When Julee Wray stumbled upon the 1941 home in Hilltop she’d go on to buy, she swooned over the exterior’s classic French Modern architecture—a style known for its sharp symmetry, steep rooflines, and arched doorways. But when she stepped inside, she felt like she was in a completely different home. The interior’s contemporary design (frameless kitchen cabinets, steel stair railings, all-white walls) didn’t align with the elegant facade.

Although Wray initially had grand visions of gutting the interiors and starting fresh, her budget stymied that plan. Instead, she had to figure out how to marry some of the home’s existing elements with her desire for more traditional charm. “I needed to soften it and make it feel more feminine,” says Wray, founder and lead designer at Denver-based Truss Interiors.

5280 June 2025
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Here, she shares how she used color, texture, and lighting to create a home that suits her family’s needs and her personal aesthetic.

Editor’s note: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

Bold wallpaper, a warm color palette, and textural finishes give a soothing elegance to the home designer Julee Wray shares with her husband, daughter, and a shih tzu named Boss. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield

5280: What’s it like being your own client?
Julee Wray: Oh, I’m the worst client ever, because I can’t make a decision. I think it’s much harder to design for yourself because the choices are endless, and you have a fear of them being judged by others. People look to designers for perfection, and that’s a lot of pressure to live under. But we also live in the same set of circumstances that everybody else has—we still have budgets, we still have decisions.

What challenges did the renovation and design process on this house present?
Back in the 1940s, homes were built with glass, plaster, and brick. I learned the hard way that it’s not always possible to channel the electric where you want it to go. We had to thicken out some walls to accommodate new electrical work, which was an added framing, drywall, and paint expense. For example, in the bedrooms we added LED can lights on the ceilings, which meant losing four inches from every wall because we couldn’t run the wiring in the old walls and had to add new ones with switches. Sometimes, when you buy an old home, you just have to be prepared to pay more than you usually would for electrical work.

We also found layers of different wallpapers that got covered up multiple times. We had to strip the walls, prep them, and re-paper them.

“An interior designer’s role is to blend styles,” Wray says. To achieve her vision of a soft-maximalist space, she warmed up the home’s more contemporary finishes: In the kitchen, she plucked out flat-panel frameless cabinetry and swapped in real wood tambour cabinets to add curve and texture. On the dining room ceiling, beams from an old Veterans of Foreign Wars post provide character and dimension. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
“An interior designer’s role is to blend styles,” Wray says. To achieve her vision of a soft-maximalist space, she warmed up the home’s more contemporary finishes: In the kitchen, she plucked out flat-panel frameless cabinetry and swapped in real wood tambour cabinets to add curve and texture. On the dining room ceiling, beams from an old Veterans of Foreign Wars post provide character and dimension. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
“An interior designer’s role is to blend styles,” Wray says. To achieve her vision of a soft-maximalist space, she warmed up the home’s more contemporary finishes: In the kitchen, she plucked out flat-panel frameless cabinetry and swapped in real wood tambour cabinets to add curve and texture. On the dining room ceiling, beams from an old Veterans of Foreign Wars post provide character and dimension. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
“An interior designer’s role is to blend styles,” Wray says. To achieve her vision of a soft-maximalist space, she warmed up the home’s more contemporary finishes: In the kitchen, she plucked out flat-panel frameless cabinetry and swapped in real wood tambour cabinets to add curve and texture. On the dining room ceiling, beams from an old Veterans of Foreign Wars post provide character and dimension. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield

Tell us about some of the locally made elements of your design.
All of the maple tambour cabinets were created by Black Hound Design Company in Arvada. There’s a lot of cast limestone features throughout the house, including around the basement fireplace and the bedroom fireplace, which were done by Cast Limestone Creations in Lakewood. All City Floors took our wood floors from black to white—and probably thought I was crazy, but we did it. There are still little bits of character from the old dark stain that live in the white, but I’m OK with that. I think it just speaks to the story of the house and how it’s changed.

What was your goal for the outdoor spaces?
The front yard was squared off and didn’t feel right. There was even a tree in the middle of the driveway. So the whole intention was to make it feel more traditional. We put in curved beds with more florals than grasses, a curved walkway with brick trim, and lights to illuminate it at night. We added the porch to bring dimension to the front. In the backyard, we added a garden. The roses there pay tribute to my father-in-law, who was the president of the Houston Rose Society. We extended the deck out eight feet in each direction, created an outdoor kitchen, and added decking around the pool.

In her backyard, Wray made space for her husband’s smoker, where he frequently grills, while also leaving room for her garden, flowers, and an outdoor lounge. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
In her backyard, Wray made space for her husband’s smoker, where he frequently grills, while also leaving room for her garden, flowers, and an outdoor lounge. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
In her backyard, Wray made space for her husband’s smoker, where he frequently grills, while also leaving room for her garden, flowers, and an outdoor lounge. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield

How does your family use the backyard in the summer?
I grew up on a farm, and my dad had a garden that was so prolific. In spring 2023, he helped me set up my garden and tilled all of the soil for me; I’ve had tomato plants that are seven feet tall. He comes to visit each spring to refertilize the soil. I spend a lot of time tinkering around with my tulips, irises, and lilacs and cutting florals for bouquets. It’s my second passion, besides design. My husband loves to smoke and grill, so whenever it’s warm out, he’ll spend time out there cooking, and I’ll mess around with my garden.

Photo by Emily Minton Redfield

Back inside: Your daughter’s room is so whimsical. How do you design spaces for children that feel fun but not chaotic?
For my daughter, I wanted to create something that would fit her at the time, when she was three, but could also grow with her. We chose a theme of birds and flowers, which she has always gravitated toward. I picked a colorful, large-print wallpaper. It’s playful but not juvenile. On nights when we’re trying to get her to sleep, we count the number of birds or butterflies, and it helps her concentrate on something other than her busy mind.

Do you have a favorite room in the house?
One of my favorites is the primary bedroom. It has a ton of strange ceiling lines, so we decided to let the lines continue by enveloping the entire room with a textured grasscloth wall covering, which honestly has the most calming cocoon effect. I sleep so well in that room.

I also love the dining room/office because of all the color. There’s a painting that’s above the fireplace that’s a family heirloom. My husband’s late father picked it up in France. My mother-in-law hated that painting so much that my father-in-law hung it in his office for 20 years. When he passed away, my husband’s mom gave it to us so she wouldn’t have to look at it. We painted the whole room Rhine River, a blueish sage color from Benjamin Moore, to complement that particular painting.

Wray doesn’t shy away from colorful walls or eclectic furniture. To add whimsy in your own home, she suggests choosing wallpaper first. Large prints with movement make small rooms feel bigger and prevent the pattern from appearing pixelated. Then, find soothing complementary colors for the rest of the space. “Pick what you love and don’t look back,” she says. “You’ll never be happy if you go with somebody else’s decisions.” Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
Wray doesn’t shy away from colorful walls or eclectic furniture. To add whimsy in your own home, she suggests choosing wallpaper first. Large prints with movement make small rooms feel bigger and prevent the pattern from appearing pixelated. Then, find soothing complementary colors for the rest of the space. “Pick what you love and don’t look back,” she says. “You’ll never be happy if you go with somebody else’s decisions.” Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
Wray doesn’t shy away from colorful walls or eclectic furniture. To add whimsy in your own home, she suggests choosing wallpaper first. Large prints with movement make small rooms feel bigger and prevent the pattern from appearing pixelated. Then, find soothing complementary colors for the rest of the space. “Pick what you love and don’t look back,” she says. “You’ll never be happy if you go with somebody else’s decisions.” Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
Wray doesn’t shy away from colorful walls or eclectic furniture. To add whimsy in your own home, she suggests choosing wallpaper first. Large prints with movement make small rooms feel bigger and prevent the pattern from appearing pixelated. Then, find soothing complementary colors for the rest of the space. “Pick what you love and don’t look back,” she says. “You’ll never be happy if you go with somebody else’s decisions.” Photo by Emily Minton Redfield
Wray doesn’t shy away from colorful walls or eclectic furniture. To add whimsy in your own home, she suggests choosing wallpaper first. Large prints with movement make small rooms feel bigger and prevent the pattern from appearing pixelated. Then, find soothing complementary colors for the rest of the space. “Pick what you love and don’t look back,” she says. “You’ll never be happy if you go with somebody else’s decisions.” Photo by Emily Minton Redfield

Any last tips for homeowners looking to renovate an older home?
Hire somebody who has a really good grasp of historical homes in your area and has a project management background. A house that is older comes with a lot of challenges, and hiring the right team of people is important. But also, embrace the era and the architecture of the house. Don’t polarize the interior and the exterior from each other. If you have a traditional-looking house, don’t make it contemporary on the inside.

This article was originally published in 5280 June 2025.
Barbara O'Neil
Barbara O'Neil
Barbara is one of 5280's associate editors and writes stories for 5280 and 5280.com.