Design Solutions: From Ranch to Villa

A Denver designer tells ELLE DECOR how he transformed a 1950s ranch house into a serene personal retreat.

Mikhail Dantes bought the property for the land. The house was a 1950s ranch that wasn’t worth reworking, but he lived in it anyway. That four years gave him time to collaborate with Scott Parker of Nest Architectural Design, who came up with the perfect replacement house for the lot, which is on a hilltop overlooking Denver.

The original living room fireplace is now faced in limestone.

Mikhail says: "I go to Greece every year, but I swear the house wasn’t inspired by the Parthenon! I just wanted something clean and modern that wasn’t cold. I’m a big fan of the Bauhaus era and love International Style. Basically I wanted a home with few rooms, high ceilings, lots of light, and numerous outdoor spaces!"

The family room.

  MD: "Many modern houses have open floor plans that offer no surprises. I like the formality of having separate rooms that flow into each other—which is great when you have big parties. I was careful about creating a spatial experience, from the ceilings, which are between 13 and 17 feet high, to the tall, narrow, rectangular shape of the doors and windows."                                                         

Living room & dining room.

The loggia and lap pool at the rear of the house.

A large window in the kitchen looks onto the front courtyard.

The spacious entrance hall.

Clean-lined furnishings in the master bedroom.

The master bath has a mo­saic-tile floor and walls sheathed in stat­uary marble.

The front deck of interior designer Mikhail Dantes’s home in Denver.

MD: "White stucco for the exterior walls, poured concrete for the exterior columns, and rift-cut oak for the floors and to frame the interior doorways. Being a designer, I’m sensitive to materials that have a tactile quality. So I chose all-natural fabrics and coverings, including leather, silk, cotton, wool, and linen.

Black, gray, and white is a combination I never tire of. White walls with dark floors make me happy. We have great light in Denver. You want to make the most of it by keeping the rooms restrained. "