Rocky Mountain High

Designer Frances Merrill of Reath Design channels the spirit of the landscape in her soulful transformation of an Aspen ski house

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IN THE GREAT ROOM, MERRILL SHEATHED THE FIREPLACE IN COPPER AND REPLACED DRYWALL WITH BOARDS OF KNOTTY PINE. HAND-CARVED TRIM BY ARTIST NIK GELORMINO BRACKETS A FRIEZE OF WOOD FLORETS. VINTAGE COCKTAIL TABLE BY TUE POULSEN. OPPOSITE CARLO SCARPA KENTUCKY CHAIRS PULL UP TO A FAYE TOOGOOD ROLY-POLY GAMES TABLE.

BASIC PSYCHOLOGY HAS ALWAYS BEEN part of any savvy designer's toolbox, but, occasionally, a bit of cardiology is necessary as well. “This house needed a heartbeat, a pulse, a jolt to bring it to life,” says AD100 designer Frances Merrill of Reath Design, describing her resuscitation of a gloriously situated but otherwise undistinguished Aspen mountain retreat from the 1990s. “This wasn’t a house that had a lot of history to go back to, so there were questions. How much Alpine do you bring in? How do you conjure a sense of place that feels right for Aspen—and for this family—without resorting to clichés?” the designer continues. “Nobody wanted a caricatured stage set pretending to be a Swiss chalet.”