,” Glass remembers. “After a time, I started to see how, when layered, they could all work together. Again, we took a risk and it worked. The motifs came together to make the spaces feel cohesive.” For a touch of mountain feel, the designer took pains to link the interiors to the home’s environs through her use of textiles that bring warmth and coziness to the rooms. 

Selecting bold colors and uncommon elements takes a certain amount of confidence, which Kelly says she learned at a young age. “My father was into design and he was always using shades no one else would choose and taking chances,” she shares. “Style is a very personal thing, and this is mine—I like things bright and cheery.” Let the fun begin. 


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