Rooted in the Rockies

There’s an old saying about mountain towns: come for the winter and stay for the summer. The Gilberts are the exception. They lived in Chicago full-time and came to Aspen for the summers when their daughters (now in their twenties) were young. “In the summer, you can hike, bike, go river rafting, and fly fishing,” says Marla Gilbert. “You can just go for a walk and enjoy this amazing, natural environment.” 

However, the Gilberts soon found themselves enjoying the Aspen area during every season, and in 2020 began looking seriously for a full-time home. After touring nearly 35 homes over two weekends, they settled on a property in Snowmass—a dated house that had been on the market for nine years. But it was nestled in a grove of Aspen trees, offering direct ski-in/ski-out access, and was conveniently located near both the town and the mountains.

The construction was sturdy, and the home was elevated, so there was no basement or risk of flooding, which was a priority. The property just felt right to Gilbert, and since she is an interior designer, she wasn’t intimidated by the project. “I had a feeling that this house could become something special, and I was ready to take on the challenge.”

ELEVATED LIVING, INSIDE & OUT

One of the obstacles was high ceilings and segmented flow in certain areas, which left little room for the inviting, grounded gathering place the family hoped to create. “We wanted mountain contemporary, but with a relaxed elegance,” says Gilbert, who oversaw the project from demolition to art installation, working with Walter Hooker and H.W. Smith at Incline Construction.

The original home's entryway had a staircase that led to a small landing area with hallways on either side. To make the path to the upper-level living spaces more obvious, they relocated the stairs and removed some walls. Ceiling heights were lowered in areas like the dining room to lend warmth and intimacy, while openness was maintained in places like the kitchen.

A WORKING KITCHEN WITH A DESIGNER’S TOUCH

For this central room in the home, Gilbert turned to Chicago-based kitchen designer Doug Durbin and his team at nuHaus. Together, they rebuilt the kitchen from the ground up. “I was blown away by what they do,” she says.

The Gilberts wanted a kitchen that felt welcoming for both them and their guests, and one that made cooking a pleasure. The kitchen is also the focal point of a larger, wide-open space, making it both a hub and a backdrop for daily life. “It wasn’t just about making the kitchen functional; it had to work within the floor plan and connect to several large entertaining areas,” says Durbin. “There are a lot of windows and not a lot of walls, so we had to be really intentional about storage, flow, and how the kitchen served the people around it.”

Larry Gilbert loves to cook, so the couple chose appliances that would meet a chef’s standards. That included two Wolf 30” Wall Ovens, Wolf 30” Convection Steam Oven, Wolf 30” Speed Oven, Wolf 36” Induction Cooktop, and a Sub-Zero 30” Designer Column Refrigerator. Durbin configured the appliances against the back wall—the tallest wall in the home—that rises to a peak. “It’s the only real wall we had to work with,” says Durbin. “So, it drove the balance and visual rhythm of the whole kitchen.”

A 15.5-foot island anchors the design, but it’s more than just a place to sit; it’s a workhorse. In the middle, a six-foot double-faucet Galley workstation is where all their culinary tools can be cleaned and placed. A quartzite countertop rests on top. Below is what Durbin calls the “culinary dresser,” where white oak cabinets conceal everything, including a Wolf 24” Vacuum Seal Drawer, a Cove Dishwasher, a 30” Sub-Zero Undercounter Refrigerator Drawer, and 30” Sub-Zero Freezer Drawers. There is a second set of 24” Beverage Drawers, another Cove Dishwasher, and a Sub-Zero Ice-maker in the beverage area, adjacent to the kitchen island.

“We had used Sub-Zero and Wolf in our Chicago home and loved them, but I still wanted to explore other options this time around,” says Gilbert. “I went to demos, tried different brands, and in the end, came right back to what we knew worked. The support and reliability just confirmed we made the right choice.”

A light fixture soars above the kitchen island, adding a playful, aviation-inspired touch that brings an artsy contrast to the kitchen’s highly functional design. The color palette for the kitchen, like the rest of the home, was intentionally neutral and earthy, with a focus on natural materials. “We kept things really neutral and earthy so the artwork could be the pop of color,” says Marla. “I like a lot of texture because it just makes the space feel warmer and more connected to the mountains.”

COLLECTING WITH PURPOSE

The Gilberts have curated an art collection with intention, seeking out works that reflect a wide range of voices and perspectives. “We’ve met about half of the artists whose work we have, and that makes the pieces even more meaningful,” says Gilbert. “We’re drawn to the stories—where they’re from, what they’ve experienced. It’s important to us that our collection feels diverse and thoughtful.” 

In the entryway, a 3,500-pound hand-painted sculpture by Dustin Yellin greets visitors. Climbing the stairs, they discover a two-story glass art piece by a local Aspen artist, Christopher Martin, who worked with the homeowners during construction to create the custom piece.

When the renovations were finally complete and the last piece of artwork was in place, the Gilberts stayed through the winter of 2022–2023. They skied, hosted family and friends, and welcomed 65 guests for a local organization they support. Even with a large crowd, Gilbert says her kitchen is a dream to work in.

The Gilberts came for a season and decided to stick around, so Aspen feels like home to them. Collaborating with Durbin and nuHaus was a big part of bringing this stunning property to life. “The team we worked with didn’t just build a house,” says Gilbert. “They put their hearts and souls into it, which made it feel like ours.”