New York-Based Interior Designer Helps Empty Nesters Soften the Look and Feel of Their New Contemporary Home
Vintage and contemporary elements combine in a Denver home designed for easy city living
Kitchen Designer David Frazier emphasized simplicity with natural materials including European oak and marble. The Tri Cone pendants are by Allied Maker, and the vintage stools are from Amsterdam Modern. | Photo Gieves Anderson
If at first you don’t succeed at downsizing, try, try again. That’s the lesson learned by a pair of empty nesters who left a big house behind to move into a two-bedroom Denver condo in 2019—just before the COVID pandemic hit. Before long, with one of their kids moving back temporarily and another deciding to relocate to Denver, the couple realized that the little condo was just too small for the family’s future needs. The answer? A new home just a few blocks away, in the same Cherry Creek neighborhood they enjoyed.
Music Room With walls painted in a moody hue (Benjamin Moore’s Iron Mountain), the dramatic space is furnished with vintage Alvar Aalto and Mies van der Rohe chairs. The Gabriel Suspension Lamp is by Atelier Vime, and the contemporary portrait is by Mike Rachlis. | Photo Gieves Anderson
This better-size home (about 5,000 square feet on four levels) was brand-new and ready to be personalized. “Between the house and condo, it was sort of the perfect match for us,” says the homeowner. New York-based interior designer David Frazier helped them make the transition. He had already worked with the couple on both their ski home and the condo project, so Frazier knew the homeowners were drawn to contemporary style, but with a softer and more casual atmosphere. “That was one of the key things when they first closed on the property,” Frazier says. “How do we warm this really contemporary house up so that they felt comfortable with it and felt like it was a reflection of them?”
Dining Room/ Living Area A Noguchi Akari lamp hangs above a Germain Table by Bungalow Classic that’s matched with vintage BØrge Mogensen Spanish Dining Chairs and English walnut mouton chairs. Nearby, a curvy, vintage Audoux Minet Armchair and Lee Industries Club Chairs sit beside a Beacon Floor Lamp by Powell & Bonnell. | Photo Gieves Anderson
Not surprisingly, the homeowners were keen to reuse items they’d bought for their condo, and they tasked the designer with integrating those along with adding new features, including lighting and furniture. Frazier sourced antiques to mix with the homeowners’ family pieces, and the result is a beautiful balance of vintage and contemporary, including some stellar seating by Alvar Aalto and Fritz Hansen. “David and I share a love for interesting chairs,” says the homeowner. Now, each room shines with charming originality. “It was collected, and it feels collected,” Frazier says.
Bedroom A Cloud fixture by Apparatus Studio hangs above the bed, with artwork by Addie Chapin and a vintage, live-edge bench from Holland MacRae. | Photo Gieves Anderson
The tall house sits on a narrow lot bracketed by buildings on either side, but Frazier made good use of natural light pouring through the windows. He played with soft white and rich, dark wall colors while adding layers of warmth and texture with materials like mohair, velvet and linen. A music room located just inside the front door sets a dramatic tone with dark walls and a painted portrait of a family ancestor hanging above the fireplace. “I wanted the room where you enter to feel a little bit cozy,” says the homeowner.
Bathroom A Duravit tub, with a Kohler Purist tub filler, is lit by an Allied Maker Well Pendant. | Photo Gieves Anderson
“I really liked the idea of coming into this more intimate, moody space, and then you walk through it, and ‘Boom!’ you have all this light in the back.” The open-plan kitchen-dining-living area is well-suited to family hangouts, with five comfy stools arranged around a large island. But the couple’s favorite room is on the third floor. “The views are great, the sunsets are great, and it’s just really simple,” says the homeowner. “We’ve simplified in all those ways; we don’t have elaborate parties like we used to. It’s not that kind of house.”
But it is, at last, the right kind of house to make them happy as they start their next chapter. “Everybody who comes in says, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s so peaceful, it’s such a respite,’” the homeowner says. “It’s just a really comfortable, inviting place to be.”
PHOTOS – Gieves Anderson
INTERIOR DESIGN – David Frazier
