Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2023 i 5280 Home

Behind The Issue To renovate or not to renovate? That is the question my fiancé and I are currently contemplating. We love our little 1924 bungalow in North Denver, but its limited square footage and disjointed layout aren’t ideal—especially because we have hopes of adding a tiny human or two to our family in the coming years. We’ve talked circles around three options: Stay put and make do with what we have, undergo an extensive (and costly) home renovation, or pack up and move on. These conversations typically end with a befuddled “Let’s table this for now” and a glass of wine. If you’re in a similar state of limbo, you’ve picked up the right magazine. This Renovation Issue aims to paint a realistic picture of a home remodel in…

Here & NowWHAT’S HOT IN DENVER DESIGN SHOP TALK Like many small-business owners in Colorado, Holly Kuhn shuttered her shop after the pandemic hit in 2020. She’d helmed Old Glory Style, the celebrated South Broadway home furnishings store (with an outpost in antiques mecca Round Top, Texas), for 13 years before deciding to close its doors to help care for her grandkids. But as the lockdowns ended, Kuhn slowly started dreaming up a new store. “I missed owning a shop,” she says. “I missed the creativity and putting together beautiful spaces. But most of all, I missed my wonderful clients.” By early 2022, she’d amassed an impressive cache of pieces—both contemporary finds and one-of-a-kind antiques—and decided to open a new boutique. Bearing the same name as Kuhn’s 2019 coffee table…

Interior designer Melanie Rose (pictured at right) knows her clients really well. For the past 11 years, she has specialized in what she calls “sacred rooms”—luxurious bedrooms and secret suites designed to spark intimacy and improve her clients’ sex lives. “My conversations with my clients aren’t the regular conversations that interior designers have,” Rose laughs. ¶ In her brazen Netflix series, How to Build a Sex Room—which highlights 12 daring renovation projects in Denver—Rose explores the ways in which interior design can have a positive impact on relationship dynamics. We asked the London-born, Los Angeles–based designer for her top techniques for upgrading the most romantic room in the home: the bedroom. melanieruthrose.com 1. FIND YOUR COMFORT COLORS. Rose used a lot of pastel pinks and rich purples in the Netflix…

The GuideEVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW HOME REFRESH…

Homes with a panoramic view of the Continental Divide are few and far between in Boulder—but Brittany and Adriaan Zimmerman found just that when their real estate agent brought them to this property tucked up in the hilly, wooded terrain northwest of town. “We were floored,” Adriaan recalls. “You don’t even realize that such a view exists in Boulder.” “There was an energy about the land that we both felt,” Brittany adds—and the good vibes continued inside the home, which had changed little since its construction in 1988. “There was a charm about the place, a real sense of love and warmth—even though it was outdated and a little funky and the linoleum was plentiful,” Adriaan says. “It was a funny house with really good bones.” The couple was particularly…

Carole Hénaff ILLUSTRATOR Dream home: An old house with wood beams and ceramic tile, and I’d love a little garden. Bold colors or calm neutrals: Bold for details and art; neutrals for walls, curtains, and bed linens. Recent design find: La Soufflerie in Paris. They have beautiful vases and pots made from recycled glass. Carole illustrated the cover and “Renovation Reality Check” (page 33). Susie Brenner PHOTOGRAPHER Maximalist or minimalist: My home leans more maximalist due to years of inheriting family treasures and collecting memories while traveling. Dream home: I live in a 1906 Denver Square in City Park that could be my dream home with the addition of a third-floor private suite. Susie photographed “Begin Again” (page 15), and her photography appears in “Mediterranean Makeover” (page 38). Daliah Singer…

WALLPAPER TILE…

KNOW THE MARKET. Renovation costs are ratcheting up, partially because of inflation, which has affected prices everywhere from the gas pump to the pickle aisle. “In the past 18 months, we’ve seen overall prices for a project [in Denver] increase by 25 percent or so,” says Justin Bride, principal of Ascent Contracting, whose projects deal with every aspect of construction, from excavation and foundations to electrical and plumbing. “Some trades have increased more than others, some less.” EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. No matter the number of digits in your renovation budget, it’s best to leave some wiggle room. Lawrence recommends budgeting an additional 10 to 20 percent to allow for surprise costs throughout the process. To potentially cut down on unexpected fees, Bride recommends conducting initial site surveys—such as soil tests…

Reader, I have misled you. Over the past two decades, I’ve penned heaps of breezy little articles that describe, in a mere 650 words or so, beautiful home renovations. But it wasn’t until my family embarked on a full-scale renovation of a 1970s ranch in Littleton that I learned firsthand just how not-so-breezy a remodel can be. My husband, Jason, fell in love with the property the moment he saw it: three-plus acres, mountain views, pervasive quiet. The house hadn’t been updated in a long time, and here, we thought, was the chance to create the home we wanted for our family of four. We sold our house in Observatory Park—a place we all loved very much—and moved into a rental. Given the shortage of residential general contractors (nobody could…

When interior designer Katie Schroder is trying to sell her more daring design ideas to a hesitant client, proof of concept is key. And her new office provides just that. Tucked inside a Victorian-era Capitol Hill home that Schroder recently transformed into the headquarters for her firm, Atelier Interior Design, the room celebrates her colorful, maximalist approach to decorating. She preserved charming period details, including the original crown molding and arched window frames, then updated the floors with fresh, white-oak planks before infusing the space with her signature glammed-out style. The lush forest scene depicted in Flavor Paper’s painterly Enfumé wallpaper makes a statement, while an oval desk from CB2 adds a soft, organic touch—proving that even dramatic design moves can harmonize with more subtle style choices. “If [my clients]…

HOME IMPROVEMENT Colorado Garden & Home Show Whether you’re reimagining your backyard or updating your interiors, the Colorado Garden & Home Show will provide heaps of inspiration. As the Rocky Mountain region’s largest showcase of its kind, the nine-day event invites homeowners to stroll through an acre of professionally landscaped gardens and chat with home experts from more than 500 companies. $10; February 4–12; Colorado Convention Center; coloradogardenfoundation.org EPIC ART Awful Bigness Clyfford Still grew up among the West’s boundless plains and vast skies, characteristics he once referred to as the “awful bigness of the land.” Inspired by that quote, the Awful Bigness exhibition fills the Clyfford Still Museum’s spacious, skylit galleries with the celebrated painter’s largest, most ambitious works on canvas. The vibrant array features a range of larger-than-life…

Eugenia Di Girolamo is no stranger to big cities with vibrant development scenes. The Italian-born New Yorker recently stepped into the brand new role of Denver’s chief urban designer, making the transition from her post as deputy director of urban design for New York City’s Department of City Planning. Now, as she takes the design helm of a city whose population has grown by about 15 percent in the past decade, Di Girolamo talks with us about her vision for rapidly changing neighborhoods, pedestrian love, and the rebirth of downtown. 5280 Home: What makes smart urban design so important? Eugenia Di Girolamo: Urban design can help change how you feel when you’re walking down the street. Everything we can see at eye level is what keeps us engaged and interested.…

Focal PointPEOPLE, SPACES, & IDEAS WORTH A CLOSER LOOK SMART STYLE Renovating her Berkeley home allowed interior designer Ashley Larson Eitemiller to put her classic-modern, highly personalized design approach to the test. “My goal is always to design spaces to be lived in,” she says. “Every bit of the house, every piece of furniture, is there to be used.” With a baby and two dogs in tow, Larson Eitemiller and her husband had their work cut out for them when they purchased their charming yet dated 1950s Georgian abode. Opening up the compartmentalized living areas and expanding the kitchen—with an assist from her father and brother, who co-owned Montare Builders at the time of the renovation—gave Larson Eitemiller the blank slate she needed to create rooms that show off her…