Durango Dream Home Veritas Fine Homes

by Graham Coffey

“How do we capture a cabin in the woods with a more modern influence?”

That was the question that Troy Dyer, owner and president of Veritas Fine Homes, was asking his team after meeting their newest clients. The couple had recently bought a rocky lot sitting in the shadow of Castle Rock in the north Animas Valley, but their vision for the property wasn’t your average rustic mountain cabin.

“He wanted a Rocky Mountain timberstyle home, but she was a city girl,” says project manager Brett Brodersen. “She told her husband ‘the only way you’re taking me up to this mountain is to get my style of home, which is modern’.”

Most good marriages are built on compromises. The final product of this one was a chic Colorado contemporary home that features a blend of materials that complement the landscape of the San Juan Mountains. Veritas used its team mentality and unique project management philosophy to achieve the build.

A boutique builder of luxury homes, Veritas only takes on five to six projects a year. The company uses a unique method in which it assigns one project manager to each property. The approach allows for maximum efficiency and guarantees that a high level of care goes into each step of the building process.

Project coordinator Natalie Marsters explains that Veritas prides itself on its ability to be diverse in design styles. Marsters manages the decision-making process with every customer and ensures that the clients are giving input during every step of the design and building process. “They’re all very custom homes. We listen to our clients, and we design their desired home.”

Marsters and Dyer encourage me to visit the company’s website and look at some of their past projects. Rustic homes, ranch houses, log estates, modern designs – when perusing the virtual portfolio of Veritas’ past projects, one finds a little bit of everything.

The company’s ultimate goal is to meet the desires of its customers. “We can do any type of design and if we get presented with a new problem we’re going to dig in, research it, and be sure we crush that style of design and that build,” says Dyer.

Building within the rocky features of the property wasn’t a problem for the experienced team at Veritas. They have done plenty of projects in the Animas Valley and consider themselves wellversed at what Dyer refers to as “building in the rocks.” On this particular project those rocks would serve as an inspiration for both the clients and the builders.

The lot spans over three acres, but to achieve the optimal homesite the Veritas team had to get through twenty feet of solid quartz. “The design had a walk-out basement and the foundation had to be supported in that rock. We blasted into it and tons of geode came up,” explained Brodersen.

Creating that foundation without being intrusive to nearby neighbors is the type of challenge that Veritas is used to. They have even put seismographs on the back porches of neighboring homes to ensure adjacent properties were protected. This level of precision and detail is something on which Veritas prides itself. “We do a lot of builds on unique sites and we consider ourselves stewards of the landscapes and the neighborhoods we work in,” says Dyer.

The beautiful geodes that came up on the property in the north Animas Valley would eventually serve as inspiration for the home’s interior. The kitchen features Calacatta Classique quartz waterfall countertops with satin brass fixtures. Floating glass shelves hang over the bar area.

At 3500 square feet, the home incorporates raw steel elements and stone while perfectly blending modern styles and cozy mountain living. Built for dinner parties and entertaining, the main living area opens into the kitchen and steel beams support the high ceilings that run throughout the house.

The house features three fireplaces amongst these modern touches, one of which sits on a suspended wraparound deck. The great room flows out onto the deck via a sliding glass wall system that creates a sixteen-foot opening. A staircase on the deck leads out into Mother Nature and a fire pit that is perfect for stargazing.

The house also has a gallery walk with large windows that brings the owners into the kitchen/living area from the garage. The natural light the windows provide is just one of many ways that Veritas blended the property’s beautiful views into the modern interior. Built into the quartz rock below the home is a downstairs basement with two full guest suites and a common guest living room that opens up to the outside.

Veritas wanted to ensure that the home was built in a manner that complemented and highlighted the landscape. Those exterior features include flat rusted siding to bring out the copper veins and a stone veneer that speaks to the surrounding cliffs. The roof has several mono pitches designed to counter each other, with overhangs to support the snow load seen in the Valley. Features like this are an example of how Veritas excels at weaving intelligent and practical design into the client’s desired aesthetic.

Dyer has been building homes in Durango for thirty years and Veritas will turn ten years old this August. When you listen to him talk about why he is in the homebuilding business it is easy to see why Veritas has had success. “We hand pick our clients as much as they pick us,” he says. “We are building the homes for relationships as much as business and we end up spending a ton of time with our clients and they become our friends.”

Repeat customers make up a large portion of Veritas’ business. “We built a home for a client in 2013. We did their main house in Durango, then we did a Dolores River resort in 2018. Then we remodeled the other house... A lot of our work is we built a parent’s home and then we build their child’s home five years later.”

Dyer’s team is the thing he points to for making all of this possible. “It’s an honor for me to rely on these great teammates. I’m so blessed to call these people my family.”

Matt Arias

700 Main Avenue

Durango, CO 81301

970-247-3840 mattjarias@kw.com

Hometown knowledge and world-class service are not just taglines for this born-and-raised Durango local. Matt has built a business reputation on his foundation of expertise in the Durango real estate market, as well as always overdelivering to his clients. Whether you’re looking for a historical downtown home, acreage on which to live the Western lifestyle, or the perfect building for your new business, Matt will work to find you the right fit. Having raised his family here to provide his sons the opportunity to live the Durango dream, he is committed to maintaining the small-town qualities that make this area so desirable.

Jerome Bleger

Wells Group Durango Real Estate

1130 Main Avenue Durango, CO 81301

970-759-1658 wellsgroupdurango.com

A realtor with 19 years’ experience, Jerome has lived in Durango since 1991. He is a graduate of both Durango High School and Fort Lewis College. Community and family are big parts of Jerome’s life. He and Tiffany, his wife of 21 years, are raising three daughters in Durango. He is a coach for Durango Youth Baseball, a member of the Durango High Noon Rotary Club, and a church council member. He is also an ipso facto dance coach for all three of his daughters. Jerome is an expert real estate agent who can help you with your search in Durango and the surrounding area. He provides professional, responsive, and attentive real estate services. His expertise encompasses land, home, and commercial real estate. For more information and to get to know Jerome, email jerome@wellsgroupdurango.com.

Teddy Errico

215 West San Juan Avenue, Suite C3

Telluride, CO 81435

970-708-5959

TeddyErrico.com

If you’re looking for a property in the luxurious resort towns of Telluride and Mountain Village, get trusted real estate advice from a 23-plus-year broker and 27-plus-year local who lives full time on the west side of historic Telluride. Less than a two-hour drive from Durango, Telluride offers world-class skiing, golf, music, film festivals, and so much more within a majestic mountain backdrop of 14,000foot peaks. To search all properties, please visit www.TeddyErrico.com.

Zach Morse

743 Main Avenue

Durango, CO 81301

970-391-2600

Zachmorsedurangorealestate.com

Zach@lpwsir.com

Zach Morse is the owner/broker for Legacy Properties West Sotheby's International Realty. Zach has been directly involved in high-end property sales of over $350M for the past 15+ years. He has an intimate knowledge of active and private residential, ranch, and recreational properties in the region. Known for his positive attitude, "win-win" mentality, and solid reputation among his colleagues, clients and other professionals in the real estate industry, Zach is the top choice for buyers and sellers who want high-quality representation to smooth the sales process and maximize value.