|
|
|
| POWERFUL EXPRESSIONS
OF OUR EXPERIENCE... |
|
Sometimes it's best to let others do the talking. Our clients
offer perhaps the greatest testament to why designing your
dream with Paddle Creek Design should be your first and
only choice. |
|
Character is the foundation stone upon which one must build to
win respect. Just as no worthy building can be erected on a
weak foundation, so no lasting reputation worthy of respect
can be built on a weak character
R. C.
Samsel
|
Eagle, Colorado
October 8, 2004
To Whom It May Concern:
Building a home for the first time was a scary proposition for
Walt and me. We were newly empty nesters and we rationalized
that we should down size our life style. But part of us
yearned for space, privacy and functionality. After 30 years
of marriage and residing in 11 different homes from condos to
single family, we were excited at the prospect of creating our
dream home. A builder friend introduced us to Thom Oppelt and
we immediately "bonded". Thom listened to every detail on our
"wish list" and his creative suggestions were invaluable for
those "blank stares" we gave him when we just didn't know what
we wanted. Putting our past living experiences into one home
was a challenge that Thom embraced and executed to our
delight.
His unassuming manner, easy going personality and his
professional talent blended into making our first home
building experience a joy. He took the time to understand our
lifestyle, listened to our ideas and never made us feel
uncertain in our requests. He is a sensitive, caring
"artist"….sensitive to his clients needs not to his own ego.
We love our home and feel that we truly had a collaborative
project with Thom. His talent is amazing and is evident by the
unsolicited compliments we continue to receive and requests
for his name from my own customers. As a real estate broker in
a new community, I have had the pleasure of referring my
customers to Thom. We would do another home with him "in a
heart beat" and someday we will. His work is most evident
throughout our community and I look forward to his continued
success here and beyond.
Sincerely,
Jenni Marquez
Broker Associate |
March 10, 2004
The Link Residence
Storm Mountain Ranch
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Architect Thom Oppelt designed the Link Residence in the
National Parks or "Park-itecture" tradition. The Link's 12,000
square foot residence draws it historical precedence from two
of the great lodges of the west. The first is the rustic Old
Faithful Lodge located in Yellowstone National Park in Montana
and the Second is the luxurious Ahwahnee Lodge in Yosemite
National Park in California. The Link's home embraces the
vision of Storm Mountain Ranch by 'incorporating native
landscaping and local colors and materials to make the home
feel a part of its environment.' The objective was to create a
home that gives the appearance of being timeless and to have
evolved over time--a goal Storm Mountain's architect Bob
Fitzgerald describes as a structure 'that seems to spring from
the landscape rather than to have been dropped onto it.'
To achieve this sense of being one with nature, the Link
Residence is integrated into the hillside. Locally quarried
granite boulders help create the landscape around the home and
then stone is used to transition from nature to the structure.
The overall landscape concept was to create a ballet of man
and nature, accomplished by incorporating a variety of native
trees, streams and ponds that further the sensual relationship
with nature.
Architecturally, Thom's concept was to create a home with a
sense of timelessness--a home that had evolved from a cabin to
a lodge over a period of time. To achieve this look, he
combined an eclectic mix of locally utilized rustic materials
such as dry stacked stone for a sense of permanence, rustic
round logs for a reflection of the pioneer days and a dove
tailed square log siding for a more refined, luxurious and
contemporary feel to complete the majority of the structure.
Then he added touches of board and batten vertical siding and
horizontal wavy board siding to give the home another layer of
time and evolution. This evolution can even be seen in the
roof materials--the majority of the roof is tile accented with
areas of metal that simulate addition to the original
structure over time.
The architectural success of a home such as the Link Residence
is not measured simply by its visual impact, but also by the
way being in and around the home makes you feel. Thom's goal
of "tranquil restoration" is evident in the rustic warmth and
serenity which come from a seamless union of architecture and
nature. The "poetry" of architecture, as applied to the Link
Residence, is perhaps best captured in the words of Romantic
poet William Wordsworth in "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above
Tintern Abbey":
And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man:
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still
A lover of the meadows and the woods,
And mountains; and of all that we behold
From this green earth; of all the mighty world
Of eye, and ear,--both what they half create,
And what perceive; well pleased to recognise
In nature and the language of the sense,
The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul
Of all my mortal being.
Respectfully Submitted,
|
|
|
|