There are many gems in the Conifer Marketplace (affectionately known by locals as “the Staples shopping center”), and that includes Peggie Nikander’s design paradise, Colorado Furniture. This 10,000-square-foot haven of mountain rustic decor is the perfect place to begin your design journey.
Peggie owns and operates Colorado Furniture, working alongside her son, Aaron Madama, owner of All Mountain Services, which provides in-home deliveries for Colorado Furniture clients. She also relies on well-loved, right-hand Stephanie Radke. Together, they help local homeowners looking for a final perfect piece, or those starting from scratch wanting to achieve a true mountain-inspired look in their home.
“People know what they want, but they maybe don’t know how to get there,” Peggie says. “They walk in here and their mouths just drop open. They will spend hours and hours walking the circle, listening to great music—I play mellow ’60s and ’70s.” The large open space is cordoned off with wooden dividers so that each sample design can be taken in as an actual room including everything from couches, coffee tables, rugs, artwork and accessories. “Each vignette is set up like it could be taken off the floor and put in your home.”
Over the course of her career, Peggie has touched many facets of home. She went to school for art and design, spent her first years in the mountains as a Realtor, worked for Mountain Comfort in Frisco before returning to the local area as an employee at Mountain Home, where she ran the store for 13 years. It was an easy step to general manager at Colorado Furniture in Conifer, and a few years ago, she purchased the business she already knew and loved. This familiarity with home design makes it easy for Peggie to work with homeowners wanting to curate spaces for mountain living. It’s a system she has mastered, and for those customers purchasing through Colorado Furniture, her design services are complimentary.
“I like to start knowing how people live. Do they have kids? Do they have pets? Are they retired? Is it a full-time residence? Our first conversation is, how do you live in your home?” explains Peggie. This creates a picture of what will make owners comfortable and how they will utilize their finished space.
“The next step is the incredible surroundings,” Peggie continues. Especially since the Covid years, Peggie has many clients moving in from out of town. “Their East Coast, Florida, or Chicago decor doesn’t fit their new surroundings. I help them create a rustic mountain feel without being kitschy. It’s just eclectic, fun, Western.”
Last, Peggie finds a way to the heart of the design and finishes off the project with one-of-a-kind personality. “Some people bring special pieces that they like to incorporate. It’s fun to work with existing pieces and incorporate the new mountain feel,” says Peggie. For others, it’s about the colorful rug or single piece of artwork that inspire both Peggie and the clients. “I’m not tone-on-tone. I’m eclectic and colorful. Each piece of furniture is like its own piece of art, and we pull it together into a cohesive design.”
And this is why Peggie brings in so many artisans, including more than a hundred local artists creating everything from coffee tables and metalwork to stained glass and paint on canvas.
The best way to know Peggie and Colorado Furniture is to visit the shop in person. Store hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5. Sunday, 11-4. Closed Mondays. Learn more by visiting coloradofurniture.net.
