In the stillness of a Beaver Creek winter, when snow softens every edge and the world feels briefly suspended, designer Susan Weiss finds her truest canvas. The founder of Emerson Bailey, named after her father, Susan has built a career on the belief that beautiful design does not need to announce itself. In this mountainside home, it simply exists. It is quiet, grounded, and exquisitely considered.
“My vision was to create a space that feels deeply rooted in its mountain setting while still carrying the quiet elegance I have always admired in European design,” she says. “Those two influences do not compete. They complement one another.”
That duality is the home’s heartbeat. Softly grained woods meet cool stone veining. Warm textiles wrap clean architectural lines. Nothing is overly dressed, yet nothing is accidental. It is the kind of luxury you feel long before you try to name it.
Susan says the home’s sense of calm is born from a willingness to edit. “The balance came from choosing materials and forms that feel honest. Wood with texture, stone with movement, fabrics with depth,” she explains. “Layering those with more refined detailing allowed the home to live in both worlds. It is sophisticated but still unmistakably connected to the Rockies.”
Throughout the interiors, vintage and antique pieces deepen the story. A sculptural Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair, Swedish root bowls, and timeworn crucibles feel effortless among the contemporary forms. “The antiques carry a poetry you cannot manufacture,” Susan says. “The right piece should feel like a natural extension of the architecture. It should ground the room rather than overpower it.”
Her philosophy that antiques should be lived with, not guarded, gives the home its warmth. Historic pieces sit in high-traffic spaces, softening the architecture and infusing daily life with a sense of continuity. “They support real living, and that is when they are at their best.”
The custom craftsmanship, from millwork to metalwork to handwoven textiles, is where the home speaks loudest despite its quiet demeanor. “These elements do not shout,” Susan notes. “Their quiet perfection becomes the loudest thing in the room.”
Across the kitchen, baths, and living spaces, a shared rhythm keeps the home cohesive while allowing each area its own tone. “It is like a family of materials,” she says. “Each has its own personality but clearly belongs.”
In the hush of winter, the home feels almost meditative. It offers a reminder that luxury does not need to call attention to itself. Sometimes it simply settles in, warms the room, and invites you to breathe.
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