Basic psychology has always been part of any savvy designer’s toolbox, but, occasionally, a bit of cardiology is necessary as well. “This house needed a heartbeat, a pulse, a jolt to bring it to life,” says AD100 designer Frances Merrill of Reath Design, describing her resuscitation of a gloriously situated but otherwise undistinguished Aspen mountain retreat from the 1990s. “This wasn’t a house that had a lot of history to go back to, so there were questions. How much Alpine do you bring in? How do you conjure a sense of place that feels right for Aspen—and for this family—without resorting to clichés?” the designer continues. “Nobody wanted a caricatured stage set pretending to be a Swiss chalet.”
Merrill, of course, did what she does best—layering in subtle colors, textures, and patterns to shift the vibe from chilly to charming. “There’s plenty of white outside on the slopes. We didn’t need it on the drywall and kitchen cabinetry,” the designer quips. To make the great room greater, and cozier, she paneled the walls in knotty pine, expanding the wood treatment on the existing ceiling. A hand-carved wood trim by artist Nik Gelormino wraps the lofty space, reappearing in the kitchen and in one of the primary baths. To complement the warmth of the pine, Merrill sheathed the fireplace entirely in copper. “We must have done 10 designs for that thing. We tried tile, plaster, wood, but in the end a simple, tailored jacket of copper hit the perfect note,” she says.
The decorative assemblage in the great room epitomizes Merrill’s overall sensibility. Classic and contemporary, rustic and refined, subtle and sophisticated—they all coalesce in a scheme whose apparent nonchalance belies the rigor of its composition. The main sitting area in the great room features a sofa dressed in a discreet green floral and backed by a carved cedar credenza by Studio Valle de Valle, accompanied by a Dan John Anderson side table and a 1960s Tue Poulsen oak-and-ceramic cocktail table. Two sheepskin-covered lounge chairs can swivel to take in the stunning views of the mountaintops and ski slopes. Vintage Carlo Scarpa Kentucky chairs surround a contemporary fiberglass games table by Faye Toogood, which gently glows in the sunlight. “There are one or two easily recognizable 20th-century classics, but most of the vintage pieces don’t fall into the category of greatest hits by boldface names,” Merrill explains. “We wanted to keep the mood understated and cozy.”
The transformation of the formerly blinding-white kitchen is a particular triumph, with deep-green Rookwood tiles now covering the walls, glazed terra-cotta tiles underfoot, and an island crafted of knotty pine topped with honed Ceppo Avorio marble. Café curtains sewn from a vintage linen petit point tablecloth add a dash of signature Reath-ian sweetness to the mix.
The old-meets-new aesthetic extends into the dining room, where a Tobia Scarpa pendant light hangs above a custom oak table. In the primary suite, the designer paired a Gustavian folk art dresser with a contemporary Lukas Cober resin table and midcentury Nordic chairs by Hans Wegner and Olavi Hänninen. Wrapped in a cocoon of green Holland & Sherry flannel, which Merrill used for wall covering and curtains, the bedroom offers a warm, inviting refuge from the snowy surrounds, the perfect spot to snuggle in and savor the pageantry of Mother Nature unfolding outside.
“When you’re working in a place like Aspen, with such spectacular scenery, you have to walk a fine line. There’s a danger of doing too much. You want to defer to the landscape, which is why you’re there in the first place, but you can’t capitulate entirely,” Merrill opines. “Our goal wasn’t to compete with the grandeur of the mountains. We just wanted to create a comfortable, soulful space where the homeowners can best appreciate it.”
This story appears in the AD100 issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.
