Anne Lukan knew when she first toured this house with her Colorado-based clients that it was the one. Its intimate and cozy interiors—ideal for winter escapes and small family gatherings—were the perfect fit for the couple. “I turned to them and said, ‘This just feels like you,’ ” the designer recalls. Plus, though nicely secluded, the abode backs to a fairway—a bonus for the golf lovers. 

The house was originally designed in the 1990s by architect Lee Hutchison in his signature organic Pueblo aesthetic, with thick walls and fluid curves that complement the terrain. “You can’t get this style home outside of the Southwest without it feeling out of place,” the designer notes. Though it had some dated features, that didn’t deter Lukan. She devised a plan for bright, refreshed interiors in a desert-informed palette—enhanced by thin, dark metal accents—and, working with architect Joseph Sperti and general contractor Stephanie Fox, renovations that enhanced the existing structure. “There were elements that felt really beautiful, and we wanted to expand on them,” she says.

The gut renovation included expanding the primary bedroom, converting a balcony to a bunk room, reworking a bedroom near the pool into a bright, casita-like lounge and replacing all windows to a style with minimal ebony trim. Warm, natural wood flooring—“We wanted it to feel like the earth outside,” Lukan says —replaced the Saltillo tile throughout, and to keep it interesting and delineate spaces, they explored different ways to orient the planks.

Like Lukan, Sperti admired Hutchison’s architecture and marveled at the unusual layout with round rooms and varying floor and ceiling heights that create flowing movement. “I absolutely see Lee Hutchison as a visionary,” he says. “To think of a vernacular that draws from Native American architecture and bring it into a contemporary residential desert form is no small achievement, and what really excited us about the project was that we wanted to work with those forms.” 

Turning to the interiors, Lukan cites some of those architectural elements—soft arched doorways and stepped plateaus in the dining area—as factors that contributed to a feeling of intimacy. “Rather than large-scale entertaining,” the designer explains, “everything was centered around the concept of pairs or groups of four for intimate family experiences.” As a result, coupling became a guiding principle, with facing sofas and a pair of nutmeg armchairs in the living area; two beds in a guest suite that includes two sinks in the bath; a pair of sculptural upholstered chairs in the primary bedroom; and even side-by-side chaises on the terrace, which offers exceptional views of the green. 

For the palette, Lukan drew from the landscape. “We wanted it to feel soft and warm,” she says. “Visiting the home throughout the year, you really see how the colors change at different times.” The surrounding rocks moved her toward rich, rusty shades of red upholstery and bronze metals; cacti and aloe inspired the pale green tile in the primary bathroom; and the moody blues Lukan noticed “washing over the mountainscape” at dusk influenced the dusty slate blues of the study’s sectional and the muted purple accent pillows on the sofas. Texture lends earthiness, too, from the skimmed plaster finish of the living room walls, to a woven terra-cotta-colored banana leaf wallpaper in a bedroom, to the leathered stone on the kitchen island. 

In the reconfigured kitchen, merging two skylights into one brightened the space, as did new, lighter cabinets built high into arched niches. Mediterranean-influenced backsplash tiles add pattern in understated neutral tones, while artisanal lighting in weighty glass with metal accents brings a special handmade quality. 

The owners now delight in the quieter moments throughout the house, like the serene breakfast area where they have their morning coffee routine and the terrace off the study where they watch the golfers. Ultimately, they reconsidered its vacation intentions. “They loved it so much that they decided to make it their primary home,” Lukan says. “They’re so happy with it.”