Natural Elements of a 4,400-Square-Foot Basalt Home Captivate a Homeowner
A spec home goes from boxy and bland to bright and cozy.
The front entry with its pivot door gets a “wow” factor from a custom orange-and-black geometric print rug, live-edge console (from Phillips Collection), and “Grass and Wildflowers,” an oil painting by Claire Sherman, one of the homeowners’ favorite artists. | Photo: Dallas & Harris Photography
After several years renting in Aspen—hiking in summer and skiing in winter—a Chicago-based couple decided to look for a home of their own; one big enough to comfortably fit friends and family, including (looking forward) the possibility of grandkids. “The rest of my family are skiers,” the homeowner says. “While they were skiing, I was looking at real estate.” It is no secret that the prices in Aspen are high. The 2024/2025 Ski Report from Savills (an international real estate giant) ranks Aspen as the most expensive ski town in the world. The homeowner’s search eventually expanded to nearby towns and communities. She also began looking at property on which they could build.
Eventually, the hunt turned to spec homes. The thinking was, “Maybe we could buy a spec home and do a little bit to turn it into the home we want,” the homeowner explains. She discovered a 4,400-square-foot, still-under-construction (Kaegebein Fine Home Building) spec home in Basalt, a small town near Aspen. It was perched high on a riverbank overlooking aspen groves and the Frying Pan River. The moment she walked out onto the deck and heard the rushing river, she knew she was home. “It was well built and had the spaces and layout we were looking for, but it had a bland and boxy interior,” she says.
Photo: Dallas & Harris Photography
Aspen Design House’s founder and design director Denise Taylor and lead designer Gigi Podolak Knox were tapped to bring warmth and coziness to the home’s white-on-white interiors. London-born Taylor studied fashion before earning a master’s degree in interior design. Podolak Knox is an Aspen native and has an architectural and environmental design background. “We come at each project from different but complementary points of view,” says Taylor. To get a sense of their new clients’ life and style, the designers arranged to meet the couple in Chicago.
“They live in a beautifully renovated home, are well-traveled, well-read, and into collecting ‘real’ art,” says Podolak Knox. But, for their mountain home, the homeowners envisioned something more dramatic and adventuresome. Says the homeowner, “We wanted Denise and Gigi to take us out of our comfort zone and do things that, perhaps, we would not do in our primary residence.” A custom orange-and-black geometric print rug in the home’s entry is a work of art, makes a bold statement, and sets the tone for the entire home. The living room rug is inspired by a Rorschach inkblot; another rug—in the primary bedroom—resembles a split-open geode.
Photo: Dallas & Harris Photography
In the mostly subterranean media room, the designers created drama by using a striking wallpaper that runs up one wall, across the ceiling and down the opposite wall. This instantly made the room look bigger and brighter. The homeowners have worked with Susan Goren, principal at Susan Petr Goren Art Advisory, for many years—first on their Chicago home and, more recently, in Basalt. “We have the bare walls … she suggests what we should hang on them,” says the homeowner with a smile. For their vacation home, they mostly worked remotely. Goren explains, “They sent me photos, measurements and a video walk-through, then I suggested artists for consideration.”
She adds that the homeowners wanted their vacation home to have a more casual, playful but still sophisticated selection of art. Watching their home transformed from chalky white to vibrantly colorful was thrilling for the couple. “I absolutely love it but would never have considered doing some of these things myself,” says the homeowner. The interior designers agree. “The use of color is not for everybody,” says Taylor, “but when we meld many colors, textures and prints, the results are always spectacular.”
The custom dining table of sustainably sourced wood by Taracea Furniture is surrounded by eight custom curvilinear dining chairs smartly upholstered with Natasha Baradaran performance fabric. The ultra-contemporary lighting fixture over the table was created by Hammerton Studio. | Photo: Dallas & Harris Photography
DECORATING WITH COLOR
Denise Taylor, founder and design director of Basalt, Colorado-based Aspen Design House, delights in using color. She shares her tips here:
- LOOK AT WHAT YOU’RE DRAWN TO It’s best to start with the colors you like to wear; those are the colors you are comfortable with. One of my clients adores denim, so we used dozens of different shades of blue in her home.
- I DISLIKE USING A “HIT OF COLOR” If you’re going to use color, go all out with fabrics, walls and accessories.
- DO ONE ROOM AT A TIME Start with a small space like a powder room, an entry or even a mudroom and go for it. This is also a good idea if you’re on a limited budget.
- To create a cozy room, USE DEEPER SHADES FOR A RICHER EFFECT Those dark colors can look frightening in a paint can but are magic on the walls—allowing the windows (where the light is coming from) to be the main feature of the room. Dark walls accentuate and frame your views.
- BOLD COLORS ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR EVERY SPACE Use more restful colors in your sleep spaces to allow for relaxation.
- YOUR HOME IS A BIOGRAPHY OF YOUR LIFE Don’t worry about what others may think. Be brave. Be bold. Be you.
An eye-catching image by Australian fine art portrait photographer Nicole Wells adds drama to the small space. The custom chair is covered with fabric from French brand Casamance; the spice side table is by Arteriors. | Photo: Dallas & Harris Photography
A striking Cassina wallcovering runs up one wall, across the ceiling and down the opposite wall. “Wallpapering the ceiling made the room look bigger and more like a party space,” says designer Denise Taylor. | Photo: Dallas & Harris Photography
The balconies are the homeowners’ favorite spots to enjoy their morning coffee. | Photo: Dallas & Harris Photography
A blue-and-white palette in the main bedroom encourages relaxation. “Comfortable chairs provide a nice place for a private moment when the home is full of guests,” says designer Denise Taylor. Wallpaper is by London-based Christopher Farr Cloth. | Photo: Dallas & Harris Photography
INTERIOR DESIGN – Aspen Design House
CONSTRUCTION – Kaegebein Fine Homebuilding
