The clients for this vacation home in Beaver Creek, Colo., requested a dwelling infused with the practical, unadorned beauty of the Shaker style. Architect Jim Morter and builder Jim Abbott complied, creating a residence in which every object has a function. The master bath, for example, features exposed copper pipes and bare light bulbs. Simple white basins sitting on the poured-concrete counter serve as sinks, and the owners bathe in an old copper tub. “The Shakers did things in a very direct, straightforward way,” says Morter. “They didn’t try to hide anything.”
So the vanity mirrors hang from a pegboard strip rather than float on unseen hooks. The pegs also make handy hangers for towels and robes. An exposed steel beam, found by Morter and his staff while rafting the Colorado River, holds a frosted-glass door that slides to close off the water closet and shower from the rest of the space. Nothing appears decorated or superfluous; each object has an obvious purpose.
The Shakers may have disapproved of frivolity, but that doesn’t mean they opposed the luxury of natural light. It enters the bath through skylights above the tub and shower and through cutouts in the stone wall dividing the master suite from the living room. They also depended on local, natural materials. So the reclaimed-wood floors and structural supports were all obtained from nearby sources. And the one splash of color in the bath—the sea-green tile used in the shower—stays close enough to nature to content even the strictest Shaker.
Project Credits: Builder: Trends West, Avon, Colo.; Architect: Morter Architects, Vail, Colo.; Project size: 170 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Dann Coffey.
Resources: Sinks: Kohler, Circle 450; Windows: Pella, Circle 451.
