Decor Inspiration - Luxury Vacation Home in Aspen

Today we'll be inspired by a ski lodge in Apsen
with interiors designed by Bonesteel Trout Hall.

As I grow from and enjoy this second half of life,
I am discovering the beauty of winter;
so magically designed places like this
luxury ski lodge in Aspen, Colorado,
with its ruggedly chic charms
tap into my sense of joy for the season.

(Poor Miss Midlife Lovely is ski-impaired and knows
not her way around a bunny hill, Burton, or binding...
but all the pretty snowflakes, the light, and the chalets!)

This family vacation getaway in the Rocky Mountains
was impeccably designed by Bonesteel Trout Hall,
photographed by the brilliant Karyn Millet,
and featured expertly in Architectural Digest.

What strikes me most about this stunning ski house
a lucky family of eight enjoy, is how smartly
the interiors were executed for real living which
involves wear, tear, spills, fun, and relaxation.

While the architectural features and finishes are indeed
luxurious, Michele Trout and Heidi Bonesteel of
Bonesteel Trout Hall have truly made the luxurious
Americana spaces family friendly AND beautiful.

Kitchen designed by Bonesteel Trout Hall

Karyn Millet's photography of the place?
For the love of Ghandi,
what I wouldn't give to join her
on one of those fabulous shoots
to see the artist in motion.

Cozy pup on linen from blissful portfolio of Karyn Millet

So this fantasy Aspen nest...Oh Dear Lourdes
(yes, the double whammy of a French city AND Madonna's offspring...don't you dare judge!)
would it not enhance the wonder of silent wintry snowfalls
and the magnificence of a frozen Earth
with its peaks and big skies?

What factored into the design team's
formula for rustic and restful?

21-foot ceiling heights
Pennsylvania barn wood clad walls
Reclaimed walnut hardwood floors
Caramel-hued leather chairs
Red accents in kitchen (inspired by Wolf range's knobs)
Plaid stone mosaic for kitchen walls
Buffalo plaid upholstery and fabrics
Pendleton blankets
Planked walls with Chevron pattern

BTW.
The lovely projects shared here,
whether big, small, frugal, or fat-walleted
aim not to encourage obsessing
about what we do not have or about highs
(even Rocky Mountain ones)
we might experience were we
just a little more blessed.
I hope you're with me here.

Happiness is about wanting what we have, yes?

The trick is to admire without longing to acquire.
The trick is to see what beauty human hands
may craft in harmony with nature, what
human imagination and innovation
may birth into lovely creation.

The trick is...well, it's not a trick at all,
but it's about seeing and letting go
to increase the capacity to receive.

So with our hearts in the right place,
into the mountains we venture.

Luxury Aspen Vacation Home

Aspen Ski House Living Room

Rustic Elegant Aspen Kitchen

Serene Master in Aspen Ski House

Rustic Master Bath in Aspen Ski House

Tidbit: the taxidermy above bed is covered in a custom-made sweater

Working extra hard on admiring without wanting to acquire Pendleton blankets...

Wild West playroom in Aspen Ski House

Lounge with Chevron pattern Wood on Walls

A view of wonder in Aspen Ski House

Look at that landscape of lovely and the beauty
of the bare trees, vulnerable but faithfully full
of hope that warmth will return (even amid
the evergreens who appear better dressed)!

Was there a particular Rocky Mountain
High moment for you above?


anticipation for the coming New Year,
for fresh opportunities to grow,
and for the lovely ahead.

Peace to you right where you are.