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Architect , designer • remodel a duplex to l a s t

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hat happens when you tombme a hammer-wielding architect with an nilerior designer who loves to paint ?

You getadynamk: twosome who can build what they draw.

Five years ngo, architect Alex Orkow and intenor designer Toni ftlmer bought a brick duplex ui Ciierry Creek and tunutl h;ilf of it into a mini-villa.

The plain exterior of the vine-covered 1930s duplex on Fifth Avenue gives no hint of the exot­ic 94()-square-foot jewel box inside.

The silvery, Italianate living r(X)m flows seamlessly mlo tlie striking kitchen. In the adja-i:ont bednxjm, where a glass-enclosed tub peeks

in from the bathnxiin, lapis-blue walls are framed with gold molding.

Besides designing the renKxlel. ftilmer, her son Kent I\ilmcr, ami Orkow did most of the car­pentry work.

Toni I^lmer and Orkow make their living designing interiors and overseeing the building by contractors.

"We feel the only way you can create a great space is to know all of the dynamics that go into construction documents, so the contractor can build i t , " I^lmer says. "There are fewer mis-takas on our projects and consequently happier clients and happier contractors. And conse­quently happier designers."

Six years ago, Orkow and F^nKT bought t duplex with the idea of reiiovating and sellinj both sides. They completed the north side fii in a typical bungak)W style.

" Wlien we got to this half, we thought, wh can we ck) that re;illy would appeal to somtioi who wanted to live in Cherry Creek and had finishes but couldn't afford a mw place?" \\\s;iys.

But instead of wowing a potential buyer, tl wound up wowing themselves and moved in

Their first clialleoge was the floor plan — turning a tot of small spaces into something t l(X)ked much grander. "You could see the bat rcxim frcmi the dining table," Orkow says of t oiiginal desigii.

Wlien the dust settled, two tiny bedroomi^ closet, a dining room, a kitchen, a living roon hallway and a bath had been merged.

Today, the daring design remains as fresh ever The fl(K)r plan logins at a media area, fl through a formal living area to a dining space 16 and lands in a getjrgeous kitchen.

From there, stairs lead out the back to a ix)rched fwtio and formal garden.

Eliminating a useless attic, the couple rais some ceilings to 12 feet.

"We tiK)k out as many partitrons as we coi. so spaces could Ix; expanded or contracted a you needetl," Orkow says. "Wlien you are ir space, you can always bonxiw visujilly fiom another space."

I^lmer adds: "We also try to create identi and spaces that look nice from anywhere in I house."

Even the paint borrows space from itself, say. The ceiling and walls of the main living i are a beige-pink. In the kitchen, a terra-cottf color has lieen ragged over this base color

"The kitchen doesn't have a solid edge as get into the dining area," Okrow says, pointi to a smudged boundaiy where the terra cott drifts to a stop. Ceiling edges are also soften with scalloped stencils.

For a final finish, the wood trim is painted an oil-based, high-gloss white paint, and cou teitops are covertMd with squares of dark gre marble.

Furnishings include silver cjindelabra, va; of flowers, diirk appliances, a collection of e;; Colorado landscape paintings and a Beidem dining table of burled veneers.

Orkow mastered construction while worl his wjiy through college.

"Construction paid a lot of money and I always liked building and designing things," says. "If we can't get a finish carpenter in to some trim, I can do i t . "

Reach Betty Lehndorff at 1303) 892-2792 or lehndorffb@Ri>cl(yMoaiitahiNem.coin.

Left: The line between the kitchen and dinin} room at the home of Toni Palmer and Alex Orkow is biurred, even down to the wall pain Holiday plates are by Versace.

P h o t o s by L i n d a M c C o n n e l l

The tifflple brick exterior of Orfcow's home conceals the coh