Over the years, the popular Cowboy and Indian theme has remained a mainstay for many Colorado homeowners. We’ve all seen the lodge full of antler chandeliers, tanned hides, and Indian canoes—design trends befitting for times when Buffalo Bill and his posse might drop by. More recent, newer, fresher approaches have surfaced. At McCoy Design, our clients approach us with requests for updated and unique interiors.
McCoy Design’s interiors integrate the best of mountain home décor without being overly stylized. Our symbol represents our philosophy that we integrate into each project. The three interlocking components recognize a client’s input, our design application, and clarification of the client’s ideas; then a third element is created: a design that is new, innovative, and crafted from the client’s vision and our expertise. We balance your interior décor with the mountain environment while keeping with current trends such as contemporary, casual elegance, European, and more traditional aesthetics. After all, a home in the mountains should look like it belongs in the mountains.
So, what do you do when you want a comfortable home that reflects a more sophisticated or modern style while still melding with the beauty of the Rocky Mountain surroundings? These simple but basic tips will help create that perfect style!
Tip 1: Incorporate Natural Materials.
Incorporate natural materials into your space, such as stone, metal, and wood.
Add stone on interior columns, floors, and fireplaces to give any space weight and texture. Depending on the scale of your home, you may want an entire wall out of stone or just a small stone surround at the fireplace.
Use metal elements. Wrought iron, copper, bronze, and steel make strong statements. Design a wrought iron and bronze stair railing, add a façade of metal to a door, or select interesting metal hardware for smaller spaces.
Use natural stains on your wood beams, doors, trim, and flooring to bring the warmth of nature inside. Natural stain colors let the beauty of the wood shine through, while painted woods are flattering accents. Kitchen islands and specialty furniture are great places for accents, and they tie colored surfaces—like granite and metal—together.
Tip 2: Layer with Color
For a more contemporary look, choose a single color, then use different saturations and values of the same color throughout.
Use bright colors for a “pop” on artwork or accessories.
For other styles integrate more color into your plan. Choose two primaries from the color wheel, and then select its secondary color counterpart. Red can move to rust or berry; yellow from buckskin to evergreen; or blue from sage to indigo.
Tip 3: Layer with Texture
Layer different textures of fabrics, wood, stone in different shades of the same color for a more modern look. Envision a supple tan suede sofa on a maple floor combined with buff flagstone. Add in natural rough-hewn beams, a crème cashmere throw, and some chocolate chenille accent pillows, and you’re there.
Complete it with reflective surfaces like bronze or glass and you have a layering of textures that creates visual interest for a sense of balance and wellbeing.
Use these tips combined with a solid lighting plan to accentuate your pieces. Keep the scale of the pieces in harmony with your space and balance aesthetics with function. Use this foundation then be sure to mix in items that highlight your personality and you’ll have a home that pleases your senses on a daily basis as well as eliciting “ohs” and “ahs” from your friends and family.
