We're excited to offer you this very unusual and exceptional home in Southwest Denver. Our home is situated on one of the highest points in Denver and has spectacular views of Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains front range, with Wolcott Lake in the backyard.
- Half a mile running path around the lake
- Across the lake, a private park, with pickleball court, basketball court, playground and picnic areas
- Home is Near-Net-Zero (you will be living with a near-zero carbon footprint)
Nearby excursions and hikes near by include:
1. Red Rocks Amphitheater (10 mi - you can see it from the front of the house) with great trails and the iconic WPA amphitheater (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rocks_Amphitheatre)
2. Sanderson Gulch (2.3 mi)
3. Bear Creek Park (1.1 mi) which connects to miles of trails, and the Bear Creek bike path, the Platte River bike path, Cherry Creek bike path
Restaurants: we love the fantastic ethnic restaurants in our corner of the city, so that's what we can tell you about:
1. Suvipa Thai: 1015 S Federal Blvd, (720) 379-6038; closed on Tuesdays. Inexpensive, huge portions, and some of the best Thai food we've ever had.
2. J's Noodles Star Thai: 945 S Federal Blvd E, (303) 922-5495; closed on Mondays and Thursdays. Also serving some of the best Thai food ever.
3. Star Kitchen: 2917 W Mississippi Ave, (303) 936-0089, closed on Wednesdays. Come early to get in line for Dim Sum 10:30AM - 3PM daily.
4. Viet's Restaurant: 333 S Federal Blvd # 125, (303) 922-5774, open daily 10 AM - 10 PM. My favorite Vietnamese restaurant.
5. Vinh Xuong Bakery: 2370 W Alameda Ave, (303) 922-0999, open daily 10 AM - 6 PM. Hip Vietnamese bakery & cafe offering pastries, banh mi sandwiches & good coffee.
With tremendous passive solar gains through new solar-tuned Pella windows, large solar arrays on the roof, and a state-of-the-art, the heat pump will heat the home. Also, we have two efficient wood stoves to keep the home toasty during the coldest week or two of the winter and an evaporative cooler for energy-efficient cooling that keeps the house very comfortable in the summer.
The home has huge, awesome windows looking to the South, West, and North, so its always bright and sunny, with spectacular views of Pike's Peak to the South, the Front Range to the West, and Wolcott Lake to the North. You enter into a tiled entry hall with a coat closet on the right; you'll be facing an interesting geometric architectural screen bordering the living room and several antique handmade clothes from Guatemala on the wall ahead. To your left are a pair of ceremonial fans from Bali.
The living room has the most exciting furniture we've left for you. First, a fantastic solid cherry mid-century modern corner table - with unfortunate water spots from the plant that lives there - an amazing Night-Blooming Cereus. This awesome plant blooms once every few months, 4-8 huge white blossoms as big as a cantaloupe and with a fragrance better than a rose. The blooms open only after dark, one night, and by morning are drooping and closed. I hope you get to experience this amazing plant. We left it because it requires only minimal care, watering with a cup or two of water once a week.
Also in the living room is a hand-painted antique Chinese credenza, some of the most interesting original artworks in the house, including a beautiful original lithograph with Rilke poem, a leather couch and recliner, and an antique shipbuilder work chest for a coffee table. On the left side of the couch is my family's antique flour bin for a side table, with an antique brass oil lamp that my Grandmother converted to an electric lamp (see pictures - including a photo of my Dad and me talking with that lamp behind us, many years ago).
On the credenza side is an original sculpture: the Tower of Cribbage by Phil Bender. The Cornucopia fiber sculpture hangs over the TV tray rack, and masks from Haiti, Mexico, and Africa hang above the wood stove. An antique Japanese pachinko pinball machine stands on the hearth next to the wood stove.
The home has two wood-burning fireplaces to enjoy on the coldest snowy days when the net zero solar systems can't quite keep up!
Our home has a lovely kitchen with an open floor plan, so the kitchen communicates with the dining room and living room. The upper cabinets have glass doors on both sides, which adds to the open feeling and makes the kitchen lighter and more fun. It includes:
- Large new refrigerator
- Five-burner Samsung gas range
- Convenient pot and pan storage above the range.
- Dishes and glasses for a fairly good-sized party since we enjoy entertaining!
- Ample storage space
- Toaster oven
- Microwave
- Built-in butcher block
- Cutting board with trap door for compost!
We love to cook and our kitchen, and we hope you will too! We've also left: cruets with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sesame oil, and gluten-free soy sauce (and some empty ones for you to use); starter coffee, a coffee grinder, a coffee maker, and a funnel with filters; high-quality carbon-steel knives, and an electric knife sharpener;
Lots of Pyrex glass storage containers and bowls with lids; salad spinners; Pyrex baking dishes, etc.
In short, we've tried to leave you everything you'd need to enjoy the kitchen.
The kitchen extends into a breakfast eating area with a mid-century modern glass table and two chairs looking out on the lake. Past the eating area is a stacked washer and dryer. The washer is a high-efficiency front-loader, and, along with the unique heat pump dryer, they are incredibly gentle on your clothes (as well as uber efficient). You'll find a large dispenser of high-efficiency and environmentally friendly laundry detergent on top of the pair for your use, an iron, a full-sized ironing board, and other things you might need.
The house has three bedrooms, one which is set up as an office has a fold down bed, and two bathrooms. Two changes of bedding and towels are provided for both bedrooms and bathrooms. The main bath has a tub and shower, sink with generous built-in vanity cupboard space, and drawer. The toilets are all ultra low-water (0.8 gallons per flush), and both have bidets!
The master bedroom has a queen bed with a down duvet (and a dual-control mattress warmer - a plus in a net-zero house in the Rockies) and opens to its bathroom. The bedroom includes a generous sitting area with two bookcases that consists of a walk-in closet and a full-glass door out onto the deck that looks out on the lake. The bathroom has a shower (no tub), two sinks with separate large counters and generous vanity cabinets, and a huge skylight, so it is always bright and airy. The bathroom also has a space heater and a dual infrared heat lamp so you can get out of the shower in a toasty room.
The second bedroom has a private door into the main bathroom, a large closet, and a nook with a built-in antique desk and lights. We've added a monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse, and a high-quality office chair, so this can be used as an efficient workspace. This bedroom has a queen bed with a down duvet (and an electric blanket if you like). The bed is flanked by two antique side tables with matching lamps. A large hanging lamp lights the room, made like a stained glass shade but entirely of shells! A large rubber tree in another corner adds life to the space and only needs weekly watering to thrive.
We currently have the third bedroom set up as an office, with a desk, and an Ergotron stand-up workspace (see photos). The Ergotron is set up with a large monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse, and a high-quality office chair. (We're into ergonomic workspaces!). The front bedroom has a second office workspace with a monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse, and another high-quality office chair. Also, we have set up our office at times in the "lake room," the room in the back of the house with spectacular windows overlooking the lake, which is a wonderful place to work. There is currently a dining table there that could also be used for a works space.
In addition to the living room, dining room, three bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, and breakfast area, the breakfast area opens through double doors to what we call the lake room, which, no surprise, looks out onto the lake. The second wood stove is in the lake room, making it our favorite space on snowy winter days. The lake room has a cathedral ceiling, 10' tall at the peak, and looks out on the lake and garden through 6 enormous windows and double full-glass doors that open out onto the rear deck. The entire floor is tiled, with an inlay running the length of the large room that looks like a river, in a blue and gold Italian glass tile. The closet in the lake room, with space for your storage, includes an inflatable Island for the lake, oars for the canoe, life jackets, pickleball rackets and balls for four people players, a few fishing supplies (did I mention that fishing on the lake is spectacular - wide-mouthed bass - catch and release), and a sky chair that can be hung from the tree out back.
The water in the lake has historically been very safe (the community tests it regularly), and gets stellar marks from the state testers. Many in the community swim in the lake and boat, play, and FISH! Fishing on the lake is spectacular - wide-mouthed bass - which is not stocked but lives naturally in the lake's clean water. Catch and release only, though!
On the west side of the house is a large vegetable garden that is maintained by a local volunteer group that provides fresh vegetables for soup kitchens.
Please take a look at the photos to see our interesting and eclectic artwork and furniture that we've collected and are looking forward to sharing with you.
You'll have one off-street parking spot in our rather steep driveway. The driveway faces south, so snow is only an issue with heavy snow, since it melts quite quickly. There is plenty of on-street parking near by on the side streets.
Cara & Andy
