Don’t even think about labeling Dallas designer Jan Showers. Even though eight years ago, she introduced Texas to the now-scalding-hot 1930s and ’40s French Moderne furniture that stars even in her own showroom, she shudders at being branded a French Modernist. “I’m not a purist. What I love best about this furniture is how easy it is to mix with other styles and periods.”

That mix snagged the eye of another Dallasite when she and her husband were ready to build their Colorado vacation house. Showers says the woman “had seen a ranch I had just completed outside of Dallas for her best friend. She wanted the look for their new house at Beaver Creek.”

Good thing, because Showers was quick to tell her prospective client that she was definitely “not in favor of doing anything typical of Colorado style, with antlers and horns.” The homeowner sighed in relief.

However, with its stone exterior and fireplace and exposed beams on vaulted ceilings, the architecture does nod to the region’s ubiquitous Southwestern-Alpine style. But by getting involved before construction was finished, Showers was able to choose all the interior finishes and rein it in a bit.

“It’s definitely Colorado architecture,” she says, “but with a cleaner look. There are no mountainy gimmicks going on here.” For example, the wood beams and posts simply look their age: new. They’re not architectural salvage, nor have they been distressed to look old. And shaved of its bark, the wood doesn’t look quite so woolly and Western. Nor are the posts as likely to leave splinters should anyone lean against one of them.

But even with a tamer version of mountain architecture to appease her, Showers continued to wriggle farther out of the regional box. She crowned the chunky rock fireplace with a late-19th-century French mirror. “Its finish is dark, but the mirror is very simple,” says Showers. Not unlike the stone mantelshelf just below it, which is spare of line and uncluttered by any accessories or ornamentation.

“We chose pieces that would be comfortable and appropriate for Colorado, yet would still be unexpected there,” Showers explains. That entailed many 1930s and ‘40s French pieces, starting with the entry hall’s 1940s-vintage French commode and the 1930-something, red-leather Jacques Adnet lamp that sits on top of it. An unexpected approach also meant sprinkling in other, earlier styles, such as the living room’s pair of tapestry-covered, turn-of-the19th-century Art Nouveau chairs. “I’m not a special fan of Art Nouveau, but I liked these chairs,” Showers says of the sleek, rolled-neck furnishings. “It is always about a mix to me. I never do any room in all one thing.”

In the dining room, the mix includes 1940s French chairs, still in their original leather, and a 19th-century, Regency-style English oak buffet. In the master bedroom, the blend includes ’30s French chairs covered in camel mohair, ’40s French iron cigarette tables, and a 19th-century faux-bamboo armoire. Late-19th-century framed herbiers (pressed herbs) flank the armoire.

Though she never does all-of-a-kind furniture. Showers does consistently wake up spaces with texture and shape. Covered in a fine but forgiving rusty-hued mohair and detailed with nailhead trim, the custom living room sofa is a copy of one favored by Coco Chanel in her Paris atelier. Extra soft and roomy with a think-cushioned back and rolled arms, it’s perfect for comfy lounging by the homeowners’ three sons.

“We wanted this to be a family home everyone could be comfortable in,” says Showers. “Yet we still wanted to give it a chic look.” To dress up the sofa, she brought in shimmer with silk bolsters. “They may not be the most practical, but you can replace pillows in a couple of years if they’re too fragile. It’s more expensive to re-cover a sofa.” Underfoot, a leather-rimmed wool carpet in a pattern so subtle it’s hard to discern warms up the entire conversation grouping.

The homeowners’ comfort zone rests in subtle colors, but Showers loves color. “I did what I typically do in those situations: I introduce color through accessories.” Bright turquoise French pottery from the ’30s decorates the dining table. For more color, one need only look outside. “The whole focus of the design is the views,” says Showers. Matchstick blinds cover banks of windows while still letting in maximum light.

But in the master suite, Showers cared less about preserving the vistas than covering the space in sumptuous elegance. Silk curtains puddle onto the floor at the windows, and hangings spin a cocoon around the bed. “The husband wasn’t too sure about the bed curtains at first.” But now he sees Showers’s logic in “wanting to create a cozy, inviting space.”

So with both husband and wife’s blessings, the room is essentially pretty. “It has sheen,” says Showers. “There is nothing wrong with having a glamorous ski lodge. Why does it always have to be bears and horns?” Like its designer, this house begs the question—and is its own reply.

Photography: Jon Jensen
Produced by Diane Carroll

Colorful Ceramics

Turquoise ’30s French pottery and a wooden finial add color to the neutral palette.

Living Room & Entry

A pair of Art Nouveau chairs flanks a glass-top table custom-made to fit a narrow space in the living room. The coffee table top is a “sampler” that includes almost 100 types of marble. To the left of the door, a French Moderne commode is illuminated by a red-leather, ’30s-vintage French lamp with a 19th-century shell mirror above—a microcosm of how periods and styles are mixed throughout the home.

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Entry Details

A Swedish pedestal table topped with a French pottery lamp from the 1930s illustrates the designer’s flair for mixing furnishings for a nontraditional aesthetic. The lamp is crowned with Jan’s thin, streamlined signature lampshade.

Living Room

“With the high ceilings and beams, we needed lighting that would bring the scale of the room down to a more intimate level,” says Jan Showers. She used a 1920s vintage nickel chandelier from Brussels in the living room.

See details on the following slide.

Living Room Details

A round Napoleon III side table and a 1930s French card table flank the sofa.

Kitchen

Windows at the kitchen sink overlook a ski run, which conveniently allows the family to ski back home. A 19th-century English Regency-style oak buffet defines the passage between the open-plan kitchen and the dining area.

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Buffet

The homeowners’ comfort zone rest in subtle colors and neutrals that work well in the mountains. Here, the antique oak buffet flows with the living and dining rooms’ warm woods while still bringing a strong sense of refinery.

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Buffet Details

An array of after-dinner options is especially enticing after a day on the slopes.

Dining Nook

A French Art Deco game table and chairs utilize a nook beside the living room fireplace. The French floor lamp is form the ’40s.

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Dining Nook Details

Jan, who regularly travels to Paris to stock her showroom, found the amber glass vases during one of her sweeps of French flea markets.

Portrait

Designer Jan Showers.

Exterior

The home’s rustic-looking exterior suits the Colorado locale.

Master Suite

Blue-green plaster sets a moody background for silk and velvet bedding and silk curtains in the master bedroom. A 1910 nickel Arts and Crafts chandelier brings the space down to earth.

See details on the following slides.

Powder Room

Serving as a powder room cabinet is a Venetian commode.

Desk Area

A Louis XVI-style desk pairs well with a Directoire-style mirror.

Mountain Vista

A breathtaking view of the Rockies can be seen from the master suite’s private balcony.