The Barrett House

Midcentury Barrett House

Against all odds and ends, this charming midcentury home atop a mountain peak stuck it out after having endured a flood, a fire in the kitchen as well as years of abandonment. At an incredible elevated point of 7,000 feet in Boulder, Colorado, views of the scenic mountain and lush woodlands carry out as far as the eye can see. The Barrett House was commissioned in 1969 and completed in 1971 by Usonian-influenced architect Charles Haertling. 

Current homeowners, Max Tucci and Keith Backer, came across the house on a late night in 2013. After viewing the charismatic, although rundown house and learning about its history, the pair knew they had stumbled upon something too good to allow to slip by. It was at this point that the decision to revive the Barrett House began.

Midcentury Barrett House
Midcentury Barrett House
Midcentury Barrett House

The 3,000 square foot interior includes 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms in addition to an extensive open plan area including spaces for dining, lounging and an office. Haertling designed the home in Usonian style – a style created by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright – which embodies the idea of simple style that tunes in on the surrounding landscape. 

Indeed, the exterior of the Barrett House is eye-catching, to say the least. The wooden exterior perched on the mountain takes sharp geometric shapes with two points angled toward each other, the two planes creating a roof. Thanks to these soaring ceilings, natural light pours in from all angles. 

Midcentury Barrett House
Midcentury Barrett House

The living room features a half cylinder shaped dark tiled wall, which serves as a backdrop to the black open-faced modern fireplace, extending up to the home’s second level. Furniture from The Amazing Garage Sale in Boulder and the Mid Mod Mall in Denver add to the overall comfort and midcentury class of the space. Green Flooring in Boulder provided the carpeting for the staircase, which leads up from behind the living room area.

Midcentury Barrett House
Midcentury Barrett House

The overall color palette favors earthy tones of shades burnt orange, mossy green, mustard yellow and various browns. Throughout the extensive open plan on the ground floor, the same hues seamlessly flow from one space to another. This color palette, in combination with the wooden exterior and wooden details inside, chimes in with the natural hues of the mountain and the surrounding Roosevelt National Forest.

Split into three levels, the Barrett House has almost a treehouse-like feel; relaxed, raised up and retired to privacy. 

Midcentury Barrett House
Photos by Calvin Baines and Max Tucci