High Life

Colorado drew Brian Moriarty and Joan Davids like a magnet. First the Connecticut couple came for vacations. Once they retired from their jobs at IBM, they embraced Colorado's active lifestyle year round, taking special delight in skiing, hiking and biking among majestic peaks with groups of people their age who share their interests. But they brought a reminder of their roots with them: a timber-frame home from New England.

The couple decided on a timber-frame home even before they found a place to build it. A bed & breakfast they stayed at on one of their Colorado trips sparked their interest in this type home. It had been built by Davis Frame of Claremont, New Hampshire "I wasn't thrilled with it, but only because it was the wrong style," Joan recalls. She was much happier with the second timber-frame home they saw, also by Davis Frame, at an open house in New Hampshire. They liked its open layout and modern look.

The openness was especially appealing since they knew they would be living surrounded by great views. In addition, Brian, an engineer, was impressed by the structural strengh of timber-frame construction. Of course, they both loved the beauty of the wood.

One feature they didn't appreciate but have since come to value is the insulating quality of the panels attached to the frame that form the walls. "We're spending less to heat a larger home here than we did back in Connecticut," Joan points out.

In August 1999 they bought land they liked outside Silverthorne, in a mountainside development above a golf course near four major ski resorts. Their 3/4-acre lot, located at 9,100 feet elevation, is surrounded by woods of aspen and lodgepole pine trees. "We were drawn to this development, even though we don't play golf, because of the views and because it's part of another development that's already settled," Joan says. "So we're not out in the woods by ourselves. We wanted to be part of a community, and we are."

The winter after buying the property, they came out to Colorado to ski and began looking for an architect who could meld timber framing with their mountainside setting. "We decided we wanted an architect here, so that she could stand on the property and design the home that was appropriate for it," Joan says. "We also wanted someone familiar with local requirements and the nuances of building styles. For instance, back East, people tend to have eat-in kitchens. Here, they tend not to."

They hired Karen Smuland even before they met, interviewing her by phone from Connecticut after she sent them her portfolio. "Not only did we like what we saw and had good interaction with her over the phone, we also had heard good things about her," Joan says.

It was Karen's first timber-frame home, so she bought a book about timber framing to familiarize herself with the building system. The couple also showed her snapshots and pictures clipped from magazines to give her a general idea of what they wanted. "We didn't tell her exactly what the house should look like," Brian says, "but we did give her a set of general requirements." The most important one was for the kitchen to be an extension of the living and dining areas to give them plenty of openness when they entertained.

Karen drew up preliminary plans, which Joan and Brian sent to four companies they were considering for cost and time estimates. Two were reasonably close to their goals. Karen then drew more detailed plans, which Brian and Joan sent to the two finalists and paid them a small fee to depict what the frames would look like. "There is a certain artistry to this," Brian explains. "It's not pure engineering."

They preferred Davis Frame's submission because it was simpler and more modern, "Whether it's furniture or the framing itself, we like simple, clean lines," Brian says. Joan add: "It just has the nice bevel on the edge. We chose Douglas fir because we like the beauty of the wood, and it just happened to go with some of the teak furniture that we have."

The design called for 4,200 square feet of living space, quite a step up from their 2,800-square-foot Connecticut house. They intended the extra room for guests, office space for the two of them and a finished basement to take advantage of the views. "We thought why should we have it be just storage space," Joan says.

After selling their Connecticut place, they rented a small house about a mile down the hillside from their homesite. They hired Alpine Concepts of Silverthorne as their contractor. Owner Calvin Stewart had never built a timber-frame home, but he had plenty of construction experience, came highly recommended and loved wood. They broke ground four months later.

Jeff Davis flew out to help the Alpine Concepts crew erect the frame, spending nine days on site. "He's very fussy about having things done right and has a good New England work ethic," Joan says.

During construction, Brian kept track of the progress, Joan videotaped it and together they made the day-to-day decisions. Most centered on finishes. Even though Brian says he and Joan (spent the time ahead of time" so they could avoid making changes, they still had minor modifications. "Once the timbers were up, we were supposed to have a wall in the hallway upstairs that went straight up to the ceiling. We decided to close it off," Joan recalls. "It doesn't affect the bedrooms on the other side, but it opens up the entryway and makes it more dramatic."

After 13 months, the home was ready for Joan and Brian to move in. Finish and furnishing the home gave it the contemporary look that Brian and Joan desired. The furniture was pieces they had acquired over the years, augmented by a few new pieces to fill out the space. "A lot of people when they move say they want furniture that fits their new location," Joan explains. "But I had lived overseas, and Brian had a number of Chinese antique pieces. We said, 'That's part of us. Why should we have all Southwestern, Colorado Indian or rustic look when that's not really what we're all about?' We decided to bring our story with us."

Their latest chapter is filled with enjoyment of their new home and its setting. "The front of the house faces south, which is our primary view," Joan says. "We can see Keystone ski area to our southeast. We have tow, closer mountains to our west, which can be seen from our great room." The mountains remind them of the challenging but rewarding activities that now enrich their lives. Whether biking up them or skiing down them, Joan and Brian are almost always on the go.