BOULDER COUNTY - From the outside, Alice Starek's home is hardly conventional. Located in the foothills, its walls are thickly plastered, its roofs are supported by cottonwood limbs and a copper-topped turret stands guard over the front door.

Those who venture inside find themselves in a spiral of spaces that unwinds around a central kitchen. A papier-mache sea monster wriggles along a rim above the cooking area. A plant-stuffed atrium peeks through limestone arches. In the family room, a fireplace glows in a massive, stone-covered spire.

For the past six years, Alice has been perfecting the 3,900-square-foot residence built with the help of her husband, Karel, and numerous local artisans. As an architect, she has always known what she was up against.

"It's really scary to do a house like this. Everybody thinks you're nuts, but you can do it," the 43-year-old says.

"Our house loosely follows the form of a snail shell, and like a snail, its design and construction have moved slowly. But in the kitchen, when the night jasmine is blooming, the fountain is going and the candles are flickering, we're transported to a tropical paradise."

Alice was raised in St. Louis, trained as an architect at Princeton University and specializes in organic forms made of natural and recycled materials.

In 1991 she and Karel decided to move with their family from St. Louis to Colorado. Starting small, they settled into a miner's cabin in Ward, west of Boulder.

"We all shared the same living-room area, and it was always completely trashed with kid stuff," says Karel.

In 2000, the two began to think about moving into something larger. In about a week, Alice had the complete design pictured in her head.

"The hard part is to put it down on paper for other people to understand," she says.

Every surface, except for the appliances, is made of recycled materials or was custom-crafted by artisans - a time-consuming process Alice enjoys. Stairs are crafted like a piece of fine furniture; accent windows are made of cast glass.

The home is on a muddy mountain road that traverses the woods. From the drive, a cobblestone walk slices into the mountain, leading to the front entrance. On a recent visit, eight 1-month-old puppies snooze in a pile around their mother, a Great Pyrenees.

Inside, the adobe floor leads past a walk-in coat closet and up to the elevated kitchen.

"This is in the center of the house, because I love seeing everyone," Alice says. "When you're cooking dinner, you don't want to be isolated and alone."

The adobe floors are made of compacted dirt from the lot, a technique popular in Mexico.

"As they were being created, they were nicked and dented and cracked," Alice says, pointing out a dog's paw print. "Being dirt, they don't often show dirt."

Cabinets are handmade out of cottonwood planks, while recycled timber and steel beams hold up the ceiling.

Countertops, sliced from a quartzite boulder, feel satiny to the touch.

"This stone isn't as dense as granite," Alice says, "so it patinas like an unfinished metal, gaining character over time."

Off the kitchen, the kids have a cave-like TV room where they're allowed to watch DVDs (the home isn't connected to cable). It's also a favorite stop for the puppies.

A tropical-plant-stuffed greenhouse with skylights and windows soaks up the sun to the east. An adjoining dining alcove contains a Gothic-style table and high-back chairs. The living room, tucked between the kitchen and the side of the mountain, is warmed by sunlight and an energy-efficient fireplace.

From the living room, a staircase eases up to Alice's study and the master suite. A solid walnut newel post, carved into a large curl, marks the edge of Alice's desk, also built out of walnut. Light floods in above walls made of recycled adobe bricks.

Woodworker Brent Applegit spent more than 680 hours shaping a built-in sofa out of walnut and fitting it into the irregular walls.

"It's kind of like how they used to make barrels," the 34-year-old says. "You are stacking wood together on angles to create the curl, and it's a lot of hand-shaping, obviously."

Applegit spent thousands of hours perfecting other furnishings, including Alice's built-in desk.

"There were a lot of trips back and forth and a lot of fitting," says Applegit, who lives in Coal Creek Canyon.

The sofa isn't only a place were Alice can relax; it's also a low dividing wall separating the work area from the master suite. The master bath, which has a copper soaking tub, gets most of the space, while the bedroom is small and intimate. A solar-heated tub rests outside on a balcony overlooking the mountains and plains.

Bedrooms for the children - Adam, Peter and Emma - were made small so extra space could be devoted to a meandering playroom, which has room for a piano, computers and a drum set.

"We involved them in the process when we designed the house," says Karel, 42. "When we were down in Mesa Verde, there was a kiva and we couldn't get Peter out of it. That's the inspiration for his bedroom. He's got a buried, circular bedroom with the skylight in the center.

"They have to share that common space together; they have to share the bathroom together, so they aren't too spoiled."

Alice and Karel, however, have enjoyed the chance to indulge themselves creatively, creating a warm residence in the process.

"I would do it all over again 10 times," Alice says. "I love being in the space. I love how it affects our family. I love how I feel when I'm home. And I want to be home."

The details

• What: free-form, single-family home

• Where: Near Gold Hill west of Boulder

• Architect: homeowner Alice Starek, principal architect, Alma Designs

• Contractor: Margot Rode and Jonathan Rodgers

• Size: 3,900 square feet on basically two floors but 12 levels, heated by solar power

Putting it together

Here are some of the local companies and shops that participated in building Alice and Karel Starek's home west of Boulder:

Construction

Margot Rode, 303-588-4474 and Jonathan Rodgers 303-810-1274

Wood

T.C. Woods, locally milled wood from the area, 303-494-0425

Singing Saw Woodworks, reclaimed wood, 303-588-0349

Jonathan Rodgers, framing and tower woodwork 303-810-1274

Rick Maddox, dining table, chairs, stools 303-444-3158

Brent Applegit, custom walnut cabinets and sofa in study 303-642-7663

Masonry

Sebastian Rodriguez, stone, plaster and adobe, 303-669-9488

R.C. Wittenbaugh, landscape stonework 303-459-0198

Metal

Living Designs, roof and copperwork, 303-442-2614 or livingdesignstudios.com

Brazin Hussies, copper work 303-250-2267

Brun Metalcrafters, lights, rods, hooks and rails, 303-466-2513

Stuart Hill, candelabra, hooks and rails, 303-293-8899

Diamond Spas, bath tub and hot tub, diamondspas.com

Decor

Leaf Running-rabbit, sea monster in kitchen, 303-718-1375

Jean Pless, landscape and sea creature painting, 303-459-0198

Lumenart, glass pendant lights, lumenartltd.com

Matt Bezark, cast glass, 303-434-7267

Metro Solar, solar heating 303-782-9099

Sister Max of Boulder

Amy Hardy, painting 303-653-2088

lehndorffb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2792

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