This Vail Vacation Home Blends Glass and Nature in Captivating Style

Exterior This mountain contemporary, in Edwards’ Cordillera community, has a saddle that runs the length of the home, connecting three parallel gables. The huge windows provide lots of light as well as expansive views of the Vail Valley, and the materials—Colorado limestone, stucco and slate-like roof tiles—blend in with the environment. | Photo: Kimberly Gavin

This Vail Valley house can take your breath away—literally. Some people actually hold their breath as they cross the stunning glass bridge that bisects the upper story, says the home’s architect, Millie Aldrich, of Pure Design Studio. The 4,870-square-foot house, which sits on a 4½-acre parcel in Edwards’ Cordillera community, is a second home for a Dallas couple with three grown children and two grandchildren.

In the summer, they use it as a place to escape the Texas heat, and in the winter, it’s a ski getaway. “We have the best months in Texas and the best months in Colorado,” says the homeowner. “We’re all sports and outdoor enthusiasts. Vail Valley offers the perfect setting for us, our friends, and family to unwind and enjoy all the splendors this area offers.”

Living Room It’s all about the views in this room, complete with a bespoke Baker sofa and four facing chairs around a wide coffee table, from Dallas’ William & Wesley Co., which also made the corner gaming table. | Photo: Kimberly Gavin

The house—with four en suite bedrooms, two powder rooms, a multistory floating staircase, two living areas, a walk-in cellar, an office, a ski and fly-fishing room in the three-car garage and an outdoor living area—is striking architecturally: three strong, parallel gables are connected by a saddle that runs the length of the house. “We knew we didn’t want an old-school mountain lodge; we wanted a mountain contemporary,” says the homeowner, “with big windows, high ceilings and an open floor plan where the house fits in seamlessly with the views and the topography.”

Walk into the home, and you see that the light-filled, cedar-lined central gable “cuts all the way through the living room to the back deck,” says Aldrich. Perpendicular to that gable is the steel-and-glass bridge, a unique design that ensures that nothing obstructs the views, either up to the 22-foot ceilings or out to the Vail Valley. “When people walk in and see the grand piano, see-through glass- and-steel bridge, floating staircase surrounding a one-of-a-kind steel-and-blown-glass, three-story chandelier and the views, together, they make a statement,” says the homeowner.

Glass Bridge From the front entryway, the eye is drawn to the home’s striking multistory floating glass staircase on one end and, above, the unusual glass bridge that connects both ends of the house. | Photo: Kimberly Gavin

The two other gables contain the primary suite on one end and two guest bedrooms on the other. To blend the home with the natural world outside, Aldrich and the homeowners chose textural finishes and a “quiet palette” of materials including pale Colorado limestone, stucco, wood and black steel accents and slate-like roof tiles. “We wanted to create an outdoor living experience,” says the homeowner, “one that really honored the environment.”

Aldrich agrees, saying, “Even the name of my company, Pure Design, is about stripping down architecture to the purest forms and bringing the outside in. They entertain a lot, so it’s really a place for their family and friends to gather. The house isn’t huge, but the volume and ceiling height make it live larger. If there’s just two people here,
it feels intimate, but it can still accommodate multiple families.”

Kitchen “Everyone’s in the kitchen when we’re entertaining, which drove the very long, very wide island,” says the homeowner. “It lives large.” The light-filled space has Taj Mahal leathered countertops, C. Maddox & Company counter stools and Visual Comfort pendants. | Photo: Kimberly Gavin

The homeowners were very hands-on, creating extensive vision boards—both for exteriors and interiors—to present to Aldrich and Dallas interior designer Bonnie Jones (“the perfect dream team,” the homeowner says). “The homeowners have a very keen design eye,” says Jones. “And they have incredible taste. They wanted a beautiful, unique home, so I pulled fabrics and leathers that were cozy and had that mountain feel with a contemporary edge. The grand piano and a few French antiques created an elevated elegance to the overall design.”

The team of contractors and subcontractors were up to the job. “Our architect, general contractors and designer are all great artisans, and they worked together beautifully,” says the homeowner. Well built—and well loved. Says Aldrich, “Every time they come here, they spend more time just to decompress. It’s a calming, grounding place to be.”

Architectural Bridge “We wanted a glass floor for this bridge so you can see through it to the ceiling, for a clean, continuous gable roof form,” says architect Millie Aldrich. | Photo: Kimberly Gavin

Dining Room The rich wood William & Wesley Co. table, surrounded by C. Maddox & Company chairs, sits under a shimmery custom branch light by Allan Knight & Associates, backed by mirror-and-glass shelves. | Photo: Kimberly Gavin

Primary Bedroom With huge windows as a focal point, the main bedroom has a Wade Ray bed and acrylic bench, with linens by Peacock Alley; the chairs and table by the fireplace are from C. Maddox & Company. | Photo: Kimberly Gavin

Design Details

Architecture: Pure Design Studio
Interior Design: Bonnie Jones Interiors
Construction: Treeline Homes 
Landscape Architecture: Fieldscape

As seen in CH&L’s September/October 2025 Issue.