They may have come from the relative flatlands of Oklahoma, but for their dream retirement, the couple from Tulsa headed for the mountains-or, more specifically, Durango, Colorado.
There, on a five-acre ridgeline site in a small gated community above the town, they envisioned a house that would interact dynamically with the setting; with views facing north up the rugged glacier-carved Animas Valley and its gently meandering river of the same name; and southward to the La Plata range, where five peaks soar beyond 13,000 feet.
"They asked me fo

r a contemporary home that was low and long like the ridge," says architect Jon Pomeroy (843-838-0088). Working with builder Tom Gorton (970-259-9133) and designer Jeff Madeen (970-382-9821), Pomeroy created a 3,800-square-foot home that, although forthrightly modern, pays respect in both its sensuous forms and natural materials to the region's past and to the pristine beauty that surrounds it.
DESIGN BOOK:Architect:
Jon Pomeroy
St. Helena Island, SC
(843) 838-0088
Interior Designer:
Jeffrey Madeen, Madeen & Associates
Durango, CO
(970) 382-9821
Builder:
Tom Gorton, Durango, CO
(970) 259-9133, tomgorton.com