Over the Top
Casually elegant place settings complements the natural beauty of the room’s awe-inspiring views.
The instant the Texas socialite walked into their first meeting, Carol Moore and her associate, Kayce Howe, of Edwards-based Carol Moore Interior Design, knew they had a live-wire project on their hands.
The new client’s outfit — shocking orange, green and yellow pants and jacket — vividly expressed her individuality.
Carol Moore’s firm would use a similar blaze of brights to help shape the high-wattage penthouse stage their new client had just purchased for herself atop Manor Vail.
The venerable landmark resort, originally constructed in 1964, closed for 18 months in the spring of 2007 while it received a lavish interior and exterior makeover. 
The building reopened in December, 2008, crowned by 17 brand-new penthouses.
The two-story residences are unique for their magnificent, see-through views of Golden Peak and the Gore Range, and for their easy, walking-distance to ski lifts, Vail Village, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, and Ford Amphitheater.
Soaring penthouse windows offer morning and afternoon sun and front row views of the skiers on Vail Mountain. Developed by East West Partners and designed by Zehren Associates, the penthouses range in price from $3.4 to $11.8 million, with the largest models encompassing nearly 4,000 square feet.
The Texas client grew up skiing in Vail and, standing in the penthouse’s great room surrounded by drop-dead mountain views, she knew she had found her new home.
At four bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths, her penthouse came equipped with a knotty alder kitchen, hardwood floors, a top of the line SubZero refrigerator and Aga stove, and immense potential for expressing her lively joie de vivre. 
At first, Moore’s design firm had a difficult time really grasping the sheer intensity of color their client was seeking.
Accustomed to a more restrained nature-inspired palette, Moore and project manager Kayce Howe brought the client a selection of fabrics and colors they thought were bright enough, only to be urged to “go brighter!”
So as something of a goof, they showed her an electric green hair-on-hide upholstery sample that had just arrived.
“We thought it was totally over-the-top, and we really meant it as a joke,” recalls Moore.
“The client looked at the sample, looked at us, and she started laughing. 
Then she told us she had used this very material for pillows at her place in Dallas — to go with her green patent leather sofa!”
Now they understood each other.
As soon as the color palette was set, the client’s decisive personality made the selection of furniture speedy compared to the process of choosing fabrics.
“We met one morning and offered her three selections for each item we needed to choose,” says Moore.
“She made up her mind by noon and was ready for lunch.”
The client preferred clean-lined contemporary furnishings like the chenille-covered twin sofas whose ruddy orange coloring echo the warmth of the great room’s fire. Inspired by Ralph Lauren, Moore designed the luxurious sofa with an extra deep seat depth to accommodate the long-legged owner.
A dramatic Carrie Fell Indian chief portrait from Vail’s Masters Gallery lent the finishing touch to the great room. The painting’s brilliant strokes of color seemed custom-made to make a spectacular statement on the great room’s neutral sandstone fireplace.
The million-dollar views of Golden Peak and the Gore Range from the large balconies and soaring windows that bracket this multi-million dollar penthouse gave rise to some natural-looking furnishings to tie in with the outdoors and soften the contemporary look.
“The dark wood furnishings and finishes also ground the bold colors and make them stand out by contrast,” says Moore.
In the great room, t
he branch-like pattern of the kitchen bar chairs and the massive “tree” dining table, all from Martin Pierce Furniture, are intended to convey the harmony of nature.
Crafted from myrtle wood, the dining table’s spectacular tree trunk base, burled top, and carved edging bring the solidity and peace of the forest to mind.
“We didn’t want anything too formal in the dining room because the outdoor view is so prominent,” Moore explains. “With the tree-based table surrounded by the rattan chairs, it feels like you are enjoying a picnic outside.”
The seat cushions were fashioned from outdoor fabrics, as were some of the bed coverings, because these fabrics are available in the bold colors the owner desired.
The tabletop accessories are from Amen Wardy of Aspen.
A bright orange étagère near the fireplace holds quirky mementos and has a geometric branching shape that is also tree-inspired.
The designers had the piece custom made in Utah from a smaller version they had seen in a showroom.
The team was challenged to find light fixtures that would fill up just the right amount of space in the kitchen’s high-sloped ceiling, and illuminate the bar eating area as well. Riding an escalator in the design center at High Point, North Carolina, Moore spotted the eye-catching, four-foot tall, mosaic glass cylindrical lights in a showroom below. And their colorful drama exactly expressed the client’s taste.
When Moore and Howe saw a rug in the wild style of famed 1960s Italian designer Emilio Pucci at New River Artisans, they knew it would find a perfect home beneath the dining room table.
They brightened up the colors in the original rug and morphed the design into a more swirly style that was then custom made by the New River craftsmen.
With nearly three decades of interior design experience, Carol Moore is known for taking inspiration from nature and integrating the client's taste with the mountain environment in unique ways, such as those used in this penthouse project.
The firm specializes in interior space planning, materials specification, and custom furniture design.
The three professional designers on staff are allied members of the American Society of Interior Designers (A.S.I.D.), while Moore is Professional Member.
The team’s wide knowledge of available furnishings and fabrics allows them to make innovative suggestions that open up a whole world of possibilities for the homeowner. “
We keep our inspiration fresh by keeping up with new fabric lines and new products,” says Moore.
“We get probably two or three design publications a day, so we know what is up and coming all over the country.
Plus, we go to the markets, in New York, in Los Angeles, and to Denver for that western flair, or to the Chicago Merchandise Mart for a more contemporary look.”
Moore’s expertise in creating harmonious spaces has been recognized with numerous awards from magazines, the American Society of Interior Designers, and the Eagle Valley Home Builders Association.
Mountain Living Magazine named her company among the “Best of the West” in their September 2007, 2008, & 2009 issues profiling the top high country architects and interior designers.
The firm has built a steady business through decades of listening to clients like the Texas socialite and translating their personalities into one-of-a-kind living spaces.
Though Moore had a healthy budget for this Manor Vail penthouse, the designer has noticed the current economic downturn has meant changes for some of her clients.
“Many people are more value conscious now, whereas before they didn’t really ask about price,” she explains. “Especially those who worked hard for their money are making more price comparisons, and may decide on a product substitution based on price.”
As an example, she notes a designer sofa that could cost $17,000 wholesale can be beautifully reproduced by a local supplier like Davey at Tom’s Upholstery in Morrison for a mere fraction of the cost of the original.
“We’re lucky to have amazing craftsmen that can give us the terrific look without the steep price tag,” she says.
Though some clients’ sensitivity to pricing may have increased, the goal of client satisfaction that Moore’s firm seeks to achieve remains unchanged, no matter what the project.
And so when their Texan client’s posse of girlfriends had toured the penthouse and excitedly told Moore and Howe they had exactly nailed the vibrant essence of their friend’s persona in her new digs, the designers were thrilled.
“That’s a compliment we never get tired of hearing,” Moore admits.
Joy Overbeck is a regular contributor to Vail-Beaver Creek Magazine. Her work has appeared in Redbook, Health, Parents, TV Guide, Woman’s Day, LUXE, 5280 Denver Magazine, and more. She is also the author of three books.
