You’ve been planning and saving and pinning and tagging and now, maybe, you even have a site. You might even be ahead of the curve and have a sense of what you want you’re new home to look like, but what about the details? What about the materials that will give it character, status, and longevity?
This article is for you!
Choosing materials for custom homes in Colorado means making decisions that will shape your daily experience for decades. So no pressure.
These aren’t just aesthetic choices—they’re investments in how your home performs through our dramatic temperature swings, intense UV exposure, and the weather events that define mountain living.
The difference between a legacy home and a McMansion comes down to this understanding and the last thing you want to do is settle for “builder-grade” materials. That’s what works best for them. So let’s figure out how to choose materials that work for you.
By the end of this article, you’ll understand what makes a custom home authentically Colorado and most importantly, authentic to you.
The Value of Stone and Its Applications
Stone carries geological history into your home while providing thermal mass that helps moderate our temperature extremes. Local stone varieties (from moss rock to sandstone to granite) each bring distinct character and performance qualities.
The right stone selection depends on preferences, sure, but also needs to honor application and exposure. Exterior stone faces Colorado’s intense UV and weather directly, requiring materials that handle freeze-thaw cycles without degrading. Interior stone applications offer more flexibility, allowing choices based primarily on aesthetic preferences and how materials age with daily living.
In other words, harder stone works best outside, and softer stones should be left for exterior accents or interior focal points. For instance, flagstone and granite are excellent for covered porches that extend into mudrooms and sometimes even greatrooms. The look is powerful, cohesive, and durable.
Softer stones like limestone or sandstone (typically lighter in color, too) look amazing as mantles, backsplashes, fireplaces, and more. There’s a lot of texture and nuance there, adding depth to any interior space.
Sourcing matters too. Local stone reduces transportation costs while ensuring materials proven to perform in our specific climate. It also creates authentic regional character that can’t be replicated with imported alternatives.
A basic design tenet of the architecture that works best in Colorado is made even better when materials come from local sources. A Colorado home, built from Colorado itself. The look is simply amazing.
Understanding Wood, Warmth & Ageless Strength
Wood brings irreplaceable warmth and story to Colorado homes, but species selection significantly affects both appearance and longevity. Softwoods, hardwoods, reclaimed woods – all tell a different tale and create a different experience.
For exterior applications, materials for custom homes in Colorado should prioritize UV resistance and dimensional stability. Cedar and certain hardwoods perform well when properly detailed and maintained. The key lies in understanding how specific applications expose wood to weather and selecting accordingly.
Also, timber-framed areas (or even entire structures) make a really powerful Western statement. Perhaps it’s antithesis, and a product most people aren’t aware of is mass timber. Also prefabbed, this material is mostly synthetic and used mainly as a structural alternative to steel and concrete. In certain applications, it looks amazing when exposed and finished the right way.
Interior wood is always about style. Exposed beams, plank ceilings, floors, and custom millwork create the crafted quality that defines mountain contemporary and craftsman styles. Reclaimed wood brings history and character while often providing character that new material can’t match.
The finish matters as much as the species. Natural oils penetrate and protect while allowing wood to breathe. Film-forming finishes can trap moisture and fail prematurely in our climate. Understanding these relationships helps ensure wood elements age gracefully rather than becoming maintenance burdens.
We’re happy to tell you more about our finishing preferences in a design consultation.
Heavy Metal Goes Light and Airy
Metal elements have evolved from purely functional to defining features in contemporary Colorado architecture. Steel beams can remain exposed as dramatic structural expressions. Metal roofing provides exceptional longevity and snow-shedding performance. Exterior cladding creates striking contemporary facades that require minimal maintenance.
When considering materials for custom homes, metal offers unique combinations of durability and design flexibility. Standing seam metal roofs often outlast homeowners, requiring virtually no maintenance while handling snow loads efficiently. Sure, the classic craftsman cedar shingle roof is also great – but over time – mold and maintenance becomes a thing. So metal might be right for you.
Interior metal applications range from structural expression to refined details. Custom steel railings, countertops (yes, countertops), and other industrial elements integrate naturally with mountain craftsman and modern mountain styles.
When complete, the look is clean and open, and works incredibly well with the next material we’re about to discuss when it comes to framing panoramic views everywhere in your new home.
Through The Looking Glass (or Your Panaorama Walls)
The best materials for custom homes in Colorado includes glass. And glass, if you haven’t gotten up to speed in recent years, is way more advanced and purpose-build than just a clear material for windows.
Modern glass can improve energy performance and UV protection. Large windows define mountain contemporary architecture, but they must perform thermally to remain comfortable during temperature extremes (these glass features can even be polarized)!
Modern glazing technology offers solutions our parents’ generation couldn’t access. Low-E coatings reduce heat transfer while maintaining view quality. Tinted glass manages solar heat gain without the dark, reflective appearance of older technologies. Triple-pane assemblies provide exceptional insulation where exposure demands maximum performance. Looking for sound insulation? Modern glass can achieve that, too.
On the other hand, selecting materials for custom homes might not come from a catalog. In places like Colorado, where there are so many custom craftsman and artisans, you might fall in love with someone who can create hand-blown pieces that accent doorways, hallways, home bars, offices, and more. Additionally, these artists can also do amazing things with etching for walk-in showers, dining room tables, and on and on. Just remember, these types of glass pieces are ornamentation only – don’t count on them for being able to keep old man winter at bay!
Putting It All Together Through Cohesive Design
In so many cases, these materials work flawlessly in American craftsman styles. Mountain architecture being an offshoot.
The goal of craftsman architecture is to blend material honesty in such a way that the final structure looks as if it’s part of the site itself. This calls back to the days of westward expansion where a home was literally constructed right where they could source the lumber, the stone, joinery, and more. The effect is hypnotic and something you can have by selectring the right materials for custom homes in Colorado.
At Asher, our approach to selecting materials for custom homes integrates architectural vision with engineering expertise from project inception to construction. The entire team is here, under one roof, streamlining everything from early brainstorms to finishing touches.
If you’ve found this article helpful, and are looking to explore how these materials can come to life for your luxurious new home, send us an email!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Colorado style home?
Colorado-style homes integrate natural materials—stone, wood, metal—with contemporary or craftsman design to create spaces that connect with our mountain landscape. These homes feature expansive windows capturing Front Range views, open floor plans supporting indoor-outdoor living, and material palettes reflecting our regional character. Whether expressed through mountain rustic, mountain contemporary, or craftsman styles, authentic Colorado homes balance refined comfort with resilience against our climate’s demands.
