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Trek Through Colorado’sautumn splendor

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Step inside 3 Colorado

dream homes

ExquisiteFall Fashion

Sophisticated Silhouettes from casual to cocktail

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DreamHomes

What makes a dream home? Is it big square footage or a tiny house that functions seamlessly? Is it luxurious fabric spun from the finest silk or hand-dyed, homemade textiles? Or is it a house built around a passion? When it comes to homes, truly, the

dream is in the mind of the homeowner. The homeowners featured in this issue are all passionate about their loves—horses, racing cars and airplanes. They dreamt of a home that would allow them to pursue their passion. And, clearly, beauty and good design were part of that dream. Dream big, we’re told. And we all do; some make their dreams happen. These homeowners recognized their dreams and built them.

Three homeowners bring Their passionaTe pursuiTs home.

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surrounDing spaCes. sleeping quarters to the south, the great room to the north and the kitchen on the east define the boundaries of the private courtyard. Views of Longs Peak and the Flatirons create a visual boundary to the west.

The indoor and outdoor kitchens function as one when the glass pocket doors are open. The bedroom sliding glass door opens onto the pool’s bridge, which divides the hot tub from the endless pool. The great room’s accordion glass doors expand the living space and link the indoors and outdoors. The airplane’s private taxiway merges onto the airport runway.

merging inDoor anD ouTDoor spaCe. Large glass doors and windows open the living areas to the private courtyard and spectacular western views. a two-sided fire-place anchors the great room.

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Scott and Jan deLuise share a passion for fly-ing and wanted to have their plane as handy as most people have their car.

After remodeling many homes over the years, they decided to make one more move, this time with their plane. They chose a two-acre property at the Erie airport with expan-sive views of the Rocky Mountains, and then began the design process. Both knew they wanted a sustainable, contemporary house that would allow their passion for flying to become a part of daily life. Opening up the interior to stunning views, yet maintaining a great deal of privacy was important as well.

What they didn’t share, perhaps, were the details of a design sensibility. Jan likes earthy, natural colors and materials. Scott leans toward the high-tech and industrial. That was the starting point for architects Mark Bowers and Katharina Jenista, who set about creating a space that delivered on all points.

The earth side of the home, grounded by natural materials, is designed for living. The sky side, clad in aluminum, houses the hangar and is designed for soaring.

The property has 20-foot setbacks and is deeper than wide, on an east-west axis. To open up the house to the stunning views of Long’s Peak and the Flatirons and yet create privacy was a challenge. The spatial orien-tations of the primary spaces mirror the layout of the airport runways. The deLuise taxiway parallels the Erie airport runway, which is about 200 feet from their back door, according to Scott. Being so close means the deLuises hear every takeoff and landing. “We love the sound of planes; we don’t think of it as noise,” Scott says.

Airport sounds and climate are managed by a triple-glazed, heat mirror window system that provides the equivalent to an R-9 insu-lated wall. Insulated aluminum wall panels and aluminum sunshades help control heat loss and gain. The sunshades block 80 per-cent of the sun during the summer months and allow 80 percent of the sun in during winter months. A ‘4control’ system monitors the home and controls lighting, mechanics and sunshades.

In the hangar is what Bowers describes as a “flying man cave.” Scott’s office and retreat area is actually suspended from the steel ceiling beams. Adjacent to the office is an elevator and bathroom.

On the exterior of the earth side, the archi-tectural team chose Prodema panels, a polycar-bonate composite panel faced with a natural wood veneer and coated with a proprietary coating, to clad the steel structure. They never need refinishing, according to Jenista.

“We mixed cross and vertical grain sheets of Prodema panels to give texture to the structure,” Bowers says. “Prodema creates a rain screen and is a sophisticated house skin that allows the house to breathe.”

The master suite and main living spaces form two ‘wood box’ wings. The master suite wing is a rectangular box set on an angle that faces the Flatirons and creates one side of an open courtyard. The living space, another box but set at a 90-degree angle to the property, creates the other side of the open courtyard with a pool and outdoor kitchen.

The house has a steel structure that allows an organic flow and openness of the interior. “The greatest challenge was creating balance within the large, open space,” Bowers says. “We did that by changing flooring mate-rial and placement of structural elements. The structural elements are rigid, but the space flows around it. It is one of the special features of the home.”

The three great room areas (living room, dining room and den) create intimacy for

two and space for 30. Each has its own seating area and is further defined by structural beams and posts. Accordion glass doors in the great room fold back to create a seamless flow from the great room to the courtyard. “Kati [ Jenista] worked with Jan to create the look she wanted and that also worked architectur-ally,” Scott says.

The kitchen separates the living and sleep-ing areas. Kitchen glass pocket doors open the indoor kitchen to the outdoor kitchen and

where earth Meets skyOne couple takes their passion for flying to new heights.

After four years in the home, there is not one thing the couple would change. “it is perfect.” — Scott deLuise

greaT room CenTerpieCe. The ground face masonry fireplace anchors the intimate seating area. Black leather Barcelona chairs face a tan leather sectional. overlooking the arrangement is a six-panel ceramic piece by santa Fe artist Gretchen Wachs.

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courtyard. “One of our favorite things about the house is opening all the great room doors and kitchen doors to have one contiguous space for guests,” Scott says. Additionally, the open courtyard features an outdoor kitchen, a hot tub and an endless “swim-in-place” pool with a recirculating current. “The pool

is so beautiful, it serves as a water feature as well as a swimming pool,” he adds.

After four years in the home, there is not one thing the couple would change. “It is perfect,” says deLuise.

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sTruCTure anD spaCe. The great room space flows around and through the rigid steel structure, which also helps define the living, dining and den areas. The bamboo used for the flooring and ceilings came from China. The travertine that defines the stair-well area came from Turkey. all windows are triple glazed aluminum-clad wood windows.

kiTChen buffers living anD sleep-ing QuarTers. The kitchen lies between the two wood boxes, one for sleeping and one for living. Kitchen countertops are black granite, the floor is travertine and the walls are ground face masonry (concrete masonry units). Wood in the cabinets, benches and trim throughout the house is wenge. a walk-in wine cooler is to the left, and glass pocket doors that lead to the courtyard are to right.


resourCes:location: erie architects: mark Bowers, aIa, LeeD aP, founder and principal of architectural Work-shop, archshop.com

Katharina Jenista, LeeD aP, architectural Workshop, archshop.comhangar: 3,600 square feetsite: 2.0 acreshouse: 6,240 square feet

bedrooms: 5bathrooms: 4.5leeD: silver Certifiedphotography: ed LaCasse, LaCasse Photog-raphy, edlacasse.com

sooThing waTer. only steps from the swimming pool through a shared glass door, the bath and bedroom are an open floor plan, allowing a strong indoor to outdoor connec-tion. Wenge wood cabinets and traventine flooring in the bathroom repeat materials used throughout the house. The large show-er has a pebble floor and glass tile walls. The sliding glass door on a ceiling-mounted rail is used for both the shower and toilet.

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the thrill oF designA home in perfect harmony with nature and its owners’

desire for elegant simplicity

The huge black widow spider on the gate to Da-vid and Jean Jacobs’ Boulder property may ap-pear ominous, but it is not. It is significant. The black widow is Jacobs’ company logo, which he developed years ago for Spyder Active Sports. You could say this is the house Spyder built.

In 2004, the former Canadian Olympic ski racer and coach sold the global active sportswear company he began in 1978 out of his kitchen as a small mail order business. About the same time, the owners of a 150-acre ranch applied to the city to subdivide their land. “Jean and I had walked that ranch trail many times and dreamt, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to build a home here’,” David says. They bought the five-acre prop-erty in 2005 and shortly thereafter began the design process with architect John Mink.

Mink walked the property with the Jacobs. “I listened to David,” says Mink. “I heard his stories. He skis fast. He drives fast. I soaked up his needs. He wanted to be able to see his vin-tage race cars every day. He wanted one floor. And family is important to Jean and David so they needed a dining room big enough to gather their children and grandchildren. And windows for the views.”

“The Jacobs’ home is a response to Frank Lloyd Wright,” Mink says. The strong horizon-tal lines of the house and the four vertical chimneys ground the house. The roofline reflects the hills behind the house; the roof color blends with the landscape. Large over-hangs and mitered corner windows are a page out of Wright’s workbook.

Mink lowered the site five feet and nestled

the home into the landscape, preserving the neighbors’ view of the Flatirons while increas-ing the Jacobs’ privacy and shielding the house from the busy street below. “We didn’t want to offend the neighbors,” David says.

The hip roof and intersecting roof valleys created an engineering challenge that the builder, Tim Harrington, executed precisely. The view from the rear clearly shows that the seams on the metal roof align perfectly when viewed from the end of the pool, and the intersec-tions flow together to create one roof. He mounted the south-facing photovoltaic roof panels out of sight. The cantilevered roof that creates a patio cover was another engineering and construction

challenge. A beam along the glass wall provides hidden support.

On the interior, designer Meg Jonsen struck the perfect balance between furnishings and architecture, which play off each in perfect harmony. “The intent was for the home to be comfortable,” Jonsen says.

“I believe form should follow function,” says David. “We liked the strong Wright influence on the exterior but wanted to open up the inte-rior to more light and to capture the views. We wanted to go a little more contemporary rather than period. We learned so much from Meg. She brought in a lot of softness. Jean spent a lot of time making decisions with her.”

Many elements create the soft, warm, con-temporary feel that make the homeowners and their guests feel comfortable. The human scale of the home is an important factor. Ceilings are about 11 feet high, and the coving,

another nod to Wright, helps make the space feel intimate yet spacious. The cove ceilings throughout the house conceal indirect light-ing, which casts a soft glow on the plaster ceil-ings and rooms. The Venetian plaster walls, the simplicity of the upholstery, the rugs and fabrics and the soft palette all contribute to the successful marriage of space and intimacy as well, classic and contemporary. The look strikes visitors more as classic and timeless than starkly contemporary.

The timeless Venetian plaster used throughout the home is an art form. The

fusion of lanDsCape anD home. The roof line echoes the hills behind the house. Four vertical chimneys and strong hori-zontal lines anchor the house to the ground.

Dining appoinTmenTs. The dining room table and chairs are from Holly Hunt, hollyhunt.com, to-the-trade-only. The chairs are uphol-stered in a pearly cream Italian leather by spin-neybeck.com, to-the-trade-only. Chandeliers are by Hilliard Lamps, hilliardlamps.com, to-the-trade only. The rug is from shaver-ramsey in Cherry Creek North, shaver-ramsey.com.

spYDer-builT. The black widow has be-come known worldwide as the spyder active sports logo, a Jacobs creation.

Dining room Drama. The dining room easily seats up to 20 guests, who can view the art gallery of vintage racing autos across the courtyard. In the evening, lighting adds drama: The chandeliers are dimmed slightly and the courtyard and garage are illluminated, showcasing the vintage race cars.


Schielke brothers, a third-generation family of craftsmen, meticulously applied the thin coat of hand-tinted plaster to the dry wall, which must be perfectly installed in order for the plaster to work. The color appears mottled but it is not, Jonsen says. “The color-ing is all in the application technique.”

“The project was so smooth; the process was seamless,” says Jonsen, who had a great team in Mink and Harrington. “We met on-

site regularly during construction. At one of those meetings we saw the opportunity to add the band of alder under the great room cov-ing and emphasize the horizontal nature of the house, as well as add some warmth. Much of the harmony that was achieved between architecture and interiors was intuitive,” Jonsen says, adding that she also had the gift of starting with a clean slate.

The Jacobs brought only one or two items

with them from their previous home… except for quite a few extraordinary antiques from David’s mother, who was an antiques dealer in Canada. “We considered mounting the 17th-century cathedral doors to the hallway wall, but decided to lean them against the wall and live with them for a while to see if we liked them there,” says David. Four years later, the doors still lean against the same wall, earning their spot in the home. An exquisitely


carved, massive European cabinet is housed in a corner of the show garage, along with Jacobs’ vintage autos. “I don’t know what to do with the antiques,” David says.

Jonsen says working with David and Jean was a joy. “It was such a collaborative effort. Jean and I spent hours sitting in chairs, looking at art, sam-pling paint on site and taking care of so many details. And David is a designer, you know.”

Jacobs may thrive on the thrill of driving

and skiing fast, but the thrill of design is, in fact, part of Jacobs’ DNA as well. He studied fashion design and art in Canada, and cer-tainly inherited his mother’s eye for the visual. His, and Jean’s, art studios are in the upstairs portion of the house over the show garage. Several of his paintings hang in the house.

When he founded Spyder Active Sports, he melded the fashion design and skiing inter-ests. He expanded the Spyder skiwear line to

include cycling and race car sportswear. Today, he races cars and cycles from his home to Gold Hill; Spyder design is still part of his life.

Jonsen describes the house as “elegantly simple.” It follows the quote from Coco Chanel she keeps on her desk: “Simplicity is the keynote to all true elegance.” Walking into the home today, one thing is clear: The Jacobs know and appreciate elegant design.

Zooming in. The symmetrical lines of the 75-foot lap pool appear to converge on the living area of the house. Underwater speakers add to the swimming experience.

Zooming ouT. The line of sight from the front entrance stretches through the living room, down the pool and to the Flatirons. alder-wrapped columns, along with cornice-like facing and trim, frame the symmetrical view and emphasize the horizontal nature of the house. sofa and chairs are custom-designed by Jonsen. The chairs are covered in a caramel Italian leather from spinneybeck, spinneybeck.com, to-the-trade-only. The walls are custom-tinted Venetian plaster.

reTreaT anD resT. a soft palette and fabrics create a restful space in Jean Jacobs’ retreat room, where a curly-maple custom-built bookcase houses oriental porcelain and bronze figurines, along with Geisha dolls collected on travels. The chair is cus-tom-made and upholstered in a beige chenille by Glant, glant.com, to-the-trade only. The custom rug is by emma Gardner, emmagardnerd-esign.com, to-the-trade only. The walls are a custom-tinted Venetian plaster.


eleganCe from The pasT. a Vene-tian chandelier the couple purchased in Italy casts a soft glow on the warm honey marble tiles, white onyx counter-tops, custom-built alder cabinets and walnut floors. It was one of the two or three items the couple brought with them from their previous home.

blue Ceiling. soft blues and greens echo the outdoors, and, along with the plush upholstered chairs, create a serene space. The windows reveal the view toward the Flatirons. The agate chandelier bathes the space in soft light and is from ironies.com, to-the-trade-only. The limestone fireplace was designed by Jonsen and built by materials marketing, mstoneandtile.com, to-the-trade-only.


resourCes:architect: John mink, architectural Partner-ship, architecturalpartnership.comDesigner: meg Jonsen, meg Jonsen Interior Planning & Design, megjonseninteriors.com builder: Harrington stanko Construction,

harringtonstanko.complaster Craftsmen: schielke Plastering Con-tractors, schielkeplastering.comCustom furniture maker: Hempt’s Furniture, Denver, hemptsfurniture.comproperty: 5 acres

house: about 10,000 square feet, including the show garagefootprint: about 7,000 square feetbedrooms: 3baths: 4photographer: emily minton redfield

breakfasT wiTh a view. a pedestal table from michael Berman Limited, michaelbermanlimited.com, and chairs covered in a caramel spinneybeck Ital-ian leather, spinneybeck.com, define the breakfast area. Pendant lighting is from Flos, usa.flos.com. all are to-the-trade.

horiZonTal lines. The Colorado slabs of layered sandstone emphasize the horizontal lines of the house. The large overhangs and the low sloping roof recall Frank Lloyd Wright.

vinTage raCing Cars. The garage that houses Jacobs’ car collection faces the courtyard, across from the dining room. He still rolls out the meticulously restored race cars for competitions around the world, in which he drives—and often wins, sometimes against 20-something drivers.

warmTh of wooD. Like the great room, the ceilings throughout the house are made of larch, a deciduous coni-fer in the pine family, which contrasts with the dark walnut beams, posts and trim. The floors are hand-lapped walnut. stone detailing is Colorado Buff sandstone.


Childhood dreams don’t always come true, but the story of Vance and Jane Diggins’ 12,500-square-foot equestrian estate near Ber-thoud is built on memories and passion. Every room has a story, born out of Vance’s life.

In his mid-40s, Vance took a fly-fishing trip outside Durango. The outfitter put him on a horse for the first time in his life. By the end of the trip he had negotiated with the outfitter to buy the horse. And thus began the first step in realizing his boyhood dreams.

“When I was a child growing up in Michi-gan, one of my absolute favorite TV programs was ‘Bonanza’,” says Vance. “I always felt like I should have been one of Ben Cartwright’s kids growing up on the Ponderosa ranch. I dreamed endlessly of living in the West and glamorized

the rugged, honest lifestyle they portrayed… horses, mountains, guns and adventure.”

So the search for a home to go with the horse began. Finding his own Ponderosa was not so easy, however.

Nearly a decade after the fishing trip, he and his wife, Jane, traveled Boulder county back roads on their Harley in search of their dream, but their outings led nowhere, until one day they topped a hill and the vision stopped them in their tracks. Stretching out before them was an undeveloped valley with clear views of the mountains; rolling hills and all grass. No barn, no home. Nothing. But right in the middle of it all was a property for sale. They bought the land in July of 2000.

Only a man who loves his horses would build the barn first. Within a year of the pur-

chase the horses moved into their world-class barn and stable, which was featured in a Horse Connection Magazine article titled “In Search of the Perfect Barn.”

The carriage house was completed within the first year as well. Vance designed it from childhood memories of summers in Indiana working on an Amish farm. The main floor is a workspace and the second floor is a two-bedroom living space with a bath and kitchen for an estate caretaker.

It was 2005 before the Diggins moved into their “Ponderosa.”

“When we began to design our home at Paragon, there was absolutely no question as to what it was to become—the Ponderosa-like home Ben and his family lived in,” says

the house that MeMories builtParagon Equestrian Estate near Berthoud is a rider’s paradise,

and every room has a story to tell.

moDern DaY pon-Derosa. The round wood beams and posts of the main house ex-terior are made of Port orford cedar and play a major role in establish-ing the Ponderosa ranch look from the classic television series “Bonan-za.” The more than 400 acres invites long rides and exploring the hills, with the rocky moun-tains as a backdrop.


Vance. “And so our home followed the tracks of my mind.”

Vance remained faithful to his past. He describes Paragon as Ben Cartwright meets Ralph Lauren. The European influence, picked up when Vance participated in a dres-sage competition in Germany, is particularly evident in the elaborate woodcarvings by Jeff Newell, as well as in the wine cellar and indoor arena.

The overarching interior design goal was to make the space open and flowing, with connectivity between every part of the home. In close collaboration with Colleen Johnson of In-Site Design Group, the couple created the award-winning interior.

The home and structures were all designed for comfort and function. The landscape was equally important, and the couple planned walls of windows to capture the mountain views and bring a sense of the environment’s peace and tranquility indoors.

Inside the indoor arena is a mural that covers the east arena wall around the viewing windows, depicting a series of precise dres-sage movements in motion instead of the more typical separate fixed poses.

“I wanted a mural in the arena that would inspire me as I rode,” Vance says. “The idea came to me as I watched the movie ‘Patton,’ starring George C. Scott, who is talking to the camera in front of a still picture on a wall behind him.” Vance commissioned Sophy Brown to create his vision.

Vance’s greatest inspiration, however, may have been the land itself, which led him to as-similate his personal history into a current-day working estate. “Land to me always has a unique, special song associated with it,” says Vance. “If you listen and observe long enough, it will tell you the melody and lyrics that will make the music. I deeply felt the song it was singing to me.”

grape-ThemeD Dining ChanDelier. The dining room table is inlaid burl walnut. The chandelier is iron with a grapevine motif, ref-erencing the wine cellar down the spiral stair-case from the dining room.

masTer siTTing room. The master bed-room’s sitting room features a coffee and wet bar, window seat and tapestry upholstery. The focal point is the fireplace with a rojo alicante marble surround and hand-carved horse head corbels topping each leg. The frieze is outlined with rope-style molding.


resourCes:location: Near Berthoudarchitect: Carl rhode Design, rohdedesigninc.cominterior Designer: Colleen Johnson, In-site Design Group, insite-design-group.combuilder: Ken Graham Homesacreage: 428

main house square footage: about 10,500 square feet with an additional 875-square-feet of covered terracesbedrooms: 6baths: 7Carriage house square footage: 3,135 square feetbarn square footage: 3,478 square feet

indoor arena square footage: 20 feet by 60 feetoutdoor arena: 30 feet by 70 feetphotographer: LaCasse Photographymural artist: sophy Brown, sophybrown.com, fineartworld.comwood Craftsman: Jeff Newell, Newell Design studio, newelldesignstudio.com

wiDe open spaCes. The home’s covered ter-races extend the living space from four different indoor areas, with one of the terraces connecting the home to the swimming pool and hot tub.

arena views. sophy Brown painted the indoor arena mural. Vance insisted that the horse and hu-man be in perfect harmony, without tack, to inspire him as he rode. “There is nothing like it in the world,” says Vance. The mural, commissioned by Diggins and painted by Brown, shows a sequence of dressage movements.

denver’s exquisite fall fashion - harrington stanko · developed years ago for spyder active...

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