An Alpine Home in Avon with a Soulful Permanence

Scandinavian style in the dining room comes through the clean lines of a sculptural Andrea Claire Studio chandelier, a RALPH PUCCI International cabinet and a streamlined dining table paired with Dennis Miller New York chairs. A painting by artist Patricia Pickman Udell brings color to the room. | Photo: Trevor Tondro

Take a rambling mountain house, add a dose of Scandi­navian style, infuse it with the personality of its occupants, and shake in some warmth through textiles and color. That’s the recipe that created a delightful Avon, Colorado, ski home that is the setting for both vacations and extended live/work stays for homeowners Ulrika and Joel Citron and their extended family.

The Citrons met their New York-and Paris-based designer, Penny Drue Baird, founder of Dessins, when their daughter married Baird’s son. After cramped living in their Vail rental during the confines of the COVID-19 era, the couple reconsidered their annual ski vacations in the Vail area and decided to buy their own home. Since Baird knew them so well, they turned to her to fold their list of requirements into the design of their newly purchased residence.

This home was conceived by the late architect Jim Morter, who was renowned for designing Vail ski homes, the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater and projects for Ross Perot and Jack Nicklaus. | Photo: Trevor Tondro

“We got to know the prior owners of the home and realized they had put their heart and soul into building it and raising their family there,” says Ulrika. “The home already had good bones and a Zen feeling. It is not traditional or modern but has a timeless architecture. We asked Penny to add the warm and welcoming feel of being in the West.”

The homeowners also asked the designer to incorporate Scandinavian style into the home as a nod to their Swedish heritage. The existing massive log columns and beams were already a light wood tone, which immediately helped to provide a Nordic backdrop; Baird added straight furniture lines and a touch of whimsy and charm through art and accessories. “By blending an alpine look with the homeowners’ unique taste, we were trying to avoid a cliché mountain style,” she says.

Art plays a big part in personalizing this home; the living room sculpture is by mixed-media artist Rose B. Simpson. | Photo: Trevor Tondro

To complement the inherited interior architecture, Baird developed a design scheme that incorporates a range of fabrics in varying textures and patterns. The fabrics run the gamut—woven, thick pile, embroidered, wool, canvas, nubby, heathered, tweed, twill and trapunto. “I wanted rich, thick fabrics that would stand up to all the wood and soften the architecture,” she says. Luxurious rugs followed suit, with unmistakable textures that add depth.

The color palette began with a base of country neutrals, to which the designer added reds and blues for calm, cocooning warmth. “Many designers miss the outside palette,” Baird says. “I see the inside and outside color palettes as one.” In the primary bedroom, for instance, she chose an intense blue and stark white that together mimic the sky and snow-covered peaks outside, captured through a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. The color palette’s counterpoint to the existing timber-framed ceiling is lively, yet calming.

The designer used a wide range of fabric textures, such as the plush, fuzzy seating on Arteriors Home counter stools, to soften heavy wood detailing. | Photo: Trevor Tondro

Baird loves that the home serves varied purposes for different family members. “Since it is both a vacation home and, at times, a residence and place of work, it was important to incorporate both elements for relaxation, such as a game table and a pool table, as well as discreet areas with desks, storage and computers,” Baird writes in her newest book, PowerHouse, which features the Avon home.

With predefined architecture, she instead focused on best using the existing space for current needs and enhancing future functionality for the time when grandchildren come along. The design plan takes advantage of the home’s inherent nooks and crannies, which the designer filled with unexpected and useful elements. The final result has the Citrons rethinking their annual winter ski plans and entertaining a new enthusiasm for the surrounding hiking trails. As Ulrika explains, “What started as a winter home has now become equally as much a summer home.”

Baird converted an elevated desk in the primary bedroom into a new setup that includes workspace with mountain views of Beaver Creek Resort and an adjacent fireplace. | Photo: Trevor Tondro

“We bought this home because of its good bones and the fact that it was in move-in condition,” says the homeowner. “We just needed to add the warmth and feel of being in the West.” | Photo: Trevor Tondro

The primary suite’s crisp blue Holland & Sherry fabric and stark white fabric are congruent to the snow-covered mountains and bluebird skies outside the room’s wall of windows. | Photo: Trevor Tondro

DESIGN DETAILS

ARCHITECTURE – Morter Architects
INTERIOR DESIGN – Dessins

Penny Drue Baird’s book PowerHouse, is published by Schiffer Publishing.

As featured in Mountain Living’s January/February 2026 issue.