A Ski Condo in Sophisticated Neutrals

Photos by Kimberly Gavin

You’ve heard the story before: Homeowners purchase a dim and dated mountain home and hire a designer to make it feel bright, fresh, modern—and anything but brown.

This Bachelor Gulch condo’s design narrative begins in much the same way. Peruvian couple Alfonso and Teresa Garcia-Miro had rented a unit in the Snow Cloud Lodge each winter for more than a decade before deciding to make one their permanent vacation home. They chose their two-bedroom condo for its ski-in/ski-out location and west-facing mountain view, and hired Vicki Glotzer—then a designer for Worth Interiors and now principal of her own firm, Studio Floyd—to help them make the tired, honey-pine-clad spaces feel lighter and more contemporary. But instead of banning brown from the color palette, they suggested it. In fact, Alfonso sums up their vision in two words: “neutral contemplation.”

The couple showed Glotzer a series of “inspiration photos” that made their concept more concrete. “They were uncluttered European-chalet-style interiors, with very simple white walls and white-oak details,” the designer recalls. “It was all about the feeling, which was clean, cozy and soft.”

To re-create the serene vibe, Glotzer began by developing a simple, neutral palette of colors and materials, which she applied to every inch of the 1,500-square-foot residence. “The living spaces are all in one big rectangular room,” she says, “so the eye has to take in everything at once. Maintaining the same materials and colors throughout the space makes it look larger.”

Glotzer replaced the condo’s honey-colored wood floors with sleek, European white-oak planks, which she also applied to the master bedroom and powder room walls and the living area’s ceiling. A faux-finish painter updated the original window trim to match. For the kitchen and bathrooms, Glotzer specified custom cabinetry with rift-sawn white-oak veneers. And in the living room, she swapped the fireplace wall’s old dry-stack stone for light quartz blocks.

The palette has a fresh, sophisticated feel that Glotzer attributes to the specific shades she selected. “Many browns have orange and red undertones, which feel dated,” she says. “I like to use cooler taupe tones that have much more gray in them. It’s a more modern way of using brown.”

Her judicious use of texture adds to the sophistication. “I think it’s always a more elegant palette when the colors are simple and neutral, and the textures tell the story,” she says. The living room’s hanging lounge chair by Blackman Cruz, for example, turns heads with its rattan frame and fuzzy shearling throw. In the dining room, nubuck-upholstered chairs and a shearling-topped bench surround a patinated-metal table. In dramatic contrast, the master bathroom’s walls are clad with glossy white Caesarstone, which makes another appearance in the open kitchen.

Though the home’s furnishings range from modern to rustic, each piece was chosen for its ability to harmonize with the others—with one exception: sculptural, black pendant lights by Tokio that hover like drones above the living room and dining table. “They are completely different from everything else in the house—that’s why they work,” Glotzer says.

The furnishings are also unified by the way they invite relaxation. “I wanted the space to be fun and modern,” Glotzer says, “but also just a really comfy, cozy ski house where you aren’t afraid to plop down and lay all over everything.”

It seems to be working: The homeowners intended to use their condo just once a year but are now spending winter and summer vacations here. Alfonso sums up the story ending every designer hopes for: “We wanted a place for skiing holidays, but what we have now is a place that feels like home—but with an exclusive Colorado touch that makes it singular.”

Poltrona Frau’s leather Jockey chair provides a striking counterpoint to the living room’s taupe sectional sofa, white-oak-and-blackened-steel coffee tables fabricated by Summit Woodworks, and custom wool-and-silk rug from Blossom.

The living room’s small accent table from Palecek combines a polished stainless-steel base with a petrified-wood top.

Nubuck-upholstered Forum dining chairs by Bernhardt Design and a shearling-topped antler bench surround a custom dining table fabricated by Stacklab.

Elegant Cabinetry created the kitchen’s wood-veneered and opaque white-glass cabinets; the countertops are Caesarstone in Blizzard, and the marble backsplash tile is from Decorative Materials.

A European white oak vanity by Elegant Cabinetry is topped with a Caesarstone slab and a petrified-wood sink from the Allstone Group.

Glotzer designed the guest room’s bunk bed, fabricated by Summit Woodworks; the Origami Lounge Chair and Ottoman are by Thayer Coggin, and the light fixtures are from Apparatus.

Avram Rusu Studio’s Continuum Sconces illuminate the master bedroom’s wood-paneled wall; the Sleepway bed is by Designlush, and the bedside tables were made by Palisade-based Lincoln Cabinets.

​Glotzer furnished the room’s sitting area with a custom sofa and hair-on-hide ottoman by Tom’s Upholstery, Jiun Ho’s Masai Side Table and a vintage armchair.

Walls clad with large-format porcelain tile and a Caesarstone slab provide a waterproof backdrop for the master bathroom’s freestanding tub. The shearling-topped stool is from the homeowners’ collection.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT:
What’s the trick to nailing the eclectic look? Start by finding furnishings that seem like opposites but that share a common color, material or texture. Here, we break down this condo’s unique mix into a few opposing elements:

• Rustic: Add too many weathered touches to interiors clad with wood, and you run the risk of getting downright rugged. Interior designer Vicki Glotzer incorporated just a hint of rustic here: a petrified-wood vessel sink and hair-on-hide mirror in the powder room, and a stone kitchen backsplash and fireplace wall.
• Modern: Sculptural seating makes a modern statement in every room: angular Lineground #2 stools by Skram in the kitchen; the molded, leather Jockey chair by Poltrona Frau in the living room; and an Origami lounge chair from Thayer Coggin in the guest room.
• Classic: This home’s biggest furniture pieces are also the most timeless, like the master bedroom’s Sleepway platform bed from Designlush, which Glotzer chose for its classic proportions and tailored nubuck upholstery.
• Sleek: High-gloss surfaces remind us that this is a modern mountain home, from snow-white Caesarstone countertops and master bathroom walls, to the custom dining table’s polished aggregate top.
• Cozy: Fur and shearling accessories add warmth in a snap—and are easy to pick up and pack away come summer. Here, shearling tops chairs, benches, stools and the powder room floor, while faux fur cozies up the beds and living room sofa.
• Bohemian: A little boho style goes a long way. Glotzer chose just one show-stopping piece—a woven-rattan hanging lounge chair from Blackman Cruz—to get the look.

DESIGN DETAILS

INTERIOR DESIGN Vicki Glotzer for Worth Interiors CONSTRUCTION SRE Building Associates

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