My Houzz: Fresh Update for a Midcentury Ranch in Denver
New finishes and improved light and flow honor a home’s iconic design
Jeffrey Bond and Tory Gaylord Bond had previously lived in a Dutch Colonial, a Spanish Colonial and an American foursquare, which locally is also referred to as a Denver Square, all of which Tory had completely redone. Now they they were ready for something different. After looking at nearly 200 homes, they found a neglected 1963 midcentury ranch that had been designed by renowned architects John Rogers and Jerome Nagel, cofounders of RNL Design in Denver. “When I saw the house, I thought it would be fun to do something totally different,” says Tory, a part-time management consultant. “And I grew up in a ranch, and I like the way they live.” She and her husband, a healthcare company executive, refreshed the interior layout and finishes to create the family home they wanted.
Tory designed the pivoting walnut front door in collaboration with John Huess of Paradigm Woodworking, and Joel Agra of Castlewood Doors & Millwork helped to build it. “It was a complex engineering task,” Tory says of its innovative design. “It took three months from start to finish. John [brought] some creative design ideas along with building the layout all the way through installation.”
The couple also kept sections of the vintage screens that form a division between one side of the house and the other, one of their favorite original elements. Keeping only sections allowed them to open the house up and allow the light to flow throughout.
The couple believes that ample natural light is essential for a comfortable home. They added 11 skylights throughout the house when replacing the roof, including some in the family room.
Art: eBay; chair: Milo Baughman; rug: Surya; Reese curved sectional in Darin Teal: Room & Board
Art: eBay; chair: Milo Baughman; rug: Surya; Reese curved sectional in Darin Teal: Room & Board
A limestone-tiled two-way fireplace divides the dining room from the family room.
The couple found the W.H. Gunlocke chair for $35 through Craigslist and had their vintage Plycraft chair reupholstered in a soft blue leather by Imrovich Strepman Furniture.
The kitchen was originally a closed-off midcentury-style galley. By removing a wall and opening up the space, the couple gained a better flow between spaces.
The kitchen was originally a closed-off midcentury-style galley. By removing a wall and opening up the space, the couple gained a better flow between spaces.
Huess helped build the new walnut kitchen cabinets. “We went through several 3-D renderings until we got it just the way we wanted,” Tory says. “It was a very collaborative effort.” The backsplash tile is a recycled composite stone, Revolv, from Chicago. The countertop stone is Blue Tortuga. With its lovely soft blues, browns, grays and whites, it provided the inspiration for the color palette throughout the home.
Appliances: Monogram, GE
Appliances: Monogram, GE
Sliding glass screens are a space-saving design solution for the family’s pantry doors. To the right is a mudroom-laundry room, which leads to the garage.
The west side of the house, which includes the living room, consists of a wall of picture windows. The floors are white oak stained with a custom gray wash to contrast the dark wood.
The couple bought the Russell Woodard spun fiberglass table for $50 on Craigslist and had it relacquered.
Wall paint: Revere Pewter, Benjamin Moore; lamps: Arteriors; sofa: HW Home
The couple bought the Russell Woodard spun fiberglass table for $50 on Craigslist and had it relacquered.
Wall paint: Revere Pewter, Benjamin Moore; lamps: Arteriors; sofa: HW Home
The couple hired stone mason Igor Galkin to rebuild and resurface the previous moss rock fireplaces with Jurastone limestone. The painting above the fireplace is by Anna Tsank; the couple bought it at an art festival in Houston.
Each bedroom has its own bathroom. “The kids’ bedrooms and bathrooms were the first things we worked on after the basics were complete for the structure and functioning of the home,” Tory says. “There are no windows on this side of the home. Instead, they have sliding glass doors. I will have to get creative when the kids are teenagers,” she adds with a laugh.
Uptown bunk bed: Land of Nod
Uptown bunk bed: Land of Nod
The couple updated son Cullen’s bathroom with new fixtures, contemporary neutral tile and a new skylight, which welcomes in ample natural light to completely change the feel of the space.
Tile: Daltile, Vogue Bay
Tile: Daltile, Vogue Bay
Daughter Grace’s bedroom is next door and shares the color palette of soft neutrals and blues with pops of orange. The beds are vintage, but Tory had them relaquered.
This guest bedroom features vintage doors from San Miguel, Mexico, a wedding present that the couple repurposed as decorative wall panels.
Bed: Djuna
Bed: Djuna
Jeffrey’s private office space, off the garage, used to be a storage shed. Tory designed it and painted the striped wall herself. The floor is a concrete slab that they had refinished.
Sofa: HW Home; lights: Sonneman; credenza: Room & Board; rug: Crate & Barrel
Sofa: HW Home; lights: Sonneman; credenza: Room & Board; rug: Crate & Barrel
Framed in the office is an architectural rendering of the home. “It was done by the original architects, Rogers and Nagel, and we begged the sellers to let us have it,” Tory says. The firm is internationally famous and designed some iconic Denver buildings, such as the Colorado History Museum and the Colorado supreme court complex.
Teardrop sconces: Sonneman
Teardrop sconces: Sonneman
Tory holds her daughter in the backyard as she admires the back view of the home. She loves the way the evening light illuminates and highlights the home’s iconic architecture. In addition to the master suite, guest suite and unfinished basement, the final phase of renovations includes a back landscaping project, due to be finished within a year.
Tory recently invited Cynnie Nagel (above at left), widow of the late Jerome Nagel, for a visit. “She stayed for about an hour and was extremely complimentary of how we honored the tradition and the style of the home with our renovation,” Tory says, adding, “We had a beautiful canvas to begin with. Whatever we did was just inherent in the architecture.”
The Bond family, from left to right: Cullen, Jeffrey, Tory and Grace, in front of their house.
“I wanted the inside of our home to connect to the outside well since we have so much glass, but the overall goal was for our home to just be comfortable and earthy,” Tory says. “I didn’t have a master plan. It kind of just evolved with us.”
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
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“I wanted the inside of our home to connect to the outside well since we have so much glass, but the overall goal was for our home to just be comfortable and earthy,” Tory says. “I didn’t have a master plan. It kind of just evolved with us.”
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Small Homes | Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Jeffrey Bond, Tory Gaylord Bond; their children, Grace, 6, and Cullen, 4; and their miniature Goldendoodle, Cleo
Location: Denver
Size: 4,000 square feet (372 square meters): four bedrooms, four bathrooms; plus a 1,600-square-foot (149-square-meter) unfinished basement
“We’ve been under construction the entire time we’ve lived here. It all grays together,” Tory says. For the first six months, the couple tackled the basics. They replaced the roof and windows, did some electrical and plumbing work and added a new driveway.
Through it all, they had the help of general contractor Clint Szychowski of Colorado Concept Builders. “Though this was his first midcentury project, he has been involved in every iteration for the past five years,” she says.
Tory was enamored of the home’s post-and-beam construction and the beams that can be found in every room of the house. “They are the structural support system for the entire house,” she says. “This is why I fell in love with this house.” Here, the couple’s children, Grace and Cullen, play on the post-and-beam structural system that extends to the patio.