Bold, Fearless Design that Embodies a Joyful Life

In the entrance hall, interior designer Andrea Schumacher took a naturally shed antler chandelier and had it coated in a fire-engine red high-gloss lacquer. Painting by Greg Overton. | Photo: William Abranowicz

Andrea Monath Schumacher believes in magic—the magic that happens when showstopping art and antiques are introduced to vibrant colors, patterns and a touch (or more) of whimsy. “A home should not be too serious,” the founder of Denver-based Andrea Schumacher Interiors says. She encourages living with history—particularly meaningful family history—but not fetishizing it. “Your home is the joyful story of your life, not a museum.” Her recipe for great design: “Combine different genres, eras, textures and price points … then stir.”

She notes that the design of an entire room can be inspired by a single small object. Maybe something her clients picked up on their travels or something inherited from a beloved grandparent. “It could be as simple as a carnival glass vase, a hand-painted plate or a paisley shawl,” she says. Any treasured possession can be the jumping-off point for the color, the style and even the mood of a room. Schumacher uses herself as an example. She spent childhood summers with her artist grandmother, Elizabeth Burger Monath (she studied with Fernand Léger and Salvador Dali in 1930s Paris).

In the great room, woodsy wallpaper (based on Schumacher’s grandmother’s artwork) plays well with the plaid draperies, pheasant-pattered velvet swivel chairs and the chandeliers (hung by equestrian stirrups). Artwork by contemporary Western artist William Matthews hangs over the fireplace. | Photo: William Abranowicz

“I sat at her side in her studio, pressing flowers, learning to draw and listening to her stories,” she recalls. Paintings inherited from her grandmother inspired Schumacher to design a line of wallcoverings. Her new book, Vibrant Interiors: Living Large at Home, features several of her eclectic designs—including a 1909 Tudor Revival imbued with a rich, maximalist spirit; a MidMod Hollywood-inspired home with gutsy color combinations; and a contemporary Cape Cod with big windows framing water views.

There is much in this book to appreciate—but it was the inspired (and spirited) redesign of a historic Wyoming ranch that caught our eye: flame-red antler chandelier, chinoiserie toile fabric, turquoise walls and wallpaper inspired by her grandmother’s paintings. To learn more about this property, decorated in a unique and exuberant mix of Asian and American West design, we caught up with Schumacher in her Denver studio. The historic 4,000-acre Remount Ranch, it turns out, was the former home of novelist and screenwriter Mary O’Hara, author of the 1941 classic My Friend Flicka.

Schumacher repeated the ranch’s Double R monogram throughout the home. Here, on a leather hassock. The large, wintry landscape painting is by Native American fine artist Earl Biss. | Photo: William Abranowicz

Then it became a dude ranch, and it is now on the National Register of Historic Places. To create an inviting home for their large family (grown kids and grandkids who are frequent houseguests), the new owners, Steve and Shannon Bangert, reached out to Schumacher. “We needed somebody that would be very creative, but it was also important that she shared our concern that we retain the historical significance of the Remount Ranch,” Steve says. “We wanted to protect the history, but didn’t want our home to look and feel like a cowboy dude ranch.”

In addition, the Bangerts wanted their Asian and Buddhist-inspired artwork incorporated into the décor. On her first walk-through, Schumacher, undaunted by the cracked linoleum floors and carpeted bathrooms, saw the amazing potential. Some rooms were taken down to the studs and finished with naturally aged reclaimed barnwood. Others, like the original 1886 homestead with its chinked walls, were left alone. In the bar, Schumacher gave a nod to the home’s duderanch past by leaving the “gunslinging” wallpaper and chrome bar stools. “The ‘secret’ to great design is paying attention to the details,” she says, “and knowing what needs change and what’s worth keeping.”

INTERIOR DESIGN – Andrea Monath Schumacher

As seen in Mountain Living’s May/June 2025 issue

Glossy wallpaper (between beams of reclaimed barnwood) bounces light into the room. A hand-hammered brass range hood provides extra gleam. Thick quartzite counters echo Wyoming’s sandstone-and-shale landscape. Over the island, a glass-ball chandelier adds a warm glow. | Photo: William Abranowicz

“Turquoise walls are not what you’d expect in a centuries-old Wyoming ranch, which is exactly why they are a perfect choice for this central hallway,” says Schumacher. | Photo: William Abranowicz

“Nothing feels quite as cozy underfoot as deep sheepskin—a cloud-like choice for this seating area designed for two,” says Schumacher. Sink-into chairs are upholstered in an abstract, Asian-inspired fabric. The timber ceiling is original. | Photo: William Abranowicz