A decade ago, Mike and Linda Danner decided to give up the city life they knew in Long Island, New York, to raise their two boys in a small-town atmosphere. An anthropologist with a passion for French culture, Linda suggested they find a rustic yet cultured place that brought to mind the mountain villages dotting the French Alps that she'd visited.
On weekend jaunts, Mike, an engineer, set out to find that place. One weekend he called home. "He said, 'Hey, Lin. This looks just like that place in France,'" recalls Linda. Mike was in Telluride, Colorado, standing on a lot in a box canyon and eyeing Telluride Ski Resort. They bought just over an acre on the sunny side of a valley 15 minutes from the town's center. But what kind of home would best suit their French inspiration? "We were going for a cross between French Country and Craftsman style," Mike says. "It's the Rocky Mountains meets a bit of Switzerland."
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In their minds, they saw exposed interior timbers, stonework, gabled rooflines and magnificent views. Timber framing was the natural choice for its pure craftsmanship, Mike says. Since the Danners would manage the project from Long Island, they wanted a reputable company. "I figured the reputation of Bensonwood Homes would ensure our home was built right," Mike says. After visiting the timber home company's headquarters, the Danners and Bensonwood architects customized a standard plan to create a three-level, 4,200-square-foot home with five bedrooms and three and a half baths. But the plans changed many times over the course of excavation.
Although the couple's site provided stunning southern exposure, the lot's slope ended up being a design challenge. "There's an awful lot of concrete in this foundation because the main foundation wall was basically a retaining wall loaded with steel," says Tom Olsen, the Bensonwood project manager on the Danner home. Additional excavation under the home allowed architects to design a walkout basement that houses the boys' bedrooms, a full bath, a rec room and storage space.
The excavation also required additional fortifications around the foundation. Simon Aplin of Aplin Masonry built walls from a local stone known as Telluride gold — also used for the exterior, interior and portico that lends a chateau feel. The Danners chose reclaimed barn-board siding from Central Canada to highlight the contrasts of the exterior, from light to dark and stone to wood. Inside, two 256-square-foot wings were added (one became a mudroom and sewing room and the other a master suite with a bedroom, bath and office), and so was Mike's office — a stone tower structure with a hip roof and views east, west and north.
"That tower office came and went about three or four times during the design," Tom says. "But it really makes the front of the house much more interesting," But while the stone detailing is stunning, Tom points out that the true measure of a timber home is in its framing and joinery—in this case, Oregon-grown Douglas fir timbers and cherrywood splines. "It's such an honest expression of a structure," he says. "Bensonwood minimizes the impact of timber shrinkage because we use house joints just about everywhere, meaning that the butt-end of the timber is fit into a housing that conceals any shrinkage."
It was an efficient element not lost on builder Allan Ranta, a newcomer to timber homes. "They delivered the frame and then attached full wall and ceiling panels onsite," Allan says. "It was fully framed with panels and fittings for utilities and plumbing in 12 days." During construction, Mike and Linda went about their lives on Long Island while their interior decorator, Marilyn Siegel, worked with Allan at the site to ensure the home reflected the Danners' tastes.
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For inspiration, she referred to the book Interieurs de Provence to conjure colors and design decisions of French country living. From that point, she worked her vast contacts and traveled the antiques circuit in Colorado and California, snapping photographs and e-mailing images to Linda with suggestions for furniture, art, rugs and rustic lighting.
"Even though it's a large house, each individual space has a human scale," Marilyn says. "Their great room pulls you in for the view and makes you feel warm and cozy. Part of that has to do with the finishing materials, and part has to do with the timber and stone architecture." Linda says the results are evident. "Someone once offered to trade houses with us. But we wouldn't trade this place. It feels too much like our house."
TIMBER FRAME DETAILS:
Square footage: 4,200
Builder: Allan Ranta
Timber producer: Bensonwood Homes
Tour the French-Country Timber Home In Colorado
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