a place for company and calm
By Katherine Nettles
he number of family members staying at the Davis home in the Aperture neighborhood can vary from two to more than a dozen, which makes versatility a prominent feature. After mostly raising five children in a much smaller home in Crested Butte, the transition to Pyramid Avenue came just in time for Cindy and Gary’s entry into grandparenthood.
The couple moved with their children from Austin to Crested Butte about 10 years ago, and made do with a home at Second and Maroon that was about 1,400 square feet. “We maximized it, but it was a very small house,” says Cindy. “We were a family of seven, then the older three were getting married, then two of them had babies, then the fourth got married…and there was no way everyone could come at the same time.”
The Davises purchased a lot in the Aperture neighborhood in 2020, and after a couple years of designing and building their dream home they moved into the finished space in 2023.
While they enjoy the quiet of the neighborhood and the peacefulness of nature out the windows, Cindy and Gary wanted to stay near town and be closer to trails than more rural locations would allow. “This was a beautiful combination of the two. You can still ride a townie into town, you still have all that access but just a little more space.”
Architects Jim and Karen Barney along with builder Jeff Dixon of Craft Mountain Homes helped them accomplish their goal of a versatile home with a relatively low footprint of about 3,300 square feet and a main level that includes everything they need for the two of them: an open living space and separation of spaces for the master suite, guest rooms and other living areas for people to spread out when visiting.
“I think we had a pretty good idea in terms of what spaces we wanted and the feel we wanted, but of course the Barneys helped us put that together and Jeff (Dixon) did that too,” says Cindy. “You always have to be ready to pivot. You can have a vision but making it happen is a process.”
The lot was unusual, with a good amount of space but a strictly defined building envelope. There is also a drop-off in site elevation, and there are wetlands close by with setbacks. “So you had to build within that envelope and it took a lot of creativity on the part of the Barneys to figure out how that would come together,” says Gary.
“Sometimes constraints actually are benefits,” says Jim Barney. “The site itself created the geometry of the house.”
The home is spacious but not vast, which was important to the couple as they knew they would be settling into empty-nesting within a few years and would want to feel cozy when it was just the two of them.
“The central core is kind of the transition zone,” says Jim of the main level. At one end is a master suite and a smaller living space for Gary and Cindy to use when they aren’t hosting. At the other end of the main level is access to the upper and lower levels with more bedrooms, bathrooms, a movie room and access to a large outdoor living space. A clever bunk room is tucked away at the far end as well, for the grandbabies as they grow up. Everything flows through the open concept main floor area that can easily host large gatherings, and Cindy and Gary have found their large dining table is now frequently nominated for card games with friends.
“But we can just shut off the rest of the house when we don’t need it,” says Gary.
Mt. Crested Butte and Paradise Divide are the main focal points, which can be viewed through large walls of windows along the back of the home and windows that meet at strategic corners of certain rooms to give unimpeded views.
“We wanted to have more privacy from the street,” says Jim. “It’s a reaction to the natural wetlands boundary, the sightlines to the various view corridors and then also a buffering from the context of the subdivision itself.”
Warm touches came with the help of reclaimed salvage wood cross beams from A&M Salvage in Gunnison, soft textured window treatments and Tadelakt stucco on the walls.
Interior finishes were sourced locally with textiles from Sally Johnson at Willow and lighting, hardware and paint colors from Kim Raines at Mountain Colors. “Sally and Kim really helped me dial in on how I wanted it feel warm, not cold,” says Cindy.
“Storage was a big thing after living in our old house,” emphasizes Cindy. The crawl space is accessible from the main floor and opens to the back patio, and cabinetry is positioned along the length of the mudroom and laundry room to provide space without adding square footage for large closets.
The master bedroom wing of the house is a single story, and along the exterior it is distinct from the rest of the house with exposed eaves and log chinking which gives an impression of an original cabin that was added onto with modern sections later.
“I thought it was a great idea and it keeps more of the traditional proportions of the windows and also the scaling and massing of the structure itself,” says Jim. “I think this house is respectful of old, traditional architecture with new architecture and a nice balance between the two.”
There were enough logs left over to add an accent wall inside as well.
“I still wanted mountain touches,” says Cindy.
On the exterior, the contemporary elements of dark stained vertical siding with uneven widths and frameless windows combine with traditional touches like stonework, a separate garage and a formal entryway. The home’s secondary entrance connects to the garage with a stone path, and the separate building breaks up the building mass and creates another transitional outside space.
Cindy emphasizes her deep satisfaction with the team they assembled to create their dream house. “I prefer to focus on the wonderful, professional, talented people who helped us,” she says. “We’re so grateful to be able to live here and for all the friends we’ve made.”
