Written by: Tiffany Carboni

Nestled within the tall Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the popular Taos Ski Valley began its adventurous history in the 1800s as a mining town. When New York designer Alexandra Champalimaud of Champalimaud Design and Taos contractor Cody West, owner of Group 3 Development were commissioned to reinvent this private vacation condo in the ski village, they did so with two equally important objectives: to create a casual, user-friendly environment for its owners, and to stay authentic to the area’s industrial roots.

They accomplished these goals in the kitchen with the use of wood and metal. The wood cabinetry by Dolan Custom Woodwork was stained in dark pewter and paired with steel and iron pulls. Open shelves held by metal cables, and upper cabinets covered with chicken wire give a nod to the era that put this village on the map. “It pays tribute to the old ways,” Champalimaud says, “but with a decidedly contemporary spin.”

Modern conveniences include a lineup of stainless steel appliances from GE, LG and Broan. The steel motif continues with a sheet metal backsplash that wraps uniformly around the walls and as baseboards. “It adds another layer of interest as well as a practical aspect,” notes Champalimaud. “It is a kitchen that gets a lot of use from its owners who, after a full day on the slopes, are hungry. They didn’t want to have to get out of all their snow gear before starting their meals.”

Fittingly, the recycled timber dining table-bench set from Roost was matched with Tolix steel chairs from Pottery Barn allowing cold adventurers to take a quick load off without worry of knocking into delicate furnishings. The floors and columns are also made from timber, which only gets better and more charismatic with wear.

To counterbalance the silver-gray hues around the perimeter, the walls are painted spicy rust. Once it’s time to spark a cozy fire, the walls create a warm backdrop enhanced by the room’s various lighting sources. Mouth-blown glass pendants from Roost are on a pulley system allowing them to interact with the space appropriately. When more light is needed, Ark Lighting industrial cage fixtures from Metro Area Sales, Inc. do the trick of reflecting indirect lighting thanks to their mirrored bottoms.

Though the valley is a playground to the modern day snow enthusiast, this condo’s kitchen pays homage to its mining roots in the most stylish, modern and comfortable of ways. Those miners would have undoubtedly loved it for themselves.