This Remodeled Tudor Home Balances Its Formal Elements with a Secret Upstairs Bar

John and Regan Mattingly, the Denver-based couple behind the full-service architecture and interior design firm CHALET, ignored all of the tropes of mountain-house design when they remodeled a Tudor-style home for a well-traveled Colorado couple with family ties to London. The job required such a massive re-think of the interior living spaces that it’s the kind of project only an architect married to an interior designer might have the vision, and the chutzpah, to tackle. 

Eric Lucero

“Over the years, the home had been heavily compromised by piecemeal renovations,” says John. “The original garage was undersized and blocked morning light along the entire east side of the house. At the front of the house, the entry was redesigned and a new study was added. We extended the cantilevered gable over the front door to create space for the primary closet and to bring a more intimate feel to the entry. The entire second floor was then reworked to align with the new stair locations and additions.”

Eric Lucero

While the new, completely reimagined layout checks all of the necessary boxes for modern family living, including a generous mudroom, a home spa to fend off the winter chill, an airy kitchen with high ceilings, and steel and glass doors that open to several thoughtful outdoor living spaces, it has enough formality to maintain a connection to its proper English facade. 

Eric Lucero

Five interior fireplaces and plenty of intimate conversation spaces are organized to make the most of living indoors during the chillier months. But the exterior living spaces are equally considered. Two firepits, a generous outdoor dining room, and a large pool make the property equally inviting in the warmer summer months. 

Eric Lucero

“Our goal was to restore the home’s architectural integrity, honor its original spirit, and introduce a properly scaled garage and new bar and lounge above,” says John.

Eric Lucero

You read that correctly: There is an at-home bar, with cozy pub details like plaid Rogers & Goffigon upholstered stools, accessed through a secret door. When they designed the new garage wing, that allowed for a creative interpretation of the second-floor space.

Eric Lucero

“We relocated the garage to the north end of the home, allowing for a much stronger connection between the kitchen, family room, and outdoor dining area,” says John. “The new wing now houses a pantry, mudroom, back staircase, and attached garage. Above it, we designed a speakeasy-style bar and lounge known as ‘The Jerome,’ complete with a hidden door connecting directly to the upstairs bedroom corridor. While home bars are common among our clients, it’s the scale, placement, and sense of discovery that make this one special.”

Eric Lucero

Named after the famous Hotel Jerome in Aspen, which inspired its design, it’s accessed through a concealed panel door in the mudroom. There’s also a hidden door behind the bar that opens directly into the second-floor bedroom corridor.

Eric Lucero

“Guests truly need to be ‘invited’ into the space,” says John. “It creates a memorable, almost theatrical experience.”

Eric Lucero

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