THE KEY TO AN INSPIRED REMODEL
FATE, A NEIGHBOR, AND A VIEW THAT WON’T QUIT INSPIRE ONE INCREDIBLE HOME MAKEOVER.
By Cara McDonald / Photos by Carter Photographics / Before Photo Courtesy of Pat Day

They updated the home's 1970s contemporary design and maximized the mountain views.

You could say the house that became the home on Jack Frost Drive started out as a kitchen-remodel-plus-garage that somehow expanded beyond anyone’s imagination.

But it really started out with a key.

Shortly after Pat and Kathie Day of Miami, Florida, bought their ridge-top house in Fraser, there was a knock at the front door. It was John Berendes, a neighbor – and a general contractor. “I have your key,” he said. Berendes, owner of Icebox Builders Inc., had done renovations for the previous owner of the house, and knew it well, even checking on it during cold snaps for maintenance issues. “Well, you could keep the key,” Pat said. “We might need to do some work around here.”

This was an understatement of epic proportions.

The Days, who spend about seven months a year in Grand County, had fallen in love with the house on the hill not because of the architecture – its late-70s mountain contemporary design meant a dated kitchen, smaller rooms, and a closed floor plan that were less than ideal. But the views! With a wall of windows facing the Divide, the home also overlooks Devil’s Thumb Ranch in the valley below. “When I walked in and saw that view, I knew this was it,” says Kathie.

Before the remodel – a 70s mountain contemporary design with a dated kitchen, small rooms and a closed floor plan.

So, it needed some improving. Kathie, a gourmet cook, wanted to expand the kitchen. Pat wanted a garage with room for a wood shop. The Days’ two years of planning and multiple sketches led them to Alpine Meadows Design and Engineering, who put the sketches into working CAD drawings. The Days brought in Berendes to help them translate their plans into reality, and a significant remodel began to take shape.

The original plan was to keep as much of the old structure as possible, but as the wish list mounted and drawings stacked up, a new vision took place. The entryway still enters the original structure, but instead of the old metal staircase, a floating walnut staircase designed by Masterpiece Stair greets visitors. Hallways converge on the staircase and create a welcoming feeling. The left side flows into the kitchen and living areas, with the master suite off to the right.

The home’s architecture was shaped to maximize the view overlooking the Divide, with a window wall that floods the great room with natural light.

The living/kitchen area is a lofty, two-story space anchored by a moss rock fireplace. A wall of windows faces the Divide and floods the area with natural light. The kitchen was designed to accommodate three cooks simultaneously, with a large island perfect for hanging out, complete with a walnut-topped bar. Multiple drawer- and full-sized dishwashers handle a full crowd or just dinner for two. Sue Keck of Legacy Building Specialties, Inc. helped with the technical aspects of the design as well as the cabinetry, a dark, distressed alder.

The living area wraps the open kitchen, with clustered conversation areas positioned to take in the view. Pat chose the floors, a tung-oiled walnut (“my favorite wood, I just love the richness and the scent of it,” says Pat), for the beauty of the grain, and for durability. Because they aren’t stained, scratches and wear can be treated with a little extra tung oil.

A floating walnut spiral staircase replaced the old metal one, greeting visitors as they enter the house.

To the right of the kitchen and living room is the more private area of the house – Kathie’s office and the master suite. The master room itself is cozy, with east-facing views of the Divide. The bathroom, however, is an off-the-hook space with separate his-and-hers baths with steam showers, a dressing area, and a window-wrapped room with a sunken spa tub. The floors in the spa and bath areas are heated by the same infloor radiant heat that keeps the rest of the house toasty, and the overall effect is so luxurious that it earned Icebox Builders the Best Master Suite title in the 2009 Grand County Parade of Homes (the home also took the Best Kitchen and People’s Choice Award).

Just outside the master suite, a flight of stairs twists and climbs up to Kathie’s office, which the Days also call “the tower,” a lofty space lit with windows and capped by a roof with four intersecting gables. The room gets so much passive solar warmth that even in winter Kathie has to crack a window.

Because the original home was built into the sloping lot, the downstairs was home to additional living space and bedrooms. It still is now, but on a much more massive footprint. Now, the lower living area is home to several more bedrooms, a home theater, the laundry room, and the mechanical room.

Due to the very large size of the newly expanded home (approximately 8,500 square feet), it was critical to consider energy use and efficiency. Berendes, who builds to Energy Star standards whenever possible, brought in designer and energy consultant Dave Clingman of IMAGIN3 Energy Solutions to do an energy rating. Clingman created a model that would anticipate energy usage, and made recommendations for conservation. One of the key decisions that resulted was choosing closed-cell foam insulation, a blown-in product that hardens and is significantly more efficient than normal blown-in or fiberglass insulation. Because so little air enters or escapes, energy recovery ventilators re-circulate air and aid in whole-house humidification.

The living area wraps the open kitchen, with clustered conversation areas positioned to take in the view.

Another challenge of such a large home was making it feel warm and lived-in. Interior designer Marjorie Cranston of Jack Straw Mountain Gallery of Art & Interior Design in Grand Lake helped the couple focus on materials that would still feel mountain-like but complement their taste and lifestyle, and guided choices with larger-scale, weighty-feeling furniture and accessories. Cranston, who’s also an artist, was instrumental in determining a color palette that would not compete with the blue-sky views and would help give the sprawling home continuity and flow.

“Wherever possible, we used artists and artisans to handcraft elements,” says Kathie. “In the case of the lighting, it was no more expensive than the fixtures in some furniture showrooms.”

In the end, “a little work” turned into a two-year transformation, but one that the Days and all involved are proud of. And as for that key? Berendes still has it. Just in case.

READ MORE STORIES FROM THIS ISSUE:
• Feature: Woodsy Cabin Gets New Wing
• Green Parade: Rendezvous Home Provides a Healthy Happy Retreat
• Art & Design: Double Vision for Interior Designer & Artist Marjorie Cranston
• Lifestyle: Survey of Cyclocross - The Key to Grand County's Backdoor
• Summer 2010 Articles