6 Interior Design Tips for Your Downtown Boulder Home
Boulder, Colorado is home to some of the most picturesque scenery in the entire United States and some of the most beautiful homes and condos. Perfectly situated about 30 miles northwest of Denver, Boulder was founded in 1871 at the foot of the Rockies, where farmers, ranchers, cowboys, and other pioneering individuals sought their fortunes in the Wild West. Boulder still holds that authentic western charm today but has since vibrantly transitioned into a prestigious hub for successful individuals in tech, aerospace, education, and more.
Joining this lively, mile-high community is a choice increasingly made by outdoor aficionados as Boulder welcomes new residents looking for a mountain oasis basking in an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. Local real estate expert Patrick Westfall recently merged the best aspects of his business with a new Compass office in Downtown Boulder. From here, he provides all the services you need for a diligent home search in this vivacious area.
Today, we are reviewing several interior design tips to make your Boulder abode as comforting and cozy as it is luxurious and fashionable. Here we explore several enchanting interior design features that are practically perfect for today’s Boulder lifestyle.
Sophisticated mudroom
If you just moved to the city or are looking at homes for sale in Boulder, chances are you enjoy the great outdoors with everything the area has to offer. Residents explore their territory year-round by hiking, climbing, mountain biking, and engaging in water sports in the summertime. Come winter and the action shifts to skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling, just to name a few of the countless activities available.
What does this mean for you? A lot — a lot of gear that is! So let’s get started on designing the interior of your home by walking through the entrance and into your mudroom. Whether coming in from a day on the slopes or in the rapids, you’ll need storage space for snow gear, boots, helmets, jackets, boards, bikes, bindings, paddles, and more. Plus, you’ll want to avoid tracking water or mud into your Boulder luxury home or condo!
Make your equipment as accessible as possible by maximizing the space offered in the entranceway. Interior designer Ken Fulk encourages optimizing your entire wall space from floor to ceiling with closets, cubbies, and hangers to get every last square inch out of your mudroom for every piece of equipment you need. For those high, hard-to-reach cabinets, consider installing a rolling library ladder for easy access.
As an added luxury, think about installing a sink or washer/dryer combination into the mix as well. Strip off those muddy, snowy outdoor shells and toss them straight into the washer to make your cleanup easier after an active day outside.
A fabulous fireplace
While Boulder’s summers offer endless outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, and more, winter’s gift of powdery snow offers world-renowned skiing and snowboarding for those looking to hit the slopes. After a long day at Keystone Mountain or Breckenridge, the body demands cozy comfort and relaxation, and there’s no better therapy than enjoying a glass of wine or local craft brew around your Downtown Boulder fireplace.
To ensure a tranquil setting after a day of braving the elements, have your fireplace situated in a central location in your home. Here all will gather to enjoy the warmth from a roaring hearth made of stone, metal, or other locally-sourced material. To fill your space with a pleasant aromatic burn, select local Colorado Red Cedar firewood or Rocky Mountain Juniper for natural incense.
Wonderful west-facing windows
Taking in Boulder’s wild majesty is a must for all residents and visitors, and standing over beautiful Downtown Boulder are the Flatiron Mountains for all to admire from every angle. Towering more than 7,000 feet from their base, these sandstone formations give Boulder its picturesque backdrop lined with green in the summer and coated in powdery snow in the winter.
How do you emphasize this natural beauty in your Boulder estate? As the Flatirons sit due west of Boulder, create a lounge area exposed to expansive windows on the western-facing side of your property to soak in the gorgeous mountain views from sunrise to sunset. Additionally, if you have the flexibility, consider installing floor-to-ceiling windows to capture these dramatic views in full glory.
Mix modern aesthetics with ranch and farmhouse-style materials
To truly represent the modern aura of Boulder, leverage interior design motifs that merge the best of the city’s old western roots with its new-age luxury home vibe that attracts successful professionals from all walks of life.
For example, consider simple ergonomic furniture design throughout the home as well as sleek dining and kitchen accessory accouterments like full glass tables and locally-sourced marble countertops. To counterbalance this sophisticated ambiance, incorporate exposed wooden beams across ceilings or flanking doorways to give a rustic feel to your space as a testament to the old west of Colorado’s past.
For some brilliant ideas and examples of this interior crossover, feast your eyes on the possibilities featured in Colorado Homes & Lifestyle magazine.
Create a friendly pet environment
We humans are far from the only wildlife in the Boulder area, but we’re not always talking about bears, mountain lions, or moose, either. Our feline and canine friends thrive in and around Boulder, too, with one dog living the mountain high life for every three households.
Fortunately, much of Boulder’s luxury real estate has interior features welcoming to pets. To gauge your home’s readiness for dogs and cats, first, analyze your surfaces to determine cleaning requirements. Long hikes produce muddy paws, and traditional carpeted indoor areas risk permanent staining of mud and other materials brought in by larger pets. To combat this, consider easily-washable fabric materials like Crypton or Ultrasuede for furniture. For flooring, aim for hard surfaces like concrete, tile, laminates, and similar options for easy mop-up capabilities.
Hair and fur shedding can be a trickier problem, but matching upholstery with the color of your pet’s coat limits the noticeability of shedding on surfaces and furniture. For optimal protection against shedding and clawing, consider hardy leather options or more solid benches and chairs in lieu of traditional upholstery.
Taking local interior design to the next level
Once you’ve found your perfect home in the Downtown Boulder area, we recommend exploring these interior design ideas further with local experts. Listed below are four of the top local design houses guaranteed to personalize your living space and maximize the enjoyment of your new home or condo.
1.) Andrea Schumacher Interiors. From her headquarters in Denver, Andrea Schumacher approaches interiors with an open mind and draws inspiration from other cultures and fashions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Colorado State University and earned a certificate in universal design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.
2.) Studiovert Environmental + Interior Designs. This modern, environmentally friendly architecture firm offers services for all in the Boulder area. Specialties include everything from structural changes and streamlined electrical planning to space utilization and furnishing direction.
3.) Kari Whitman Interiors. Kari Whitman is a celebrity interior designer who has worked with well-known personalities such as Jessica Alba, Antonio Banderas, and Kristen Bell. Her specialization in luxury residential interior design will make your home a showcase for style and comfort.
4.) Oliver Designs. Oliver Designs puts client personality at the center of its design philosophy, believing that great design can improve everyday life. Surrounding a home’s inhabitants with the right colors, textures, and objects is key.
Find your perfect Boulder home with Patrick Westfall
Looking for the best homes and condos to make your interior design dreams a reality? Patrick Westfall, a top real estate agent affiliated with Compass, has all the insight and help you need to find your luxurious residence — whether it be a stylish downtown townhouse, a North Boulder mansion, or anything in between. Patrick is a University of Colorado, Boulder graduate and resident of the area for 24 years. In his spare time, Patrick likes to seize the day outside by biking, hiking, and golfing, among other area activities. Contact Patrick today.