FOUND OBJECTS

DENVER LIFE - HOME + DESIGN

WELCOME TO COLORFUL COLORADO - SUMMER 2019 ISSUE

FOUND OBJECTS

CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY AND A LOVE FOR THE UNUSUAL INSPIRED THE DESIGN OF THIS WASH PARK SCRAPE

Building a home is nothing new for Carol Brookman. She has done it five or six times she says. Her new Washington Park home, however, is her forever home. She has filled it with things and ideas that she has found over the years and are special to her. She was visiting a vineyard in California when she saw brickwork in a cellar and knew she wanted it in her house. She didn’t have a house yet, but that didn’t stop the energetic and enthusiastic Denverite from collecting ideas and artifacts for her someday home. “I don’t want boring and typical",” Brookman says. That may be an understatement for someone who goes big and bold in her thinking and collecting. The center island stone in her Wash Park home is from Bellagio Stone. She bought it before she had a contract on a house. If she was passionate about something, then she was certain it would fit.

Brookman not only knew what she didn’t want, but, more important, what she did. “I wanted something that would be warm and comfortable. I wanted a richness without being formal.” While Brookman was collecting for her someday home, she was also looking at homes. “every time we saw a house we loved, it was by Larsen. That was over five years,” she says. She contacted Larsen Development, a design+build firm. She had found a home in Wash Park and wanted their team to design and build her 5,000 square-foot dream home. Down the road, the interior design team from Larsen presented a wealth of beautiful ideas to her. She graciously thanked them and, in turn, presented her very short proposal. “Everything is beautiful, but you can put those away now. I’m doing this, it’s my house.” While that might have been an inauspicious beginning, it turned out to be an exciting collaboration. “They were great. I would call with crazy ideas and they’d say, ‘We’ll see how we can make it work'.’”

She saw potential in a couple of pillars at Aaron Bros. “Look what I found,” she said to the team. “Where can we put them?” They made a place in the basement for them. Larsen President, Jeff Englund tells the same story. “Carol has a very detailed eye and great sense of interior design. She would either present an off-the-wall idea or present items she wanted to integrate, and we would have to find a way to incorporate the elements back into the overall home design, such as the dining entry columns that were re-purposed. We have a goal to deliver the best home to every client; each home is detailed in a nature that nurtures each clients direct wants and needs. Each of our homes is 100% custom, and we want the home to live fluidly for each client. This home allowed for several entertainment zones throughout, giving the flexibility for their style of living.” One of the ideas from wine country turned up in her foyer. A barrel-vaulted brick ceiling echoes those seen in wine cellars around the world. Larsen’s construction crew and craftsmen were up to the challenge. They thin-sliced the brick, meticulously fitting the pieces into the arch. The long entry hallway with the brick arch sets the tone for the house. The brick also shows up as an inlaid border of the hardwood floors in the entry hall and again in the kitchen. The brick inlay on the kitchen floor is under a custom boxcar kitchen table. The texture and grain of the boxcar slab caught Brookman’s eye. She bought it on the spot and later had it made into a table top. Butting up against the boxcar table is the kitchen island topped with the stunning Aquarelle granite slab she had spotted at Bellagio Stone and made to be the focal point of the kitchen.

The study off the entry hallway contains several special finds. The conversation piece is usually the teal guitar signed by Bruce Springsteen. An antique clock and a lamp crafted from a gasoline can get a fair share of comments as well. Custom built-ins in the living room next to the fireplace hold treasures Carol and her family have collected over the years. Just off the living room is a patio for entertaining in style. Comfortable furniture, a built-in grill, and a fireplace welcome guests to linger. A retractable shade sail covers the top frame of the pergola. The master suite and two bedrooms are upstairs, each with their own bathrooms. Brookman spied the dimensional wall tile for the master bath while on one of her hunting expeditions. She bought all she could, but the crew ran a little short. Larsen came to the rescue and found enough to finish the room. The basement is all about fun. A workout room, a wine cellar and bar, a pool table and sitting area can keep anyone entertained. Brookman added her special touch. A collection of Cubs memorabilia and a Picasso are not likely playmates, but in this house they add to the fun quotient. The light over the pool table is very special to her; it belonged to her father. Brookman’s friend Kathy O’Farrell of KO Designs helped her with accessorizing. She also called on Elements for Design.

Brookman’s partnership with Larsen Development on her own home opened the door for her to work with the design+build company on a spec home. They are now into their second collaboration.

Larsen Development Business Operations Manager, Lauren Browne is an integral part of the team as well. “I would say that when we build with someone they become family. This is absolutely the case with Carol and Bart. Not only are they amazing clients, but they have been with us through many live events: engagements, weddings, and babies. The project was seamless from start to finish with Bart and Carol. They are both a true pleasure to work with and the mutual respect is very apparent.” What better way to judge the success of a project?

Photos taken by Teri Fotheringham