A Better Fit

Recalibrating a Chautauqua-area home for an active lifestyle and healthy living

Story Heather Shoning

There’s something rare about returning to a house years later and finding that its bones still hold. That was the case when the current owners of a residence directly across from Chautauqua Park reached out to David Ellis, president and owner of Ellis Builds, to rework a home he had already transformed once before.

Ellis first renovated the house in 2015, completing what he describes as a dramatic overhaul. “It was a complete renovatin, plus three large additions,” he says. At the time, the house was dated and poorly built, but its setting—at the base of the Flatirons—was undeniable. The renovation reoriented the home to capture those views, introduced new living spaces framed in steel and glass, and brought the structure up to modern building and energy codes. After that work, the house remained largely untouched for nearly a decade.

When new owners purchased the property, they already knew who had done the original renovation. “They reached out and said, ‘We know you did the job, and we love the house,’” Ellis recalls. What began as a relatively contained idea quickly evolved. “It started with converting a space off the back of the garage,” he says, “but it ended up turning into that whole addition you see now—with the gym and the golf simulator.”

The second phase was less about reinvention and more about adaptation. The homeowners—recent empty nesters with adult children nearby—wanted the house to better reflect how they live now. Much of the work focused on the lower level, which was finished into a recreational hub that includes a bar, a gaming lounge, and flexible gathering spaces designed to function independently from the more formal rooms upstairs.

That sense of continuity was intentional. Rather than introducing a new design language, the team focused on restraint—making sure the additions felt like a natural evolution of the original work. “They really wanted everything to feel like it had always been part of the house,” Ellis says. “Nothing super flashy—just a clean, timeless look—so that you couldn’t tell what was done ten years ago and what was done recently.”

Health and wellness also played a central role in the newly design spaces and extended from indoors to out—the yard underwent a major transformation. An exercise pool, outdoor spa, and terraced landscaping turned the property into a private retreat.

The project’s location, however, added layers of complexity. Sitting directly across from one of Boulder’s most heavily trafficked public spaces, the site required careful coordination and a high degree of sensitivity. Limited access, constant pedestrian activity, and a tight lot meant that logistics had to be planned as deliberately as the architecture itself.

Adding to the challenge was the decision to run interior construction and landscape work concurrently. “Being able to manage the building and the landscaping simultaneously made a huge difference,” Ellis says. “Getting back into your house after a long renovation is one thing—having to live through another four months of pool and landscape work is another.” That coordination shortened the overall timeline and minimized disruption for both the homeowners and the surrounding neighborhood.

Collaboration was critical throughout the process. Ellis Builds worked closely with Arcadea Architecture and Marpa Landscape Architecture, aligning architecture, interiors, and outdoor spaces from the earliest stages. The goal was cohesion—visually, structurally, and experientially.

For Ellis, projects like this are inseparable from his long relationship with Boulder itself. “I came to Boulder for school, stayed here, raised my family here, and I’ve been in business for twenty-three years,” he says. “I’ve seen a lot of builders come and go, so longevity matters to me. We’ve worked hard to earn our place here, and we’re not going anywhere.”

Today, the Chautauqua-side home feels fully aligned with its owners’ lives—new spaces quietly support how the house is used now for gathering, wellness, and connection, both indoors and out. For Ellis, the opportunity to return to a project years later offered a rare perspective. “It’s not often you get to revisit a house like this,” he says. “To see it still working, and then make it even better—that’s pretty special.”

For more informaiton, visit ellisbuilds.com, arcadea.com, and marpa.com.