“The more I lived in it, the more I loved the bones of the house and the
surroundings,” he says of the 16,000-square-foot lot, which boasts mature trees and
landscaping. For the next two years, he took notes on what he would change once
he remodeled the home. “I spent a lot of time in libraries going through all of the designs of
mid-century to find things I liked,” he says. The biggest area Davidson wanted to change was the interior rooms,
which sorely needed reconfiguring. “All of the ingredients were here,” he says. “They just needed to be rearranged.”
Davidson enlisted the help of Aspen-based architecture firm Rowland & Broughton; Charlotte, North Carolina-based interior designer John Bossard; and
an Aspen-based landscape architect to transform his outdated 2,500-square-foot
mountain-style ranch into a comfortable mid-century modern house.
Of the mid-century modern look, Davidson says, “This house seemed to fit that aesthetic, but I’d also grown tired of the mountain look….This house lent itself to something different, so it was really fun to go in a
different direction than the obvious.”
The team began the one-year remodel by moving the fireplace, which originally took up the entire back of the house, from the
living room and placed it between the living and dining rooms to create a
division between the two spaces.
Where the fireplace once stood, the team added sliding glass doors, which run
along the backside of the wall and lead into two more large outdoor living and
dining areas. “The incorporation of the outdoor decks with both the dining room and living room
deck gives the house the feeling of being twice the size that it is,” says Bossard. “The cohesiveness of those two rooms works very well.”
An avid entertainer, Davidson also wanted a more open feel from the kitchen into
the living and dining rooms to allow for easy conversation. To achieve this,
the kitchen was gutted and a wall was taken down to open up into the two
entertaining areas. A large island, complete with freezer drawers, new
cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, and countertops, was also added. Another area Davidson needed addressed was the entryway, which had been
overlooked in the previous remodels. “It was a challenge to add an entry that didn’t just look stuck on,” says Davidson, “and also to update it and make it a little more modern.” Also part of the reconfiguring of the interior: The master bathroom absorbed
the laundry room to create a larger shower, while a workshop was transformed
into a laundry room.
Once the footprint was reworked to a larger 3,300 square feet, Bossard and
Davidson set out to create an aesthetic that mirrored the mid-century modern
look that Davidson had so meticulously studied for years prior to the remodel.
A South Carolinian at heart, Davidson turned to Bossard, also a Southerner, “because there’s something about the Southern sensibility of interiors,” Davidson says.
Adds Bossard, “He said to me, ‘I want this to have a little bit of a sophisticated feel with charm of the Old
South.’ And as the project moved along, we got a little bit further away from the
original idea of having antiques prominently placed throughout the home and
found contemporary pieces of furniture that echoed the past instead.”
The two traveled to New York City, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Denver, Atlanta, Los
Angeles, and Dallas, as well as throughout Aspen, to pull pieces that
complemented the mid-century modern look. The first purchase: the Victoria
Hagan sofa in the living room. “With its classic, straight lines and nail head trim with a linen velvet, it was
soft yet masculine,” says Bossard.
“That [piece] really dictated, or at least exemplified, the style I wanted to
have for that project. We didn’t go near any of that heavy or ornate look.” Two Rose Tarlow chairs swathed in Rogers & Goffigon fabric flank the fireplace in the living room and serve as
transitional pieces.
To find the appropriate flooring, Bossard and Davidson toured fifteen homes
throughout Aspen before settling on Lyptus hardwood floors, which are
throughout the home. Minnesota white limestone, mahogany, and black zinc cover
the façade of the home but also seamlessly run throughout the interior. Davidson was
adamant about using local marble, so he and Bossard searched far and wide until
they found the right piece in nearby Marble, Colorado.
While he utilizes every inch of his home, Davidson’s favorite room is the media room. A red grass paper, red Ralph Lauren
carpeting, and a deep gray ceiling set the tone for the elegant yet comfortable
room, which boasts a comfortable gray herringbone couch and chairs. A heavily
polished gilt bond and bronze mirror purchased in West Palm Beach (rumored to
have been in the home of the late Sammy Davis Jr.) is a standout piece.
Now, almost a year after the project was completed, Davidson looks back on the
remodel fondly, noting how well the design team worked together to create his
mid-century modern ranch. “They took my ideas and they expanded on it,” he says. “And it gave it a whole lot more character.” 
