Denver sits at the edge of the Great Plains. We get unpredictable weather swings, harsh summers and winters and crazy wind days yet it’s a sunny, genteel, dog-loving Western city at the end of the Prairie and at the start to some heavenly Rocky Mountains. I love working in older homes in Denver and imagining what life might have been like, particularly for women, back in the silver and gold rush days. Here are some photos and videos of some of the apartments in the pink 1891 Queen Anne Victorian that I showed you on the last post.
A reminder that when I first saw it, it looked like this. Very little interior drywall or plaster left and the white paint that you see was used to kill the smell of smoke after the devastating fire that happened on the top floor. Any original trim that you see was saved.
One of the top floor apartments being worked on.
A top floor apartment’s new kitchen. Note the original wood flooring that was uncovered.
We used Ikea kitchens with paneled dishwashers and refrigerators. Some apartments have an in-sink countertop dishwasher. I selected leathered Absolute Black Granite as a budget friendly, real stone countertop. I was surprised by how much I liked it. Absolute Black is probably the most affordable stone on the market (and it’s cheaper and more durable than quartz). I used black backsplash tile to keep it simple and to tie it in with the Ikea cabinets and the black countertop.
Here’s another apartment kitchen with an exposed fireplace and some of the original floor. We left a section of newspaper from 1941 exposed. This unit has a washer/dryer in one in the kitchen area.
I love this original floor detailing that they were able to keep in places.
There are 6 apartments in the building and I chose three different wallpapers so the building feels a little more unique. I love this black floral. We also used three different colored tile liner bars to dress up the all white shower.
This is such a sweet gingham check paper. Notice the reclaimed door.
We used really pretty tree wallpaper in two of the bathrooms. The house is on a tree heavy lot and street so it really feels good when you’re in the space.
In the two top floor apartments, the client had the idea of creating loft spaces accessed by a ladder. How awesome is this? The ladder slides to the side when not in use and locks in place. This is the photographer the client hired to document each apartment for rent.
A walkthrough of one of the apartments
I think the videos capture how nice the rooms feel in person.
“And their memory’s like a train You can see it getting smaller as it pulls away And the things you can’t remember Tell the things you can’t forget that History puts a saint in every dream”
Laura is a Denver Interior Designer who runs an Interior Design Studio based in sunny Colorado with a strong commitment to livable and interesting interiors. She also runs The Colorado Nest, a Denver blog about Design, Art and Life in the Mountain West and co-hosts the book podcast "The Inside Flap" on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play.
View all posts by Laura Medicus Interiors
2 thoughts on “Reviving Denver’s Historic Homes: A Renovation Journey”
The Colorado Nest 
The shower is so good!
Thank you!