Before and After: From heavy wood to light and bright at a Beaver Creek home

Decades ago, the parkitecture style was all the rage in the mountains — especially in Beaver Creek. But many homeowners now want less wood and lighter walls, cabinetry and furnishings.

Such was the case with a seven-bedroom, 10,812 square-foot home in Beaver Creek that designer Elizabeth Basso of Basso Interiors in Eagle and interior architect Alyson Leingang of All in Design of Edwards, as well as general contractor Foster Construction in Denver and Vail worked on.

“Having worked with the clients on a few prior local homes, the design team brought brighter colors and a fresher, East Coast feeling palette, with a more modern perspective on traditional design and architecture,” Basso said. “Soft white lacquer applied to the wood paneling in the great room and foyer allowed the team to elevate the feel of the whole home, in keeping with a more country home, mountain feel.”

The homeowners purchased the four-story home in a partially remodeled state and began to remodel it in the winter of 2022. The team completed it in the spring of 2023. When the design team began, the home felt heavy, brown and dark, Basso said.

“We proposed a design style, which lends itself to neotraditional — more timeless and classic with
contemporary colorful pieces,” she said. “Approachable, comfortable, yet luxe.”

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They already knew the homeowners didn’t love an abundance of brown, so they began in the great
room, which was dominated by a stained wood ceiling, beam trim and wood paneled walls, along
with plaid furnishings and flooring.

“It had a very dated feel and needed to be lifted,” Basso said. “We removed some of the extra trimmings of the woodwork, like finials that seemed old-fashioned. They kept the original beautiful butternut wood ceiling, open to the second floor and painted all of the walls a nice warm white. The bold blue mohair sofas and neutral white and cream furnishings and walnut cocktail tables keep the room youthful and fresh. We were able to keep the existing sandstone floor, but added an oversized custom rug through The Scarab in Minturn.”

The foyer mimicked the great room, in terms of floor-to-ceiling wood, with a dark floral rug and mismatching benches. Similarly, all of the staircases showcased wooden railings, balusters and partial wood paneling rising along the wall. The team painted the balusters and wood paneling white and darkened the wooden railing to complement the home’s wooden characteristics. They replaced an outdated runner with a geometrical, blue bowtie-patterned one.

“The kitchen floor plan was completely reworked to allow for a lot of people to gather before skiing and wind down over hot cocoa to reminisce about the adventures of the day,” Basso said.

Before, the U-shaped kitchen had a small island and dated wall tile. Now, the bright kitchen, in keeping with the home’s color palette of whites and blues, includes an enormous peninsula where multiple people can eat or sit around and chat. The footprint was completely reconfigured to open up the space, and Elegant Cabinetry in Avon installed the new cabinetry.

A cozy, dark blue custom banquette seating area was created as a breakfast area in the kitchen. The prior dining room, with its heavy upholstered chairs and flock wallpaper, felt very formal, so they simplified it with modern touches like the whimsical red and white X-backed chairs.

A lighter, sheer approach to window treatments allowed the gorgeous blue skies to shine in. The trim was painted out white, the ceiling paneling was removed, and a deep blue suede wallpaper was installed for added drama. A fun, whimsical rug grounds the scene, as opposed to the prior sculpted wall-to-wall carpeting.

Of course, all of the rooms benefited from modern light fixtures, and this room was no exception.

The home included a library and a study, both of which needed major facelifts. The library was a bit
nondescript in terms of the softer color palette and various patterns and textures, including green Morris style tiles around the fireplace, all of which didn’t come together in a cohesive statement.

“We needed to pump up the color story in the library, which was also a stuffy paneled wood room on the south side of the home,” Basso said. “Full of sunlight, and a great place for games and puzzles, we updated all of the woodwork to a Farrow Ball Stiffkey Blue. The color pop of the room is a gorgeous emerald green outdoor rated velvet for the sofa for durability and longevity.”

Durability is essential in this home, with plenty of kids and a family dog running around and playing. The study’s walls and vaulted ceiling had a reddish-brown faux finish, reminiscent of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Striped carpeting met paisley furnishings, a green chair behind the wood desk and heavy valances. Once again, they brightened it up by painting out all of the woodwork to white, and the walls in a very soft blue.

“That room got a full renovation and felt a lot more serene and was treated almost like an extra sleeping space, so that kids could be closer to the grandparents’ bedroom,” Basso said. “The sofa opens into a sofa bed, and the two window nooks are so cozy. That room was a dramatic refresh.”

Leingang proposed relocating the entrance of the primary suite to disguise a bulky architectural detail that looked a bit like an elevator shaft.

“The roofline from the living room pops into the room space, so that’s how the original architects and designers initially decided to cover it up — to build this box that looked like an elevator shaft,” Basso said. “The team created a grand foyer to the space and a beautiful corner fireplace to conceal the awkward corner, which had previously been the elephant in the room. The team kept the palette neutral and textural to work with the beautiful chalet feeling beam work in this space.”

Before, wood-paneled teal walls had detracted from the natural wood beams. Now, serene white walls and cream and white furnishings enhance those beams. A large sitting area with a sofa and two vintage chairs look out on a forested view.

The original home also contained an awkwardly shaped double bedroom that the team transformed into a bunk room to sleep eight — handy because the family has grown with another generation and several grandchildren. They also added 1½ baths. It had originally been the maid’s room.

“It didn’t make sense to just add one bathroom, especially when you were going to sleep (up to
eight),” Basso said. “In such a large home, even an additional bedroom for eight was appealing. The
team kept the colors bright and fresh, and the grandkids loved it.”

While the wooden details within the Beaver Creek home were once very stylish and referred to as parkitecture, tastes have changed, and now this home is the perfect place for the extended family to feel like it reflects their style.