Gorgeous Colorado Home

The spotlight is on the carefully crafted and perfectly executed design of a Colorado home. Based in the Rocky Mountain State, Vertical Artslives up to its name – especially when the firm creates a home with soaring ceilings that demand some serious head tilting to take in its full grandeur. Project Manager, Sarah Tiedeken O’Brien, AIA, provided all the details about this awesome space.

HF: What was the best aspect of this project? STO: The clients! They are such a fabulous couple who really value great design and quality materials. It was fun to work with them to create something that really fits their personalized style and connects to Kamil’s heritage. The house plan is based partly on his childhood home in Morocco.

HF: How did Hubbardton Forge lighting get chosen for this project? STO: Hubbardton Forge was a natural fit for the project as we used a lot of exposed structural steel. The Dark Smoke finish used throughout the house is such a nice complement to the steel without being too fancy.

HF: What were the “must-have” requests from the clients on this project? STO: Every tiny detail of the house was well thought-out in this project. The “musts” were natural, real materials to give the home its rich character. Travertine floors, steel windows and plaster walls all work together to create a warm, cozy home.

HF: What was the biggest challenge in this design? STO: A big challenge was pulling together all the small details. In a modern home like this, every detail must be executed to make the project shine. We worked hard to detail every aspect of the home to create a cohesive look and feel.

HF: What do you like most about this design? STO: We love the way the house connects to the site. The internal courtyard and floor to ceiling glass really allow the home to live in the surrounding landscape.

HF: It really is a stunning design – how high are the ceilings? STO: The ceilings all range from 10 feet tall in the entry and master wing, to 13-6” in the great room and 17’0” in the kitchen area.

HF: Are steel beams surrounding the kitchen counter? How did the pendants get installed there? STO: We ran a conduit on top of the lower flange of the W-Flange beam. We painted the j-boxes and conduit black. The beam is high enough that you cannot see these elements as you stand in the room.

HF: How long did the project take from start to finish? STO: The project took four years from start of design to end of construction. There was a lot of up-front planning to do involving siting the equestrian facility and home on the site, working through the design, budget and details, and then actually constructing the entire project which includes the 6000 SF home and entire equestrian facility.

HF: How do clients find out about you? STO: We have gotten clients from many different avenues including magazine ads, Houzz, and word-of-mouth. The age of the internet is really incredible. We are always surprised by how quickly imagery of projects can spread throughout the web. We recently got a commission in New Zealand from a couple who saw one of our projects on Houzz.

HF: Is there a style Vertical Arts is known for? STO: Vertical Arts designs a wide variety of styles according to each particular client’s preferences. We pride ourselves in learning from our clients and crafting personalized styles that fit their needs.