One of our most favorite projects, the Fullerton Residence in Aspen, Colorado is featured in this issue of LUXE Magazine. The home is situated on the picturesque banks of Aspen’s Rio Grande River, a half-acre site that Richard and Elizabeth Fullerton were attracted to for the beautiful views and potential for an indoor-outdoor lifestyle. However, the almost-perfect location was missing one very important thing- a beautiful house.
The existing structure was a Postmodern-style house that didn’t fit the environment or the Fullertons’ vision for their home. “We wanted a warm, contemporary, four-season-friendly house with an open feeling for family life and entertaining, as well as a separation of space between the master bedroom and kids’ areas,” explains Richard. “And we wanted it to blend in with the surroundings.”
Read on to find out how Charles Cunniffe Architects was able to help make the Fullertons’ dream home a reality in this excerpt from LUXE.
Correcting structural deficiencies and allowing for Cunniffe’s aesthetic plan to unfold proved most challenging, as the entire structure needed to be framed in steel in order to support the home’s large windows and high ceilings. Inside, the space reveals dramatically. Generous in square footage, the main level is loft-like, with arched and angled tongue-and-groove maple ceilings rising above spacious kitchen, dining and living areas that, in turn, open to the river via a custom sliding door system by Point Five.
Throughout, an acid-etched concrete floor handles everything from puddles of water tracked in from the river by the kids to the antics of the family’s golden retriever. Two elements anchor the space: The first is a pair of custom-poured concrete counter-islands by Concrete Revolution in what Richard describes as Elizabeth’s “dream kitchen”; the second, a massive brick fireplace—the only evidence of the original house that remains—newly faced with a curved, patinated steel surround. Steel detailing also surfaces on an arch inside the entry door and the stairway rail. A cantilevered stairway with bamboo-clad steps connects the main level with the upstairs kids’ domain, which features a pair of generously sized bedrooms. A guest master, which includes a full bath accessed via a sliding barn-style door, sits at the front of the house, atop the garage.
To see more photos of this project, visit the Fullerton Residence gallery.
