LONGMONT, Colo.—Mike Gilliland is cultivating easy living alongside the produce at Sunflower Organic Farm.
Gilliland, the co-founder of Wild Oats Market who went on to start Sunflower Farmers Market in 2002, set out about two years ago to find a place to grow local foods and showcase organic farming. This 40-acre spread is set to supply up to 5 percent of the produce at Sunflower Market stores.
But in addition to “a barn cat and a couple of mice,” Gilliland also bought a quirky, 3,500-square-foot, Victorian cathedral-inspired custom farmhouse in need of a top-to-bottom overhaul.
“That’s my kind of fun,” says Gilliland—who spends half his time here and the other half in Arizona—of the renovations completed about six months ago. “I just loved this place.”
His goal for the farm house was to lighten up what was a “rough” interior that until recently matched the home’s dark cedar exterior. The Iowa native undertook that challenge by taking cues from French country design and paying close attention to the home’s custom details.
Those details included wood floors that already had handcrafted walnut and cherry “rug” inlays. Those were refinished, the winding staircase that leads to the second floor received much-needed railing, and each room has been oriented toward the picturesque views of the property’s gardens, grounds and mountains in the distance.
Now, nature is as much at home inside this house as it is outside. “I love bird themes,” says Gilliland, who adds that the look of this house is a departure from the contemporary loft he occupied in downtown Denver. Gilliland used well-known designer Mickey Ackerman to help outfit that place in the city. But, having picked up a few tips, the businessman oversaw and sourced this renovation himself.
Shopping mainstream and high-end stores, along with South Broadway’s Antiques Row, Gilliland selected such delicate touches as the French-looking dresser just inside the foyer that’s painted with birds and vines. It stands near bird illustrations and a mirror etched with a bird motif. A palette of white, butter yellow and subtle metallics further the home’s new design scheme.
The house is surrounded by several places to congregate and take in the elegantly planted grounds, which include a 50-tree orchard given to Gilliland as a birthday gift by a friend.
To be fair, Gilliland has benefited from the know-how of the farm’s small staff, which he describes as people who “are very passionate about the organic farming industry.” These are the folks who tend to the farm’s bees and chickens, and organize community events like classes, petting zoos, hay rides and produce sales. Among them is farm manager Matt Gaude, who took it upon himself to research the history of the site and helped with the farmhouse renovation.
“It’s like an art piece,” Gaude says of the house, which he learned was started in the 1960s and completed in 1978. “The details, even the plumbing and electrical, are ‘creative.’ ”
Gaude relishes the way the farm and its structures are beginning to have a unified feel.
“You can see the whole property (from anywhere in the house), but it still feels secluded,” Gaude says. He counts the gardens with their copious perennial beds and revamped paths as his favorite part of the property, which he also gets to live on.
“This has been my favorite project ever, it’s just so expansive,” he says. Gaude adds that the farm also has benefited from the support of neighbors who appreciate that it was spared from developers.
“Everyone is pleased to see this kind of thing return to the (St. Vrain) valley,” Gaude says. “The whole landscape just flows into the farm.”
