Duplex Remodeling House Ideas Part 01

Remodeling House Ideas : Duplex Remodeling House Ideas Part 01

Unboxed

Used as a ski chalet, this Beaver Creek, Colorado, duplex was really little more than a collection of boxy, low-ceilinged rooms that provided a stopover for sleeping and a place for storing equipment between runs. At first sight, homeowner and designer Sally Austen, owner of Sagebrush Design in Edwards, Colorado, was able to see a range of design possibilities. “I wasn’t really in the market to buy,”


Sally recalled, “but I could see that the house had good bones. Although it was quite a challenge, I knew it could be exquisite.” 

Before she could consider the decorative elements, she had to open up the space and enlarge it. Sally began by turning the loggia that connected the house to the garage into a living room with a vaulted ceiling. She then turned a cramped 8-by-8-foot kitchen area into an L-shaped room that is pleasing to work in and great for entertaining. “I wanted to create a place where people could gather,” she said.

The space that had originally been the living room became a casual area for dining and informal get-togethers, warmed by a big stone fireplace. For larger gatherings, Sally utilizes the foyer, which has a faux French refectory table that, with leaves, can open to 10 feet wide and seat eight.

Major work was needed to turn the dark, low-ceilinged hunter-green bedroom into a master suite. When removing the dark wood beams, Sally was happy to discover that the ceiling was false, and proceeded to open it up to its true height of 15 feet. Uncommon in the West, French doors were used in several rooms replacing the solid interior doors that gave the rooms a cramped feeling. She also had the worn carpeting throughout the house replaced with antique-looking hickory floors, and had all of the wall areas repainted in light tones to visually expand the rooms. Many of the windows were also replaced to bring in light and open the rooms to the natural beauty and year-round view outside.


The Wish List

• Increase the home’s interior living space from 2,500 to almost 3,800 square feet
• Add a formal living room, media room and study
• Create a vaulted ceiling so the loggia would become the living room
• Heighten the bedroom by removing crisscrossed beams
and a false ceiling
• Widen the door area leading to the master bathroom
• Brighten and update all of the baths with marble like ceramic or porcelain tiles
• Install a series of stacked windows on one side of the new living room to take greater advantage of the view

Duplex Remodeling House Ideas Part 02
Duplex Remodeling House Ideas Part 03
Duplex Remodeling House Ideas Part 04