Introducing the Stunning Mountain Lane Aspen Show House
/The new year is the time to celebrate new beginnings and we have a lot to celebrate. We are designing a show house! Located in the sought-after community of Aspen Snowmass, the Mountain Lane Show House plans to open its doors in the fall of 2021. Over the next several months, we will be sharing the major transformation virtually and we hope that you join us for what is sure to be a very exciting journey.
This is a very special project for us because at completion, Mountain Lane will become Laura’s family home. When she moved to Aspen from Houston last fall, she toured the home and found it a little dated. Built in 1995, the home had never undergone a reno. But Laura saw so much potential for a new, contemporary design to grace the spectacular landscape at the base of Snowmass Mountain.
“When we started digging into the plans, it was really apparent how easy it was to clean this up and make it perfect for my family,” says Laura. “I’m excited to share all the crazy that goes into a massive renovation, which is what this is going to be.”
Led by Laura and our Creative Director, Gina Brown, we are taking the home down to the studs. With the help of our presenting partners, Permiano Builders and Monogram Appliances, as well as our favorite home brands, like Ann Sacks and Hudson Valley Lighting Group, we plan to transform this mountainside abode from top-to-bottom.
From Foundation to Furnishings: Our Design Approach
At LUDC, our projects are driven by passion, purpose and personality. Every home we design seeks to fulfill these three things, and this unique opportunity allows us to invite you into our “wholistic” process as we design a home nestled in one of the most magical places in the world.
Since becoming a collective last year, our now multi-disciplinary team has designed homes from the ground up. It is so important to us that we offer our clients the ability to create their dream homes at every stage. By looking at a home as more than a structure, more than a shelter, we guide our clients to see the interconnectedness of design. A home is so much more than timber and stone. It is the place where families build memories that last throughout their lives.
With the original structure of Mountain Lane down to the studs, our team plans to completely renovate the space from “foundation to furnishings.” Our vision is simple: bring Mountain Lane into the modern, making it a functional space for an active family with busy parents and even busier kids. (Yes, we mean Laura’s family…).
We have established an incredible in-house team, complemented by contractors and vendors - resulting in a highly collaborative process, much like we would create for a client. This curative approach produces spaces which are deeply personal and fully reflective of the character of each client.
Stay tuned for a more “behind the scenes” with each of our Show House partners, without whom this project could never be possible.
Committed to Community: Creating A Positive Impact
As explained by Tim McKeogh in his article “The Secrets to Perfect Show House Participation,” for Architectural Digest, designer show houses are unique spaces. They offer incredible -- and often unparalleled -- opportunities for product designers, furniture makers, local artisans and other creatives in the community.
Mountain Lane will bring together some of our favorite furniture, fabric, and lighting companies, all of whom we include in our clients’ homes. We plan to bring their wonderful collections directly to Aspen, connecting them with the amazing shelter industry here. Storied show houses, like the famous Kips Bay, do a lot for the designers and brands that participate in them. But they also benefit the communities in which they are held.
In our last show house, Boulevard in Houston, we partnered with Preservation Houston, the beneficiary of our tour sales. For Mountain Lane, we are partnering with Anderson Ranch. All proceeds from our virtual tours will go directly to supporting Anderson Ranch’s mission of recognizing “human beings’ lifelong need to develop personal creativity and to discover, learn and grow” through artistic expression.
Looking Back: BLVD Show House
Speaking of Boulevard, our first show house was a 1925 Tudor Revival fronting the iconic North Boulevard in Houston, Texas. The home was the product of a number of collaborations between the LUDC and luxury architecture and interior brands. From Newberry Architecture, which at that time included Gina Elkins, to Moss Landscaping, many of these partners were local to the area.
Just as is planned for Mountain Lane, the Boulevard Show House showcased the talent and craftsmanship of our incredible partner brands. The Boulevard Show House provided a new platform for the stunning work of these creatives. At the same time, it enriched the community by honoring a historic home fought for by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. As a part of Aspen Snowmass, the house will also endeavor to contribute to and honor the culture of this special corner of Colorado. With a bold and thriving design scene, there will be much to engage with in Aspen!
WHY ASPEN SNOWMASS, COLORADO?
Haven for Family and Community
From the first moment Laura and her family came to Colorado (which was actually back in 2014), they fell in love with Aspen and in particular, Snowmass Village. Just a 10 minute drive to Aspen’s Main Street, this quaint, special town in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, offers respite from “the hustle and bustle of city life.” Thankfully -- despite its small population of just under 3,000 -- it does so without sacrificing urban amenities. Community-oriented yet open and non-insular, Snowmass Village delivers small-town charm while welcoming visitors from all around the globe.
The many vacationers arriving from both near and far seek out Snowmass Village, Colorado for its recreational and competitive skiing, internationally-inspired restaurants and breathtaking mountain views. Ski Magazine described Snowmass last year in their “Resorts of the Year” round-up as the “gold standard" of ski spots. The Aspen Snowmass mountains represent “four of the most amazing places skiers can visit in the USA.” In addition to its excellent recreation and dozens of activities for visitors, the spot is also ideal for families. Data-based neighborhood ranking platform Niche lauds Snowmass as “one of the best places to live in Colorado.” Niche awards the town high marks for local schools, crime and safety, housing, nightlife and family and community engagement.
Snowmass offers world-class skiing from November through March and “one of the world’s best mountain biking trail systems” free from snow in the Summer. Given this, it is no small wonder the town draws hosts of adventurers every month of the year. Rarely reaching past 85 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 29 °C) on even its hottest days, Snowmass’s off-seasons are just as enjoyable. A diverse number of warm-weather activities -- shopping, gallery hopping, hot air ballooning and hiking -- offer plenty to do for both residents and visitors.
Overall, Snowmass represents an unusual and invigorating cross-section of culture and history. It brings together world-class creatives with scientific innovators and long-term residents with adventure-seeking tourists. The combination of all these elements makes for exciting interior design in Snowmass Village in Colorado.
LOCAL PARTNERS IN ASPEN SNOWMASS
Permiano Builders
Our primary local partner in Aspen Snowmass is Permiano Builders. This firm specializing in “handcrafting luxury, single-family homes in Aspen, the Roaring Fork Valley and Denver, Colorado.” Permiano Builders is an ideal partner for the Laura U Design Collective. This is because of their experience working in arenas important to Laura U and complementary to the LUDC team’s process. In particular, Permiano Builders takes on multiple types of builds, from new constructions to renovations of historic homes. Like the LUDC team, Permiano’s experience “runs the gamut” architecturally, “from contemporary to mountain rustic and from small custom homes to large private estates.” Their dedication to building a select few custom homes each year reflects the care, thoughtfulness and innovation LUDC also pours into each design project. Clients recommend Permiano Builders for being consummate “professionals” who are “easy to work with” and reliably “turn out a quality product.”
Ray F. Paschal -- president of Permiano Builders -- describes one of the company’s primary goals as fostering long-term trust between partners and clients. Happily -- and by no coincidence -- this is a value held just as closely by LUDC. Paschal notes that Permiano Builders endeavors to consistently “create homes of enduring quality -- on time and on budget,” resulting in beautiful, usable custom spaces.
VENDORS INVOLVED IN THE MOUNTAIN LANE ASPEN SHOW HOUSE
Ann Sacks Tile
A “world leader” in the tile industry, Ann Sacks has been Internationally renowned for designing and distributing quality products over the past three decades. Each tile design from Ann Sacks has the potential to transform any space. This is particularly so because the company “always leaves the door open to fresh ideas, collaboration, creative suggestions and custom solutions.” Respect for the fact that “no two rooms or dreams are alike” represents the hallmark of Ann Sacks’ work. The iconic design house defines its vision as bringing all its clients “a world of unsurpassed artistry." It also focuses on providing unparalleled "craftsmanship and quality in [its] choice of designers, materials and styles.” The LUDC design team has happily -- and to great effect -- worked with Ann Sacks across many projects, including the Green Tree home bathrooms remodel. In fact, the main takeaway from this project was that “quality tiles like those from Ann Sacks are always worth the splurge.”
Hudson Valley Lighting Group
David Littman -- founder of Hudson Valley Lighting Group -- established the company in the 1980s. His goal was to offer clients who “put quality first” exceptionally designed fixtures for their homes. The Group now represents four “industry-recognized brands united by a few common principles.” These include an enduring and unwavering “pursuit of excellence,” enrichment of a “design-driven culture” and permanent “commitment to the highest possible quality.” Sustainability is also a key focus. Their willingness to adapt to the industry as it changes places them in perfect alignment with Laura U’s ethos of careful, wholistic design. Littman’s decades of experience in the industry has resulted in the cultivation and maintenance of relationships with both legendary designers and exciting up-and-comers. This network of connections and deep well of experience has allowed the Hudson Valley Lighting Group to “push the envelope." They do so with each new collection "while responding with agility to market demands.”
Monogram Appliances
Monogram Appliances is the perfect partner for the Mountain Lane Show House because of their integrated approach to luxury and functionality. Of course, these represent two primary tenets of the LUDC design process. Above all, Monogram’s appliances represent innovative thought and exceptional attention to detail. Their self-described three main pillars of design are “materials, performance and ownership.” Each of these three pillars “upholds [Monogram’s] commitment to high quality, innovation and [their] ongoing relationships with designers and consumers.” All materials sourced by Monogram for their appliances are durable, industry-leading and ideal for custom-built homes. Like the LUDC team, Monogram service agents dedicate themselves to each project “from start to finish.”
We are just getting started, and we hope that you join us every step of the way. At the heart of this project is what connects all of us here at LUDC: our love of home. That love guides everything that we do and we cannot wait to share it with you as we design the Mountain Lane Show House.
Stay tuned for updates to the Mountain Lane Show House vendors list -- and for work-in-progress photos! -- by following the project on Instagram.