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Last year, we introduced you to Creede America, a master-planned housing development in the tiny town of Creede, Colorado. Here, developer and community manager Avery Augur has aimed to capture the charm of the town’s original “Victorian minimalist” architecture with the benefits of energy-efficient modern construction.
Those wanting in on this slice of small-town life are typically required to build from the ground up. But right now, the House With No Name, Augur’s tribute to the traditional miner’s shack and one of Creede America’s first completed homes, is on the market for $350,000.
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“I had a lot of fun designing this place,” Augur says. “It’s inspired by a specific, beautiful old miner’s cabin sitting on an alley in Creede that I’ve always loved, one of those old shacks with a metal roof and metal walls that are beautifully rusted.”
Augur grew up splitting time between New York City and Aspen, and spent many family vacations in Creede at a local dude ranch. As children, his mother and grandfather had done the same. Now, as Augur develops a 45-acre plot next to the city’s original plat, he hopes his history with the town, combined with his thoughtful approach to home-building, will draw new residents who will appreciate Creede’s singular appeal.
“I say we’re too far from Denver for the weekend warriors,” Augur says, “so we’re attracting home-buyers who either live here full time or who want to get out of town and stay a while.”
For this particular 1,500-square-foot, two-story home, Augur used the same corrugated, galvanized metal to clad the roof and exterior walls. “I had my roofer do the whole thing,” he says, “and I have to say, it’s already rusting very nicely.”
The two-story home features three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a half bath. And though the exterior pays homage to Creede’s history as a (short-lived) silver boomtown, the interior features a modern yet cozy design.
“I really don’t like modern interiors that are cold; those places where you set your keys down and immediately the space feels cluttered,” Augur says. To warm things up, he added fun touches to the minimalist interior, painting the IKEA kitchen cabinets with a vibrant blue auto paint, and finishing the aluminum-clad wood windows with a cobalt-blue trim.
With Creede’s cold winters in mind, Augur installed an under-floor radiant-heating system on both levels. A heat-recovery-ventilation system provides the extremely airtight—and therefore energy-efficient—home with fresh air without sacrificing precious heat. “For a simple, modern house, it’s more high-tech than meets the eye,” he says.