Dubbed the "Cigar Room" (even though the homeowner does not light up inside), this small area is dominated by a painting of a woman whom the owner says reminds him of his wife.
Architecture & Interior Design
The Best Little Basement in Denver
Everything about this space reflects the homeowner's Western-inspired vision
BY
Sally Stich
PHOTOGRAPHY
Emily Minton-Redfield

For Rob Smith, the design vision was crystal clear. The lower level of his large southwest Denver home (known as “his” space) would be transformed into an 1890s San Francisco saloon—with high-tech amenities, of course. He envisioned relaxing here at the end of the day, much like his childhood hero, Paladin, from the popular TV series Have Gun, Will Travel. “I knew exactly what I wanted design-wise,” Smith says. “I also knew how much I wanted to spend and when I needed it done.” To his good fortune, he got all three.

After working with the Smiths on the rest of the house, designers Kristi Dinner and Beth Armijo of company kd understood Rob’s vision, even though he never once showed them a picture. “We had to think colors first,” Armijo says, “and a bordello would’ve been dark woods and deep reds.” Textures and patterns would also play a key role—brocades, chenille, cowhide, distressed leather, along with fringes and tassels galore—from the couch skirt to several lampshades.

Though designed to look old, everything in the lower level is new to the space except for the poker table. Rob personally picked out much of the furniture, shopping at local stores to stay within his budgetary constraints. He splurged on his toys—such as the 70-inch Sony home theater at one end of the room, a gorgeous mother-of-pearl inlaid poker table that divides the space and his roomy horseshoe-shaped granite bar at the opposite end.

What holds the room together is the Victorian-style carpeting—a pattern of flowers in squares—that serves more than merely decorative purposes. “In a room with a media system like Rob has,” Dinner says, “we had to think of acoustics, too. A soft floor was the way to go, even though in Victorian times, people didn’t generally have wall-to-wall carpeting.”

Smith was also interested in installing a ceramic hexagonal tile floor at the entrance to his saloon. Dinner steered him toward a black floor with white centers (rather than the ubiquitous white with black), but finding this product wasn’t so easy. Finally Smith bought 12-inch squares of all-black hexagonal tiles and had the tile installers pop out center black tiles and replace them with white tiles. It was labor-intensive but definitely worth it.

Smith loves his room so much that he comes down every afternoon from 4 to 6 to relax by watching sports or old Westerns. Sometimes he moseys over to the bar (called the “Horseshoe Saloon”) and pours himself a drink. Sometimes he adjusts the lights so they are low and sexy as daylight turns dark. But all of the time, he thanks his lucky stars for having a wife who said, “Do whatever you want.” And he’s also grateful for a design team who came in on time and on budget. Forget Paladin. Rob Smith’s motto is much better: “Have room, will party!”