Interior designer Zoe Compton once said, "When it's bleak outside, the warmth has to come from within. Color and light are so important in the mountains."
As skiers, we all know that after a day on the hill nothing is more inviting and comforting than the soft glow of a fire. Compton creates that same softness with her collection of custom lighting fixtures, which include iron chandeliers, a variety of sconces and pool table lights.
But it didn't start out that way for Compton, who just recently began her lighting enterprise in 1996. During her 20 years of interior design at Zoe Murphy Compton, Ltd., the Basalt-based company she started in the early Eighties, Compton found herself struggling to find adequate lighting fixtures for many projects because she often blends Western and European motifs. This in turn led her to design her own fixtures.
Every light that Compton commissions is hand-forged. Four collections-Classic, European, Western and Wildcat-can complement a variety of interior styles, from country-Western to country-French.
For example, clients can choose an iron sconce with oak leaf detail and partial rust finish ($1,575) in her Classic Collection or an iron-and-rawhide chandelier with buffalo and teepee images ($3,415) in the Western Collection. Balancing the different styles can create just the right ambiance for a mountain home.
Prices range from $750 for iron sconces in the European Collection to more than $10,000 for an iron chandelier in the Western Collection. For more information and prices on Zoe Murphy Compton, Ltd., lighting and interior design, call (970) 927-4201 or e-mail zmc@sopris.net.
