Inside A Cozy, European-Inspired Colorado Getaway
A portrait of Mick Jagger by Terry O’Neill presides over the entry. Warm white limewash from Color Atelier provides a subtly textured backdrop here and throughout the home. European wood flooring from The Hudson Company spans the main level.
Two things stand out immediately in this Snowmass Village townhome: its striking contemporary art and elegant, elevated interiors. “We couldn’t change the exterior wood siding or stonework, so the transition inside has that much more impact as you take in the art and the light,” says architect Alison Agley, who, alongside interior designer Sarah Rankin, spearheaded the renovation.
The refined retreat is the result of a close client-designer collaboration. When owner Wende Cohen first glimpsed it, the interiors begged for a refresh (picture a plethora of knotty pine and wall-to-wall carpeting). The design-minded tastemaker, who owns Bungalow, a home goods boutique known for its furnishings and art, was uniquely poised to see its potential. Wende imagined the dwelling opened up and stripped back to its essence with a nuanced, neutral palette, but she needed help realizing this vision. “I work with interior designers all the time, but I’m not one myself,” she says. “I needed someone to come in from an engineering standpoint and tell me what we could do.” Hoping to host all six adult children in her blended family at the house during holidays, Wende’s punch list included as many bedrooms with en suite bathrooms as she could fit, an office for her fiancé and an open kitchen with a dining table to seat at least 14.
Home Details
Architecture and Interior Design:
Alison Agley and Sarah Rankin, Ali & Shea Design
Home Builder:
Brent Lough, Ridge Runner Construction
Anchored by an Awanay rug, a Poliform sectional from Studio Como easily seats a group. Mar Silver coffee tables—tree trunk slabs blackened with a shou sugi ban technique—add an organic touch. Grand Woodworks, Inc. built the custom cabinet.
White oak cabinetry with counters and a backsplash of Pierreux limestone creates a clean look in the kitchen and dining area. Piet Boon stools line the island. The table and chairs are finds from the homeowner’s boutique, Bungalow, and the chandelier is Ochre.
Floating treads lined by rolled-steel-and-glass railings define the entryway stair. Gregory Nangle art hangs above a vintage French buffet topped with a Georges Pelletier lamp. On the far wall is work by Eric Freeman, while antique Japanese fertility sculptures rest on the floor.
Wrapped in soft hues, the primary bedroom features a Verellen bed draped in Society Limonta fabrics, with RH nightstands and Apparatus sconces. In the corner, a Maxalto chair creates a reading nook. The art is from Bungalow.
White oak lines a custom display niche and the doorframe of the owner’s bath for a cohesive look. Salvatori limestone from Decorative Materials flows to the ceiling behind a tub fitted with Piet Boon hardware. The stool is vintage.
The bunk room, converted from a former open loft space, contains twin beds floating above a queen—bespoke pieces dreamed up by designer Sarah Rankin and built by Grand Woodworks, Inc. The ladder and rail are blackened steel.
To realize her wishes, the architect reconfigured the residence to squeeze in four bedrooms with adjoining baths, creating a dozen total sleeping places. Perhaps surprisingly, only 200 square feet were added to the main bedroom upstairs, and a 56-square-foot entryway was fitted in downstairs. “It’s amazing to see how much airier and more open the whole space is for how little square footage we added,” Agley comments. The real key, she explains, laid in creating a visual connection to the upper levels from the center of the main floor (“Everything was enclosed previously; we gutted out the core,” she notes) and raising the roof line, allowing for huge windows in the primary bedroom and creating more usable living space on the third level. The kitchen, formerly closed off, and the dining area were pivoted to better engage with the views and flow more effortlessly into the living area. And every window throughout the home was resized to be larger, maximizing sight lines and drawing in natural light.
Stairs proved to be one of the biggest—and most consequential—of the home’s challenges. Reimagining the formerly enclosed main staircase as open, with treads that appear to levitate, was a feat that required complex reinforcement. The payoff is a circulation point that reads as architectural art. Likewise, adding a curved staircase to the third floor, previously accessible by ladder, was one of the home’s trickiest elements to design and implement, Agley says, but it made all the difference to the level’s livability
Rankin’s role was integral in bringing all the home’s finishes, fixtures and furnishings together in a sophisticated way. “Wende shops in Europe, filling containers with pieces for her boutique, and her taste is impeccable: very refined and distinct,” comments Rankin of her client, whose practiced eye seamlessly aligned with her own. The designer also planned around the owner’s art collection, which Rankin describes as a “driving force in the neutral palette.”
Floating treads lined by rolled-steel-and-glass railings define the entryway stair. Gregory Nangle art hangs above a vintage French buffet topped with a Georges Pelletier lamp. On the far wall is work by Eric Freeman, while antique Japanese fertility sculptures rest on the floor.
While Wende loves dynamic art and antiques with patina, she wanted her home’s interior envelope to be simple and cohesive. “We laugh now because, as we were building, we learned that ‘less’ seemed to always cost more,” she quips. Rankin concurs, noting, “It takes a high level of craftsmanship to scale back elegantly. Luckily, we had the team, led by general contractor Brent Lough, to make it happen.”
Aligned with this idea is the home’s material palette of living finishes, organic fibers and natural stone. “I like things that eventually show some wear and patina,” shares the homeowner. Confirms Rankin, “We did not use any performance fabrics or synthetic countertops. Every single item in here is made from a natural material.” This commitment to organic elements is a subtle yet significant choice that uplifts the entire experience.
The result is a home with architecture that feels warm yet leans minimalist, complemented by soothing, atmospheric interiors. It has an essence that’s hard to capture, the designer muses, a sense of soul and spirit that perhaps comes from a true meeting of the client and design pros’ minds. “When you’re in the space, it just feels gorgeous, as if you’re in a high-end European resort,” says Rankin. “You want to live there,” affirms Agley. “It’s so wonderful.”
Wrapped in soft hues, the primary bedroom features a Verellen bed draped in Society Limonta fabrics, with RH nightstands and Apparatus sconces. In the corner, a Maxalto chair creates a reading nook. The art is from Bungalow.