Denver is a place of contrasts. It is, as described by the folks at 5280 Magazine, “hot jazz at El Chapultepec, dry martinis at the Cruise Room, and high tea at the Brown Palace. It’s the man-made beauty of the City & County Building during the holidays and the natural splendor of the Rocky Mountains. It’s wild Friday nights at the Grizzly Rose and lazy Sunday afternoons at the Tattered Cover Bookstore.”
It’s also a place where modern design and architecture have taken hold in exciting new ways. With our Denver Modern Home Tour this weekend, we caught up with Cheryl Meyers, an editor for 5280 Home, a quarterly publication from 5280 Magazine, which takes its name from Denver’s elevation: 5,280 feet above sea level. Teaming up with 5280 Home for this year’s Denver tour, we were excited to sit down with Cheryl to discuss what modern means to the Mile High City.
Q&A w/ Cheryl Meyers, 5280 Home
How did 5280 Home come about, and what sorts of desires led to its initial publication?
Throughout its 20-year history in Denver, 5280 Magazine has always covered beautiful architecture and design in and around the state. What we finally came to realize, though, was that there were too many great stories to tell—architects and interior designers who are really moving the needle and making this an exciting town to live in, from a design perspective. So three years ago we launched 5280 Home. The marching orders from our publisher, Dan Brogan, were to forget the “sterile, unapproachable palaces” you see in so many shelter magazines, and instead, show homes that really tell a story and give a sense of what it means to live in the Mile High City.
5280 is a fantastic resource for design enthusiasts, especially those living in Colorado. Where do you find YOUR inspiration for home and design?
I actually love going on home and garden tours to find inspiration. On home tours you get to really experience a space—see how the light plays with a room; touch and feel finishes; talk to the homeowner about her vision for the design. I always leave a home tour newly inspired to tackle another project at my house.
As is stated on the 5280 website, Denver is a place of contrasts. How does Denver’s eclectic nature play out in its design and architecture?
In Denver we’re infinitely more casual that some of the other, bigger American cities. We also share a collective love of the outdoors. I think that plays out in our design sense, too. Sure, there’s an elegance to our design—but it’s rare to see anything super stark (even in the most modern homes). Interior designers tend to layer in organic textures and materials (think leather, rattan, stone), and architects make use of our abundant natural light and indoor/outdoor lifestyle.
Modern Home Tours is excited to be partnering with 5280 for this year’s tour! How did this this partnership come up about, and why do you think it’s a good fit? How has Denver embraced modern design?
We’re very excited to be a partner for this tour, too. I think right now is a very exciting time for modern architecture, in particular, in the Denver Metro area. Every issue we publish, we have an abundance of modern homes to choose from—whether it’s a lovingly restored Mid-Century home in Krisana Park (which we covered in our Summer issue), a newly constructed modern home in the foothills outside of Boulder (in our Autumn issue), or an uber-modern mountain getaway in Winter Park (see our upcoming Winter issue). Our readers, and Denverites in general, love modern design.
