Redefining the cabin in the woods: Star Ranch home avoids pretension in favor of rustic elegance
By Kate Jonuska

Like any Colorado girl who loves the outdoors, I once dreamt of owning a little cabin in the woods, secluded in the shade of pines, mountain views from every window and a roaring fireplace in the living room where I could cuddle up with a quilt, a book and a dog. A golden retriever. Named Wallace.

Yes, you could say I had an active imagination.

But what I never imagined was for my cabin dream to seem so uninspired, to be so totally eclipsed by the creativity and craftsmanship on display at this week’s featured home, an upscale yet cozy retreat in Star Ranch listed by Jim Waltman of RE/MAX Properties for $1.3 million.

“The location is so secluded and private,” says Waltman of the 4.2-acre lot at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain, which echoes with bird song and wind — and nothing else. Constructed in 2007, the home was among the first to be built in the new Star Ranch gated development and is the first to arrive on the resale market. “There’s nothing else like this available,” he insists.

And I agree. The exterior’s stacked-stone and low-maintenance timber siding don’t announce their presence in the haughty manner of many $1 million homes, but the home is instead inset and feels like a part of its natural environment.

Those feelings of casual grace continue as you pass through an 8-foot knotty alder door into the home’s great room, which glows with custom, 5-inch-wide distressed wood floors. Windows line the far wall, the ceiling peaks overhead at a wooden beam, and a custom stone fireplace serves as the room’s focal point. Though the fireplace is gas, its flames dance and jump in the most realistic fashion, and I can easily insert the quilt, the book and the dog of my dreams into the cozy space.

CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article, which published in Springs Houses Oct. 25, 2008