From Eclectic to Electric in Boulder
A top-to-toes remodel by Arcadea Architecture turns a “cobbled-together” house into a cohesive home
The house, seen here from the backyard, was totally redone: Bedrooms were moved to the second floor, a basement was added, and a large patio and outdoor kitchen were added under a new back trellis. | Photography by Emily Minton Redfield
Welcome to the fun house. That’s the perfect description for this remodeled Boulder home, which has been totally reinvented from a topsy-turvy house into an indoor-outdoor home that works perfectly for the owners’ active entertaining lifestyle.
The place has a long, rich history that dates back to the late 1870s, when the tiny original house (now the living room) sat amid apple orchards not far from what is now Pearl Street. Since then, the house has undergone multiple renovations and additions, which had resulted in a disjointed, not-always-functional interior that needed updating.
The custom navy and white kitchen (with Arteriors pendants) was greatly expanded. “They opened the house up so they can entertain a lot of people on the main level,” says designer Andrea Georgopolis of ACG Interiors.
“Before, the house was just cobbled together,” says homeowner Laurel Brozovich. The two kids’ bedrooms were on the main floor, there was an awkwardly placed, rarely used front door, the kitchen was tight and there was a not-so-private full bath sitting right next to it. “We just wanted a normal layout,” she says.
“But,” adds her husband, Mark Seferian, “we also wanted to maintain the integrity of the older house.” So the couple turned to Boulder’s Arcadea Architecture to work its magic.
“The design challenge was to bring everything up to current standards, to add significantly more space and to simplify the parts into a unified composition while still maintaining the home’s somewhat eclectic charm,” says architect David Biek, principal at Arcadea.
The dining area—featuring a Lexington dining table and Huppe dining chairs under a sculptural glass-and-iron Hubbardton Forge chandelier—opens up onto the backyard so there’s an indoor-outdoor flow almost year-round.
The result is that virtually every room—as well as the outdoor space—was changed. Arcadea enlarged the interior, moved all the family bedrooms to the second floor, expanded the kitchen, added a powder room and mudroom to the main floor and dug out a new partial basement (which contains a guest bedroom/bath, kitchenette and movie room). And they turned the outside into a true extension of the house, adding a covered back porch with a frosted glass roof and an outdoor kitchen, a hot-tub space and a large trellised outdoor room with Tivoli lights and a fireplace—as well as a third-level deck, with views of both the mountains and the historic Whittier School bell tower a block away.
The terrace room connects the main house to the carriage house, which includes an office and yoga room. “Having a variety of spaces outside really enhances the feeling of it being a compound,” says David Biek of Arcadea.
Now the homeowners, who love nothing more than hosting friends, can throw indoor-outdoor parties practically year-round. “I love to cook and entertain,” says Seferian, “and it really is an entertainer’s home. We’ve created nine or so amazing spaces where two to eight people can sit and feel like they’re in a different space every time.”
And everywhere you look, there is fun: A main-floor “speakeasy” room is hidden, accessible only by pulling on a lever disguised as a gnome. On the third floor, accessible via spiral staircase, is a glassed-in meditation room. Beneath the mudroom floor, you’ll find a wine cellar, accessible via hydraulic lift.
The living room, located in what was the original 19th-century house, is now much more functional, with a new fireplace, Lee Industries sectional, Thayer Coggins chairs, a Made Goods wood-and-resin coffee table, and a rug from The Scarab in Minturn.
And walk across the new outdoor room and you’ll reach a preexisting carriage house, which includes Seferian’s office and a loft that has been converted into a yoga studio.
“Mark and Laurel are very into their friends,” says longtime pal Andrea Georgopolis, owner of ACG Interiors in Vail, who consulted on the home’s interior design. “They’re all about entertaining and having people over. If it’s a big group, they have all this space to entertain, but they also have these cozy little neighborhoods within the space, for smaller groups. It’s a house for entertaining, for sure.”
DESIGN DETAILS
INTERIOR DESIGN ACG Interiors-The Scarab ARCHITECTURE Arcadea Architects
