A Colorado Springs architect and a Denver designer—working nearly six decades apart—give a pair of Colorado transplants a mountainside home filled with dramatic mid-mod details and a touch of rock 'n' roll.
An angled stone wall and black metal fireplace hood—both original to the house—anchor the living room, which designer Megan Moore furnished with Knoll’s Risom lounge chairs, a vintage woven-rattan coffee table from Chairish, and a custom sofa. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
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Watch the HGTV House Hunters episode “Wanting Wow in Colorado,” and you’ll meet singer/songwriter Denise Rosier and healthcare executive Christy Dueck, who left their Southern California home for a fresh start in Colorado Springs. In the made-for-TV version of the search for their dream home, the couple tours a handful of properties before falling for a midcentury-modern gem designed in 1962 by renowned local architect Don Price. In reality, however, purchasing the home marked the end of a year spent visiting more than 50 listings—and the beginning of an extensive renovation that would strip back many of the structure’s dated and distracting finishes, letting its lovely bones shine.
“When you walk in the front doors, it’s completely wide open,” Rosier says of the 5,500-square-foot structure’s most appealing characteristic. “Our living and dining space is probably 1,500 square feet with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto a 750-square-foot deck with a clear view of the city lights below.” In addition to unexpected angles, soaring ceiling beams, and massive stone walls, Price had also incorporated Philippine mahogany millwork, a built-in Japanese wall clock, and frosted-glass front doors adorned with an intricate pattern of circular bamboo slices.
“When the first designer we interviewed came to see the house, the first thing they said was, ‘Look at those front doors! We have to take those off!’” Dueck recalls. “But when [Denver-based interior designer Megan Moore] walked in, she said, ‘There’s so much soul to this home. If you want me to really change it, I’m not your person. But if you want me to bring that soul to life again, I’m definitely your person.’”
The couple had no intention of removing the home’s rich character, but they were ready to part with its Band-Aid-pink wood exterior, a sea of flesh-colored floor tile, and expanses of shag carpeting. They also hoped to add a basement recording studio for Denise, turn two bedrooms into one spacious main-floor bedroom suite, and incorporate furnishings that honor their taste for clean-lined design. And Moore, they decided, was just the designer to do it.
“This property is probably bigger than the entire cul-de-sac we lived on in California,” Dueck says of the 4-acre, pine-studded site. Local landscape designer Ashley Stoever honored its rugged beauty with her sensitive design for the home’s outdoor gardens and gathering spaces. The large hardscaped area
just outside the front door was the site of a housewarming party that turned out to be Dueck and Rosier’s surprise wedding reception. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
Three of the design details that originally attracted Rosier and Dueck to the house are on display in
this corner of the kitchen:
Philippine mahogany cabinetry, a built-in wall clock with Japanese numerals, and wide expanses of glass that create a strong connection to the beautiful natural surroundings. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
Rich textures—a cozy sheepskin here, CB2’s woven Overlook throw there—warm up the guest bedroom’s custom mohair-upholstered bed and mid-mod furnishings, including a reproduction of Eero Saarinen’s iconic Womb chair and an airy rattan ottoman—Sika Design’s revival of the original 1951 Franco Albini and Franca Helg design. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
“This property is probably bigger than the entire cul-de-sac we lived on in California,” Dueck says of the 4-acre, pine-studded site. Local landscape designer Ashley Stoever honored its rugged beauty with her sensitive design for the home’s outdoor gardens and gathering spaces. The large hardscaped area
just outside the front door was the site of a housewarming party that turned out to be Dueck and Rosier’s surprise wedding reception. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
Three of the design details that originally attracted Rosier and Dueck to the house are on display in
this corner of the kitchen:
Philippine mahogany cabinetry, a built-in wall clock with Japanese numerals, and wide expanses of glass that create a strong connection to the beautiful natural surroundings. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
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Moore’s first goal was simply “to bring the house back to zero,” she says, which entailed replacing the mishmash of finishes with a simpler palette of natural materials, including hardwood and Brazilian black slate flooring. Next, she set about emphasizing some of the home’s most prominent architectural features, painting the exterior walls and interior beams a dramatic black hue, adding new hardware to the kitchen’s mahogany cabinetry, cleaning up the entryway’s original green slate flooring, and incorporating recessed and decorative light fixtures for layers of illumination at night.
To balance the home’s hard surfaces and angles, Moore turned to velvet and mohair fabrics, shaggy rugs, and sheepskin throws. And while “there’s nothing that insults the natural color palette you see outside the house,” Dueck notes, the neutral scheme feels fresh, thanks to a heavy dose of black. “I’m a big fan of black,” Moore says. “I believe it should be in every room.”
In the dining room, the dark hue pops up in Hans Wegner’s iconic Wishbone chairs. In the adjacent living room, it appears on the original steel fireplace and a pair of lounge chairs. “Because Denise is a musician, they wanted pieces with some soul, some rock ’n’ roll,” Moore says of the eye-catching perches. “The webbed seats feel relaxed, but there’s still a bit of an edge to them. It’s not full-on motorcycle, but it’s kinda sexy.”
Though Moore’s design honors her clients’ 21st-century tastes, it also considers the architect’s intents. “You have to let the house tell you what it wants,” she says. “As you spend time there, it sends you in a direction.”
Rosier immediately fell for the basement office—now her music studio—where Price, the home’s first owner, once worked at the built-in desk. “As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘We can’t change that,’” she says. “There are a couple of coffee-mug stains there, and I like to imagine that they are his. It’s just a really cool energy to know he was in there creating, and now I’m in there creating.” Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
Homeowners Denise Rosier and Christy Dueck can take in mountain and city views from the wraparound deck. The home’s angled interior ceiling beams terminate here in dramatic rafter tails painted black to match the exterior walls. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
The kitchen’s original mahogany cabinetry was remarkably well preserved, so Moore worked around it, updating the space with black Brazilian slate floor tiles, a Breccia marble backsplash, and white quartz countertops for a warm yet modern feel. A series of skylights and a pass-through to the adjacent dining room fill the narrow space with natural light. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
The main-floor living and dining areas—separated by a few slate-clad steps—comprise about 1,500 square feet. Price’s vision is on full display here: The metal railing and ceiling beams are part of his original design. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
A cool mix of modern furnishings—including a custom sofa and a rocking chair scored from Chairish—feels right at home against the music studio’s backdrop of original architec-tural details, including a built-in bookcase, green slate floors, and a rustic stone wall. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
The home’s entry foyer is furnished simply to better show off architectural details chosen by architect Don Price decades ago, including green slate flooring, a massive boulder, and frosted-glass front doors adorned with an artful pattern of circular bamboo slices. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
To soften the breakfast
nook’s hard surfaces, Moore added sheepskin throws and, overhead, a playful take on the traditional paper lantern, made by Spanish artist-designer Jaime Hayon. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
One of the home’s biggest transformations took place in the main bathroom, to which a 1970s-era renovation had added “a glam, kind of Elvis vibe,” Moore says. She created a serene new palette of black Brazilian slate flooring, charcoal-stained alder cabinets by Loveland’s Earthwoods Custom Cabinetry, and subtly veined quartz countertops. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
Rosier immediately fell for the basement office—now her music studio—where Price, the home’s first owner, once worked at the built-in desk. “As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘We can’t change that,’” she says. “There are a couple of coffee-mug stains there, and I like to imagine that they are his. It’s just a really cool energy to know he was in there creating, and now I’m in there creating.” Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
Homeowners Denise Rosier and Christy Dueck can take in mountain and city views from the wraparound deck. The home’s angled interior ceiling beams terminate here in dramatic rafter tails painted black to match the exterior walls. Photo by David Lauer, styling by Kerri Cole
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“Don Price left a ton of cues back in the 1960s,” Dueck agrees, “and it was so cool to watch this young designer pick up on them and bring them to life.” If only this home’s real, 60-year story could be condensed into 26 minutes, we’d have the makings of one riveting television show.
