A pair of Texans construct a contemporary cabin, their own modern mountain home, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
There’s an exquisite waterfall in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, from which one can soak in the surrounding views of ascending topography and rugged mountain peaks. However, years of natural erosion didn’t sculpt this sinuous display. Rather, it’s a waterfall-style kitchen island, hewn from striated Calacatta quartz, centered in the nearly 3,500-square-foot vacation home of Donna and Thad Minyard.
“We call it the fishing cabin,” Thad says of their newly constructed mountain-view home. Though the Minyards live full time in Boerne, Texas, they’ve owned a condominium in Steamboat Springs for the past 20 years. “We came for the premier fly-fishing and amazing golf courses,” Thad says. “That, and to escape the Texas heat.”
Once they decided to replace their condo with a house, the couple enlisted the expert services of interior designer Susse Budde and master builder Corey Larsen, both of Dimension Fine Homes. Over the course of the 18-month project, Budde and Larsen helped the Minyards create a showstopping contemporary retreat, replete with striking light fixtures, delightful pops of color, stunning views, and a sumptuous gourmet kitchen.
“I love the lighting throughout and the expansive windows exposing their views from every vantage point of the house,” Budde says. “And I have major kitchen envy. I love their kitchen — spacious, beautiful, loaded with bells and whistles, a great spot for gathering, and views for days.”
During the planning process, the Minyards desired, “first and foremost,” incredible views, plus a fresh, somewhat untraditional décor scheme. “Donna loved midcentury modern and was willing to go more contemporary than mountain on this house in the mountains,” Budde explains. However, Donna and Thad also hoped for an effortless, easy-to-maintain space.
“We created a main level that gave them everything they needed without having to use stairs,” Larsen says. “It’s all there: the laundry, powder, mudroom, office area, large entertainer’s kitchen open to the great room, and their master, with extensive covered decking to walk out onto and enjoy the beautiful sunsets of Steamboat.” A media room as well as the remaining bedrooms and bathrooms are located downstairs, which also offers abundant natural light through plenty of windows and glass doors.
The final result is something of a private mountain sanctuary. Donna says her favorite part of her new four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom home is “the energy created by letting in so much of the outside’s natural beauty — and the kitchen!” For Thad, it’s that feeling he gets as they inch closer to their nearly half-acre property: “excited for the relaxation in the cool mountain air.”
For two Texans looking to escape the Texas heat, there’s no place like this Colorado fishing cabin.
Resources
Dimension Fine Homes
Susse Budde, Owner, Designer
Corey Larsen, Owner, Master Builder
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
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From the April 2018 issue. Photography by David Patterson.
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