February 28, 2025, is a blackout date in my memory. That occasion marked a towering, immense, all-time personal and professional goal. I moved into the home I designed for myself and my family. As always with my momentous life milestones, I find it hard to quiet myself and be there in the moment. Just when I want to be most present, my maladaptive human brain drains the color of the world to black and white. So here I am, over a year later, discovering that I live in my own home, that I designed and built with my husband.

At first, in the blurry first months, I could not see past things which I might do differently in the “otherwise” version of this home. It was all I could see. What would I do differently? It was not healthy. One year later, that alternate version has faded away, and I’m excited to be present. Live my one beautiful life. I love this home.

And that roller coaster of emotions was revelatory. I have been empathetic to my clients in the past, but it’s different now. I feel their feelings more. This is like when I stopped being able to watch murder shows on TV after having children. The gut punch is just harder. I can’t watch children get hurt, even in fiction.  In the same way in design collaboration, I am more in it with my clients than I was before I built my own home. It’s just a way of walking through the world that I can’t un-know and will be there moving forward, for the projects to come.

 

I’m excited to see my home published in the design-forward Modern in Denver here. Thank you to Vanessa Kauffman Zimmerly for the beautiful writing in that piece.

More photos on the project page at the L+S website, here.

 

& ….Thank you to the project team!

  • Architecture/Interiors: Land+Shelter Architecture Studio
  • General Contractor: Owner / Self Performed & Edgar Cuc
  • Structural Engineer: Iron Mountain
  • Civil Engineer: Sopris Engineering 
  • Excavation: FH Excavation 
  • Framing: Velazquez Construction LLC
  • Millwork: Lofland Specialties Inc.
  • Concrete: New Journey Concrete LLC and G3 Concrete 
  • Masonry: RL Masonry
  • Metal: AF Roofing 
  • PV Design & Install: Sunsense
  • Insulation: Accurate Insulation
  • Flooring Install: Mountain Impressions Hardwood Flooring LLC
  • Flooring Supplier: Vintage Hardwood Flooring LLC 
  • Stone Fab/Install: Down Valley Design 
  • Tile Install: Tile Elevated
  • Window & Door Supplier: Sightline Solutions
  • Wood Stove: True North Hearth & Home
  • Mechanical: Elevate Air Solutions
  • Electrical: Expert Electric
  • Plumbing: Dallas Plumbing