There’s a certain trap designers fall into when working in a place as visually specific as Crested Butte. The temptation to lean into the setting, to turn a mountain home into a moodboard of the American West, is understandable. Emily Tucker of Emily Tucker Design didn’t take the bait.
“My clients certainly didn’t want to live in a ‘western’ house,” Emily says of the four-bedroom retreat she designed for a couple of semi-retired professionals. “They wanted the house to feel like them, while still honoring the location and sense of place.” So Emily did what she does best: she let the architecture speak, and gave the furnishings permission to breathe.
That architecture had plenty to say. The bones of the home arrived long before Emily touched a single fabric swatch: vaulted ceilings, glass corridors connecting the property’s modest detached structures, and materials with a past life. “The timber beams were all reclaimed, and the concrete pavers on the floors were recycled from Denver sidewalks,” she notes. “They still have some old paint markings on them and everything.” For Emily, that history wasn’t a challenge to design around; it was a gift.
The result is a home that layers warmth without telegraphing it. Danish antique furniture nods to the clients’ Scandinavian leanings. Custom textiles and a palette of soft, natural tones keep the landscape, rather than the interiors, as the visual lead. “The colors in Crested Butte, particularly in the summer, are so vibrant,” Emily explains. “We wanted the interiors to support that, not contrast or conflict.”
Her favorite room is the great room, nicknamed the “sit pit” by the clients themselves. Inside, floor-to-ceiling views of Crested Butte Mountain, vintage Razorback chairs, and a custom wool rug Emily commissioned specifically for the room. “We wanted the space to be soft in all aspects: color, texture, and layering,” she says. “Really a space to be comfortable.”
That ease was always the point. When someone walks through the front door for the first time, Emily has one hope for how they feel. “I hope they feel sleepy,” she cheekily says. “And by that I mean I hope they feel so cozy that they want to curl up in one of the club chairs, or lay on the wool rug, and take a little nap.” Mission accomplished.
For print-exclusive stories, download the digital magazine or pick up a copy from select local King Soopers, Safeway, Tattered Cover, or Barnes & Noble locations.
