AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | 5280 HOME | 67
You designed and built 6,000 square feet—
the home, office-meets-workshop, and an
Airbnb space—from the ground up. Did you
devise any innovative budgeting strategies?
MJ: It was a monetary goal but also an
aesthetic goal to find cheap or utilitarian
materials and use them in interesting ways
that feel elevated, where the impact is from
the design and not necessarily from the
most expensive materials.
Kimberly Johnson: All of our cabinets’
inner workings are from IKEA; we had
custom fronts made for the kitchen cabi-
nets. The bedroom storage walls: all IKEA.
We found this line that had enough pieces
that we could puzzle-fit them together, cut
legs off some of them. It’s a good way to
save money.What sort of magic happens in
your workshop?
MJ: We’ve been trying to answer that for just
over 10 years. Our most recent description: a
shape-shifting design collective. In its simplest
form, we do graphic design. But we take a
really broad approach that includes brand-
ing, visual identity, and logos for companies
and products; signage, menus, collateral, and
interior art for hospitality businesses; and a
whole other side in the entertainment indus-
try: music videos, album covers, multimedia
stuff.... That’s the shape-shifting part.What do you love most about your home-
and-workshop combo? The commute?
MJ: I think, in a way, the commute is what
we love most about the project—but not
just because it means less time spent in
traffic. It represents our entire goal: a
seamless blend of work, family, and creative
living—all on one city lot. Now that we’ve
settled in, [the property] has developed this
wonderful feeling of a creative ecosystem
with separate but complementary parts:
the house, shop, and outdoor spaces. The
boundaries between the parts are impor-
tant, but [the parts] also blend and interact
with one another in a self-sustaining bal-
ance that we’ve come to truly love.DESIGN PROS
Interior design: Marke and Kimberly Johnson,
the Made Shop
Construction: Brad Weiman, Work Shop Denver<><><><><>
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | 5280 HOME | 67
You designed and built 6,000 square feet—
the home, office-meets-workshop, and an
Airbnb space—from the ground up. Did you
devise any innovative budgeting strategies?
MJ: It was a monetary goal but also an
aesthetic goal to find cheap or utilitarian
materials and use them in interesting ways
that feel elevated, where the impact is from
the design and not necessarily from the
most expensive materials.
Kimberly Johnson: All of our cabinets’
inner workings are from IKEA; we had
custom fronts made for the kitchen cabi-
nets. The bedroom storage walls: all IKEA.
We found this line that had enough pieces
that we could puzzle-fit them together, cut
legs off some of them. It’s a good way to
save money.What sort of magic happens in
your workshop?
MJ: We’ve been trying to answer that for just
over 10 years. Our most recent description: a
shape-shifting design collective. In its simplest
form, we do graphic design. But we take a
really broad approach that includes brand-
ing, visual identity, and logos for companies
and products; signage, menus, collateral, and
interior art for hospitality businesses; and a
whole other side in the entertainment indus-
try: music videos, album covers, multimedia
stuff.... That’s the shape-shifting part.What do you love most about your home-
and-workshop combo? The commute?
MJ: I think, in a way, the commute is what
we love most about the project—but not
just because it means less time spent in
traffic. It represents our entire goal: a
seamless blend of work, family, and creative
living—all on one city lot. Now that we’ve
settled in, [the property] has developed this
wonderful feeling of a creative ecosystem
with separate but complementary parts:
the house, shop, and outdoor spaces. The
boundaries between the parts are impor-
tant, but [the parts] also blend and interact
with one another in a self-sustaining bal-
ance that we’ve come to truly love.DESIGN PROS
Interior design: Marke and Kimberly Johnson,
the Made Shop
Construction: Brad Weiman, Work Shop Denver<><><><><>