By Karen Mitchell

	Click for more images Architect: Jim Logan Architects Builder: Hughes Construction Landscape designer: David Kahn Interior design: Lansing Design Kitchen designer: Diane Ebeling Click here to read more about the kitchen designer for this project.

When Toni and Chris Ozeroff approached architect Jim Logan, of Boulder, Colorado, to design a traditional English country house on their vacant property in a North Boulder neighborhood, discussions about a future home went immediately back in time. Logan invited his clients, a couple with two young sons, to peruse pictures of the great English country homes of the late–19th century. "We kept coming back to houses by C.F.A. Voysey, a prominent architect in the early Arts and Crafts movement, which was a reaction to the Victorian style," Logan says. "The Boulder house I designed for them is a conversation with Voysey. The challenge was to fit another time and place into the local topography and lifestyle, weaving traditional English country forms into shapes familiar to this setting."

The Ozeroffs wanted discrete rooms in a time–honored interior that incorporates a modern sense of openness, light, and a connection to the landscape; a home that is both formal and welcoming. This was accomplished by orienting the house to be friendly and approachable, and through ubiquitous use of natural light. With its cement stucco exterior, embellished with bluestone trim and nestled under six gables, the 5,000–square–foot house could have been positioned to present an imposing street presence. Instead, the structure was sited so that its main entry, a recessed wooden door bordered by blue glazed tile, faces east, sideways to the street, fronted by an intimate, approachable garden rather than a formal yard.

Inside, the large formal entry hall was designed to introduce a series of views, Logan says, with a vista to the living room, doorless and beckoning at the end of the long hallway. "I have in my mind these images, like in a film, so when you step into a house you can see what you’re drawn to."

As the hallway narrows, gleaming Brazilian cherrywood floors lead to a variety of rooms—a small office, library, formal dining room, and an informal grouping of the kitchen, back stairway to an upper hall, and mudroom. Logan designed big pocket doors with glass panels for most of the main–floor rooms. "The doorways are overscaled and the windows I do tend to be tall, large windows set high in the wall," he adds. When the doors are left open, all formality dissipates.

Logan’s high windows, a signature of his architectural style, are also part of his energy–efficient consciousness. "Most windows in American houses are set at 6 feet, 8 inches, matching the tops of doors," he says. "Before 1900, a better job was done with daylighting interiors."

To maximize efficiency, the windows all have low–emission (Low–E) glass, which allows the sun’s heat and light to enter while blocking heat from leaving, and there are two extra inches of foam insulation for the exterior walls. The floors are radiant and, thanks to recycled cellulose insulation, the ceiling is a very tight R–50.

Custom fireplaces, in the living room and library, are focal points. In the living room, which has two distinct seating areas, the recessed Italian mosaic blue tile fireplace is modified from an inglenook style in which there is an alcove or corner within the hearth. A mahogany plate rail above the fireplace extends into the hall, providing a little shelf about 4 1/2 feet high everywhere it travels and tying the living room to the hall.

The task of integrating furnishings and accessories with the surroundings fell to Boulder interior designer Ann Lansing of Lansing Design, who chose to emphasize often overlooked wall and floor coverings. "Drapes and rugs are critical items, yet so many people neglect these when they build big homes in Colorado. They can be expensive, but they add such incredible elements to a home," says Lansing. "In this Arts and Crafts–style house, the warmth of the Brazilian cherrywood floors works well with Persian rugs, without giving a strictly formal look."

Lansing says the choice of several lighting sconces, rather than overhead fixtures, in the living room and hallways further added to the geniality of the home. "There’s more light from the sides of the walls and that’s old style, giving off an inviting feel," she says.

The overall success of the project came down to scale and proportion. "It’s all about making the house seem big inside, smaller from the outside," explains Logan. "The walls of the upper–level rooms are formed by the rooflines of the gables and dormers, making them intimate and attic–like. From the outside, this makes the house friendly, like a cottage. From the inside, it’s cozy and comfortable, safe and good."

David and his contractor, Mike Allred, tried to preserve as much of the indigenous landscape as possible, wriggling the house between stands of scrub oak, chokeberry, and big–tooth maple. The sole patch of lawn is planted with buffalo grass, which needs watering only once a week. While buffalo themselves have never made an appearance, the Bremses have spied deer, elk, and coyotes on their property, and on several occasions woke to find a moose staring at them through the bedroom window. A little startling, perhaps, but no big deal for a couple that enjoys a challenge.