The Collected House

Who thought horses above a bathtub would work? Designers scour avenues of inspiration in deciding how to style a space — which is what Amy Casey and Courtney St. John, principals of Casey St. John Interiors, did before hanging the photograph Sable Island Horses by Ali Darvish above an old-fashioned tub in the bathroom of a luxe mountain lodge in Colorado. 

“We wanted the contrast of a more contemporary piece on the rugged stone wall,” Casey says. “Even though the format of the photograph is more contemporary, the rusticity and the ‘wild’ aspect of the horses totally worked with the stone. We also thought it was the perfect complement to the antique nickel freestanding tub.” 

Ideas for furnishings or fabrics might stem from the natural wonder of a majestic view or the historic charm of 100-year-old pine-wood floors. In the case of this 8,000-square-foot home in Avon, near Beaver Creek, Casey and St. John discovered their muse neither inside nor outside but in what would eventually hang from the walls — the art. 

Creating rooms that felt real and relaxed was the primary goal throughout the design process.

Even in spaces like the media room, already fixed with the distractions of a fireplace and television, the designers didn’t shy from teaming multiple visual elements together. “This room was all about the art as well as creating a comfortable and luxurious — but casual — place for the entire family to enjoy,” St. John says. “We like to think we were bringing back the conversation-TV pit in this fun space. The rustic materials and handcrafted details, again, create an authentic, cozy, lodge-inspired room.”

Creating rooms that felt real and relaxed was the primary goal throughout the design process. Dressed in warm tones of copper and rust, spaces like the bedroom provided opportunities to meld art, craftsmanship, and comfort in a natural, unaffected way.

“Our intention was to make sure this room felt authentic, collected, custom, rustic, luxurious, and comfortable,” Casey says. “The leather wall upholstery and built-in cabinetry around the bed create a very custom feel without feeling contrived. It looks like it was always there. We really curated the other pieces in the room as well in order to ensure that this space felt one of a kind.”

The beauty of embracing art and design together is that every space becomes unique, a combination exclusive to that collector and that homeowner — just like those horses above the bathtub.

Get The Look

Complement your own collections with contemporary accents.

Cow-print butterfly chair ($352), shadesoflight.com

Colorado lamp ($750), steelstrike.com

Cicero bed runner ($262), silveradoapparel-home.com

Handcrafted copper tub ($3,200), jorgekfurniture.com

Katt hand-knotted rug ($2,800), brumbaughs.com

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Photography: (Home) Gibeon Photography; (Get The Look) courtesy Shades of Light, Steel Strike, Silverado Apparel + Home, Jorge Kurczyn, Brumbaugh's Fine Home Furnishings