First Floor

Welcome to Furlow House! Take a virtual walk with us through the house and garden to get an idea of the space you'll be occupying on your Durango vacation.

Furlow House is located at 823 East Fourth Avenue, on a cozy, residential block in Durango's historic district. Its quaint Queen Anne facade is stone, glass, wood and brick painted in shades of barn red and antique blue.

Just beyond the front door is a spacious, glass-enclosed porch where it's nice to sit and read or drink coffee, summer or winter. There's bent willow furniture, an easy chair and a bookshelf stocked with paperbacks.

The porch leads to a foyer with a handsome wooden staircase painted in the faux bois technique to resemble oak. To the left, the foyer opens up into a spacious parlor, 12 x 27 feet. Here is a fuel-efficient, wood burning fireplace which provides startling warmth and the cozy flickering light of burning oak and orange embers.  There's a sofa sleeper (the latter only in a pinch), an assortment of comfortable chairs, and a classic, vacuum-tube stereo in pristine shape and ready to play our LP and CD collections, or yours. This is the primary common room area, besides the kitchen and porch, and it's a pleasant, light-filled room where eight or more people can easily gather for conversation, hors d'oeuvres, reading or unwinding. Behind the parlor is the study.

Directly behind the foyer is the dining area. The oak dining table pulls out to seat six. (If you're feeding more people, a cherry drop-leaf table unfolds to seat four or six more; next to it are folding chairs). There's a glass cabinet full of cookbooks and other curiosities which you're welcome to consult.

The dining area leads to the kitchen, which contains a Formica breakfast nook, a sink with a view, cabinets full of cookware and appliances for your use, a stove, a refrigerator, a dishwasher, an automatic coffee maker and lots of dishes.

Beyond the kitchen is a brief hallway; to the right, it leads to another small bathroom; to the left it leads to an office with a fax machine, phone and cabinet stocked with office supplies.

Second Floor

Upstairs is where you'll be sleeping. The staircase in the foyer twists up to a curved hallway. Four bedrooms radiate from the hallway. To the right is a small bedroom with sloping eaves and a pair of twin beds. Straight ahead at the end of the hall is the largest bedroom, with a queen bed and windows on three sides. To the left is a small bedroom with one twin bed. And to the far left is a medium-sized bedroom with a queen bed and a gridded, ornamental window.

All bedrooms have dressers, reading lamps, rugs and closets with hangers. 

Our heating system has just been overhauled, but if you get chilly, look in the closet for a second blanket or quilt. For summer, we've installed a modern, whole-house attic fan, which pulls in the cool evening air that Durango is blessed with, even on the hottest summer days.  In the warmest, west bedroom, there's a window air conditioner which you might need just a few days of the year.

The upstairs bath is newly renovated to combine the best of 20's charm and style, with modern comfort.   In-floor heat assures the porcelain tiles will never chill your feet.   The modern whirlpool bath is welcome after a long day of hiking, skiing, or sightseeing, or you can grab a shower if time is tight.  Notice the lovely 19th century double-beveled mirror on the medicine cabinet of the same vintage.

The Gardens

In the front yard, in the left round bed (as you face the house), you'll see a soaring Colorado blue spruce tree, hosta, Irish moss, lupine, coral bells, campinula and Scotch moss. In the right round bed there are prunilla, delphinium, cameleon plant, campinula and foxglove.

Walk around the both sides of the house, and you'll see many more plants and trees, including lilac bushes, a plum tree, an apricot tree, a maple tree, grape hyacinth and a healthy Virginia creeper vine blanketing the side of the house. On the north side of the house, Aspen trees change with the seasons.

In the back yard, there are beds of assorted annuals as well as an apple tree, which is covered with small, sweet heirloom apples in the fall. You're welcome to pick them to make a pie or eat out of hand.