This week KDHamptons hears from one of our favorite East End designers, Jennifer Going, who spent the holidays immersed in all of the Christmas charm a snow-filled Aspen has to offer. Jen has a fresh, young, style that takes a modern twist on traditional with soft colors, textures and modern lines. In 2013 Jen and Stephen Czeck co-founded Going Home Furniture, a curated collection made from reclaimed timbers and vintage textiles. Traditional Home magazine asked Jen to temporarily take over their Instagram account to chronicle her Colorado trip and she shares the results with KDHamptons readers below in this beautiful NEW Travel Diary:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jen shares, “While planning our sales trips for our furniture collection, I was asked to host a “Designer Takeover” of Traditional Home’s Instagram account. We decided that nothing could be prettier than Aspen at Christmas time and boy were we right.  Aspen is always pretty magical, but the days leading up to the holidays were extra special.  With the recommendations of good friends and extended family, we made our plans and spent six spectacular days in a true Winter Wonderland.  We arrived on Dec. 18th and were scheduled to leave on the 21st, however the snow had other plans for us.  We ended up leaving on the 23rd after three cancelled flights [which felt like little gifts of extra time to spend in this perfect place].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having extended family with a beautiful home in Aspen really made our trip.  Located 8 miles from the airport and the same distance to downtown Aspen made it an ideal spot to stay.  Beautiful Interiors by local designer Linda Niven [below] and all the comforts of a 5 star hotel!

 

 

 

 

We headed straight to The White House Tavern, Originally a miners cottage and one of the oldest structures in Aspen, it now is the home of an incredible crispy chicken
sandwich.

 

 

 

 

 

Still juggling client calls and an installation in New York, and armed with our list of must-see shops and Furniture stores that may be interested in carrying our line,  it was time to hit the pavement and shop.  We found these gorgeous vintage highballs [below] at Paris Underground and beautiful rustic accessories and at Georgia Brown Home.  Exhausted from our travel day and the effects of the high altitude, we had an early dinner at Matsuhisa and rested up for skiing and the start of our Designer Takeover.

 

 

 

 

We hit the slopes at Aspen Snowmass – It Took us the whole morning to get it together but we had so much fun when we finally got up there….and no wipe outs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotel Jerome [photo via HotelJerome.com]

 

 

 

Our Designer Takeover began at 5:00 EST which was perfect timing for us. A few hours of skiing was about all I could handle and we were both ready for a little apres ski time.  We began posting for Traditional Home while relaxing at the base of the gondola then off to the Hotel Jerome for cocktail hour!  The Hotel recently underwent a huge renovation by the Architecture and design firm Rowland and Broughton. It is just about the coziest place to sit and relax with a cocktail…. and they make  a fantastic jalapeno Margarita! We took so many pictures that it was difficult to choose which ones to post.

 

 

 

 

 

After photographing every inch of the Hotel Jerome, we ate at Campo De Fiori, a top notch restaurant with a fun late night bar scene. The Snow never let up and walking around Aspen was just gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a lazy morning watching the snow fall before heading to The Pine Creek Cookhouse for lunch. There are two ways to get to the restaurant; Horse drawn sleigh ride or cross country ski.  We opted for the sleigh ride and were not disappointed.  I’m not sure there is anything more picturesque than a sleigh ride in the mountains while the snowflakes are falling, bringing you to a log cabin for a hearty lunch of Buffalo dumplings, Wagyu beef stew and elk keilbasa.  Food coma for the sleigh ride back home and this was just lunch!

 

 

 

 

After a much needed afternoon nap, We headed back to town to visit some more shops and and had a late dinner at the bar at Steakhouse 316, A classic steakhouse with an ‘Old West meets Mad Men’ vibe….and the best brussel sprouts I’ve ever had.

 

 

 

 

On December 21st, we started the day off right with a massage! The snow was piling up and we somehow made it to the airport just as our flight was cancelled.  This would be the first of three flights to be cancelled, but we figured out that since the house was so close to the airport, we could see if there were any planes landing and avoided the airport until we were sure that our flight would be taking off….two days later!  Both Stephen and I were getting nervous that we may not make it home for Christmas, but each flight delay meant that we could see more of Aspen….

 

 

 

 

 

The hospitality of friends, the shopping and restaurants we visited, the beauty of  Aspen – snow covered and glittering with holiday lights, and the fresh snow on the mountain, made our trip perfect in every way.  It was impossible to complain about flight issues when we were literally trapped in paradise! Our Designer takeover for Traditional Home was a success and our furniture was well received – all in all, a great 6 days.

 

 

 

 

 

To see more of our pics follow us on instagram @jgo8 and @stephenczeck and you can also look at our Designer Takeover posts on Traditional Home’s Instagram account (@traditionalhome).

 

 

For more information on Jen Going, please go to: Jen Going Interiors www.jengoinginteriors.com
48 Main Street, Suite E
Westhampton Beach, NY 11978
631.998.3115