5,600 Square Feet of Sleek, Modern Interiors with Panoramic Views

This Crested Butte home was designed by Freestyle Architects with a series of striking curved roofs and “everywhere views”.

7 hours ago

Alison Gwinn,

Exterior: The house is distinctive for its barrel-shaped roofs and tapered stone columns. The architects used materials like rustic “black frost” stone and reclaimed wood so the home looks contextual with the surroundings. | Photo: James Ray Spahn

Turn any which way you want in this ski-in, ski-out Mount Crested Butte home, and you’ll be rewarded with stellar views. The 5,600-square-foot contemporary, in the town’s Prospect neighborhood, is situated perfectly to gaze out of the many double-height windows: The north-facing living room frames White Mountain and Avery Peak. The south-facing primary suite looks toward the ski runs and jagged rock formations of Crested Butte’s eponymous mountain. And the kitchen and lower-level family room look west to the East River Valley and the ski area’s extreme ski terrain.

“It truly does have 360-degree views,” says architect Jim Barney, who runs Freestyle Architects with his wife, Karen. The duo dubbed this project, appropriately, “the Surround House.” The exterior of the house is designed with distinctive barrel vaults on the roof, and exterior finishes that mesh with the surroundings.

Living Room: “You can create a lot of volume and grand views without overly tall spaces in the middle,” says architect Jim Barney. “It’s more egalitarian.” The hard surfaces throughout create a clean mountain aesthetic. | Photo: James Ray Spahn

“The curves of the roof are a natural shape you find in nature,” Barney says, “and, along with the materials, it helps the house blend into the hillside. The home has significant open spaces inside, but when you look at it from the exterior, it doesn’t appear massive. When you pull up to it, you see only one level, but there’s a second level that opens to the east and works with the topography.”

Walk into the house, and you’ll see how it expands from a smaller entryway into the breathtaking living, kitchen and dining area. “What we tried to do is make every living space comfortable and appropriate,” says Barney, “with the communal spaces grander, for gathering.” Striking curved glulam beams and columns support the living room, with steel beams allowing for large expanses of glass.

Kitchen: The wide-open, double-height kitchen, accented with glulam beams and black steel supports, has beautiful views that look west over a large deck toward the East River Valley and the extreme ski terrain of Crested Butte resort. | Photo: James Ray Spahn

The homeowner, who has grown children, says, “I was looking for a contemporary home that would be a great family gathering place. I love the look of the home, and the open floor plan. I love sitting on the deck and enjoying the views.”

Despite its more compact exterior appearance, the home boasts six bedrooms (four on the lower level, surrounding the large den), six baths and two powder rooms. A custom three-story metal staircase separates public spaces from private ones and brings daylight to the family room and bedrooms on the lower level.

Bedroom: The huge windows and interior finishes “echo the simplicity of nature,” says interior designer Davis. | Photo: James Ray Spahn

A stone-clad, three-sided fireplace with a built-in bench centers the main floor. “You can’t help but be drawn to the fireplace, the epicenter of the home,” says interior designer Kelly Davis, founder and principal of Velvet and Grove. It’s a space “where you can feel the open aura of nature from all angles.”

Davis worked to find “simple, sophisticated and timeless design elements” that spoke to the homeowner, with engineered wood floors and creamy white walls that play off the various beams. The house is drop-dead gorgeous, with the location a beautiful bonus. “The biggest surprise,” says the homeowner, “has been that so many people have taken the long journey to spend time here.”