Mike and Mary Pat McCurdie sit by a double-sided fireplace that opens to both the main living room and the kitchen. Photo by Gavin Liddell.

A pit stop in Steamboat Springs on a journey to Fort Collins in 1986 proved to be serendipitous for Mary Pat and Mike McCurdie. The couple was relocating from Utah, but little did they know then that the one-night stay would mark the start of a lifelong love affair with the Yampa Valley. After three decades of ski and summer trips to Steamboat, staying in various hotels and condos, they purchased a home in 2016.

Fort Collins remains their permanent base, but a three-bed, 4 1/2 bath property off County Road 14 offers a much-loved getaway for the couple, their adult son, daughter-in-law and Labrador Retriever, Hansa.

Originally built in 1994, the home did not need much other than changing the Southwest style of the interior, which did not appeal to the McCurdies. The rest of the house remained largely untouched until the duo opted to reconfigure and revamp after the pandemic. They enlisted Fair and Square Construction to do the heavy lifting and Rumor Design for the aesthetic overhaul.

 The couple kept several original features of the house, including the front door and wood ceiling. The stained glass was added to frame the front door, and was designed by former Olympic skier and local artist Jorge Torruella. Photo by Gavin Liddell.

“The kitchen was our main focus as we both love to cook,” Mary Pat says. “It wasn’t functional or conducive to our needs and we kept bumping butts.” An oversize island now runs the length of the cooking area, affording ample preparation space. A walk-in pantry with extensive shelving offers storage to create an uncluttered look. Soft recessed lighting generates a warm ambience, enhanced by a glass-fronted and beautifully finished wine storage room in the corner of the dining area.

Mary Pat and Mike both love to cook and wanted a space where they could both work in the kitchen at the same time. Photo by Gavin Liddell. 

“It’s the first wine room I’ve seen in town that didn’t require a cooling system,” says Derek VanArsdale, who led the project for Fair and Square. “It had been a storage space with concrete flooring and walls, so it naturally holds a low temperature."

A separate bar with built-in cabinetry in plum tones accentuates the rich plaid fabric chosen for a set of bar stools that tuck beneath the island. “We incorporated a lot of textures and patterns,” says Lindsey Jamieson of Rumor Design.

 A custom chinked-log design with metal railing adds a rustic touch to the main staircase. Photo by Gavin Liddell.

A fireplace encased in a stone wall with openings on both sides acts as a partition between the kitchen and living spaces. Each side was refinished to mirror the décor for each individual space. Original log posts, a slatted ceiling and wood paneled walls complement the cool green accent hues for the soft furnishings in the sitting room, which is designed with multiple seating clusters.

A primary suite decorated in pale greens, creams and wood on the upper level is accessed by a custom chinked-log-effect staircase. Midway up the stairs is a powder room bedecked in a playful feathered and foliage-inspired wallpaper. “The team at Rumor really got me to step out of my comfort zone with bold colors and patterns, which I’ve loved,” Mary Pat says. Her bedroom though, reflects a peaceful ambience with doors onto an upper-level deck.

With a fireside seating area and a private deck, the primary suite offers a retreat for the couple. Photo by Gavin Liddell.

The guest rooms on the lower floor, along with a gloomy hallway, received a major overhaul. “I wanted it to be less dark and winding, much more inviting,” Mary Pat says. Rumor designers transformed the hallway into a bright sitting room with a pair of intricate glass chandeliers, soft seating in cream and coral hued accents. “It’s now my girly sitting room where I like to sit, knit and listen to podcasts."

Mike will disappear instead to his home office in between his time spent fishing, or hiking and biking with Mary Pat. When late afternoon rolls around, the pair along with any visiting family and friends, can be found opening a bottle of wine to sip by huge glass windows looking out to Mount Werner.

 Mike gives Hansa a bath in the designated dog wash station. Photo by Gavin Liddell.

On summer evenings, a newly expanded and landscaped patio by Gecko Landscaping lures everyone out to sit by the firepit in the valley that called to the McCurdies 30 years ago. A dream, three decades in the making, has come to fruition, and the McCurdies have settled into their Steamboat home.