A local design team gives a dated single-story home a fresh update for modern living
By Heather Shoning
Photography by Shawn Beltran
The owners of this midcentury home in the Belcaro neighborhood wanted to accentuate the era of the home while brightening darker rooms and creating spaces that would be welcoming for guests.
The living and dining rooms had long been separated by a solid wall and an imposing, bulky fireplace lacking aesthetic appeal. Additionally, the sunroom sat a step down from the rest of the house, further isolated by yet another wall dividing it from the living room. This configuration left the home feeling fragmented and disjointed, with each space disconnected from the next. For the homeowners, this layout did not align with their vision, and they knew they wanted to open up the space for modern open-concept living.
Justin Bride, principal of Ascent Contracting, Inc., introduced the homeowners to Brooklyn Daugherty and Erin Anglin, co-owners of Cult Creative, LLC. The designers assessed the existing plans, looking for creative solutions. Most designers wouldn’t choose to reduce a home’s square footage, but this duo did, which increased the liveability of the home’s public spaces tremendously.
“It was a ranch home that had been built on in phases and felt a little disjointed from the original style and spirit of the house,” Daugherty says. “Additionally, they wanted to lean a little further toward mid-mod style.”
It all started with height. Initially, the sunroom’s low ceiling and enclosed walls darkened the adjacent living room, limiting natural light and creating a sense of confinement. It doubled the effect by having a step down into it. The design team proposed two significant changes in addition to bringing down the barrier wall between the dining and living rooms: turning the sunroom into an outdoor patio—essentially decreasing the home’s interior footprint by about 300 square feet—and popping the top on the living room for more volume and natural light.
Removing the interior walls instantly transformed the area into a larger, more inviting space and had a profound impact, enhancing the home’s functionality and atmosphere. The newly opened layout fostered seamless interaction between the rooms, allowing guests to move effortlessly between the spaces during gatherings.
The transition of the sunroom to outdoor space accomplished several objectives. It created a more expansive and open feeling within the living area. Without the sunroom acting as a barrier, the patio became a natural extension of the home’s social spaces, enhancing the overall flow and usability of the property. Large doors and expansive windows replaced the former sunroom walls, bridging the indoor and outdoor environments and flooding the living room with light. Additionally, Bride’s company installed warm wood flooring throughout and matching beams that punch through the wall, connecting the indoor living to the outdoor living, in a very midcentury style. The outdoor area became a versatile setting for entertaining, seamlessly blending with the interior spaces to offer a more dynamic and flexible environment. Interestingly, despite the reduced interior square footage, the reconfiguration made the entire home feel larger.
“It allowed for that outdoor patio to be a continuation of the social and entertaining spaces,” Daugherty says. “Even though we removed interior square footage, it made everything more inviting, created better flow and optimal space for entertaining.”
The dual-sided fireplace with its straight stacked brick-look tile screams midcentury, as does the connection between indoors and out that it creates. The overall design met the homeowner’s desire for a warm, inviting, and better-integrated living environment by prioritizing flow and function over sheer size.
Another area in which the designers deleted space was from a large service panty, which allowed them to create a powder bath that was more conducive to entertaining. Then they took the pantry area that remained and made it uber functional. “We start with many conversations with homeowners about how they use the space and their values,” Anglin says. “That helps us narrow in on what’s important to them. Is it a matter of needing more space, or is it just that the space they have is awkward or poorly organized?”
The homeowners longed for a more inviting entryway—a space that welcomed and enveloped guests as they stepped through the front door. Rather than feeling abruptly deposited into a series of compartmentalized rooms, they wanted the entry to feel like a cohesive arrival point. Removing a closet in place of a bench and storage area, plus the new open-concept floor plan, accomplished the goal. It’s also a spot where a fun detail harkens to the midcentury vibe.
“The starlight fixture is one of those classic things that you see in some of these ’70s ranches, and a lot of them get destroyed or taken out because they haven’t aged well,” Anglin says. “This is a new fixture, but it has a fun nod to some of the vintage models in houses that have yet to be remodeled.”
Cult Creative helped with some furniture selections to emphasize the mid-mod style while ensuring it would work for the family. “There’s always a balance, especially with this client, as they have elementary-age children, requiring the balance between something that looks sleek and modern but is also very comfortable, usable, durable and family-friendly,” Daugherty says.
In the end, the project demonstrated the power of thoughtful design to transform not just the physical layout of a home but the way it feels and functions. The removal of literal and figurative barriers allowed for a space that brought people together, celebrating the essence of modern living. “This was one of those projects where the client was wonderful to work with. We had a very trusting relationship,” Daugherty says. “That playful energy meant the final result was beautiful, fun and functional—everything we hoped it would be.”
CULT CREATIVE, LLC
400 S. Broadway, Ste. 4
Denver
303.578.0795
cultcreativedenver.com
ASCENT CONTRACTING, INC.
3016 W. 32nd Ave.
Denver
720.282.9080
ascentcontractinginc.com
Resources
Cabinetry: Shiloh Cabinetry
Fireplace: Heat and Glo
Fireplace tile: clé Tile
Living room lighting: Shades of Light
Dining lighting: West Elm Sculptural
Powder bath lighting: Anthropologie
Living room sofa and swivel chairs: Arhaus
Dining table and chairs: Arhaus
