Sunset's Rocky Mountain idea house

Sunset, Sept, 2000 by Ann Bertelsen

Adventurous yet tempered by tradition, this house embodies the best of Western living

Past, present, and future converge at our Rocky Mountain Idea House, located on a pine-studded knoll in Parker, Colorado, less than an hour's drive south of downtown Denver. The design, which adapts late-l9th century Shingle Style architecture for today's casual, indoor-outdoor, Internet-oriented way of life, provides inspiration for anyone thinking of remodeling or redecorating.

The house is part of a planned community called the Timbers at the Pinery. Built by Tom Hall of Renaissance Homes, it has an open floor plan spanning three levels and features a wraparound deck with spa, outdoor living room, and cooking-and-dining porch. The Idea House team included Denver architect Arlo Braun, Denver interior designer Steve Neuman, and Englewood, Colorado, landscape designer/contractor Mike Owens.

Built with a family of four in mind--working parents and two college-age children, all of whom like to entertain and work at home--the house combines places to gather with "getaway" spots that offer privacy and solitude. "Though it's very casual and open, the floor plan still exudes the intimacy and elegance that people like and want, and it reflects how people live today," Hall comments.

In designing the interior, Neuman mixed traditional and contemporary styles with Asian touches, hunting down furnishings and accessories on the Web.

Themes of change and continuity resonate throughout the home. The shingles are strictly 21st-century: They're made of a low-maintenance cement product that's environmentally friendly and weather- and fire-resistant. The signature stone entrance tower, which was inspired by area landmarks such as the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun in Colorado Springs and the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver, is a quiet space with a cavelike quality Its earthiness complements the natural effect of the ponds and cascading waterfalls in the front garden.

From the shadowy tower, you step into an entrance gallery exploding with color and light-a dramatic contrast to the exterior, The eye is drawn immediately to two novel kilim-style "rugs" made from pieces of art glass inlaid in the maple floors. These handcrafted pieces-in primary colors-set the stage for the vibrant palette of blues, yellows, greens, and reds used throughout the house. "Using richly saturated colors has a dramatic impact," Neuman says. "Color enhances the artwork and anchors carpets and furnishings as different hues play off each other in every room."

The main floor features a vaulted great room/kitchen wing to the right and a master suite to the left. In the great room, which was furnished using only on-line sources, cozy sofas face a dramatic tile-faced fireplace while comfortable wing chairs look out to the sun deck and Pike's Peak. As the hub of the house, the great room opens to the entrance gallery, the deck, and the breakfast nook.

Though a buffet island separates the two spaces, the galley-style kitchen is connected visually to the great room. So Neuman, working with kitchen designer Mary Jo Peterson as consultant, specified elegant and inviting kitchen cabinetry with glass-front doors, colored woods, and decorative moldings that convey the look of furniture. Many universal design principles are built into the layout (see "Planning for Universal Design," pages 126-127). The kitchen is equipped with state-of-the-art appliances such as a professional-style cooktop, an oven that uses light energy to cook and brown faster than a conventional oven, and an innovative "Cook in Sink," where you can boil then drain pasta and vegetables.

Nearby is the family foyer, a sort of super-mudroom that you can enter from either garage. Here, one efficient space combines a family entryway, recycling center, laundry room, mail station, garden potting area, and a convenient place to dry boots and shoes.

Casual areas like the great room and the breakfast area are balanced by more formal areas like the dining room, which is a quiet island of calm near the front door, and the warm and clubby study/library on the other side of the entry gallery. In the dining room, sage green walls, a richly veined green fireplace front with gold and paprika hues, and a white-framed mantelpiece mirror set the elegant, restful tone, which is reinforced by an Asian-inspired table setting. Nutmeg-colored paneling, bookcase niches, and a secret door to the master bath give the study/library a cozy storybook charm.

The master suite is a world unto itself with his-and-her closets, twin vanities, two-person steam shower with multiple jets, and a deep soaking tub. The bedroom centers on a king-size bed with Japanese-inspired linens in wheat-colored silk with paprika accents; bamboo shades, installed to be pulled up from the bottom of the windows, provide privacy while allowing views of the distant mountains from the upper windowpanes. Subdued goldish beige walls complement the pesto- and sage-toned tiles of the hearth and the bathroom.