TREEHOUSE

The design and name of this warm modern mountain home was inspired by the way one ascends the steeply sloping site.  Normally entering a house at the basement level is less than ideal, so we gave a great deal of attention to creating a quality experience that celebrated the vertical ascension into the house.  We thought of it as a treehouse for grownups. 

In order to break up the mass of a three story façade we gave the house a strong stone base then created a large deck that established a piano noble (an elevated main floor) which also supported the owner’s desire to take full advantage of the property’s amazing views and indoor/outdoor living opportunities.  We made the walk-out basement entry level tall to give it a sense of grandeur and lightness, and then flooded the sculptural custom hickory stair with daylight from huge windows on both sides, as it winds its way up to the airy center of the home. You land dramatically at the stone fireplace in a way that feels like you’re entering a giant treehouse.  In front of you, the great room’s wall of glass opens to the soaring covered deck and expansive views of the Boulder plains. We custom designed the Great Room and porch structure to minimize its visual intrusion on the view. The open riser stair continues up to a floating walkway overlooking the great room that delivers you to two flanking bedrooms.

The sunny, open floor plan and double French doors connect the gourmet kitchen, dining room, and great room to both the front and the back of the house, where a large flagstone patio is terraced deeply into the landscaped hillside. Berming into the hill helped to reduce the visual mass of the house from the neighboring homes, protected it from fire and created a lush private courtyard.

The 4500 s.f. home is nestled into the hillside and is surrounded by Aspen, Lodgepole and Ponderosa.  Its strong mountain palette of stone, stucco and timber helps it blend into the neighborhood, while its HERS 38 energy-efficiency rating gives it a very small environmental footprint.

Designed by Rodwin Architecture.