Ulla Lange Interior designer has flair for eco-friendly style

BOULDER — With roots in Scandinavia, a 20-year career in Boulder and stops along the way in New York and London, interior designer Ulla Lange offers clients a truly worldly perspective on eco-friendly style.
Lange originally hails from Finland and embraces the region’s signature Scandinavian style — modern, minimal, functional — as her personal design aesthetic. But don’t expect every project she works on to look like an Ikea showroom.
“I don’t believe in imposing one type of style on my clients,” Lange said. “But rather, I strive to find the right solutions that work for their individual taste and lifestyle.”

Listening to the building
Not every client comes to the table with a clear idea of what they want. That’s when Lange, who works on both commercial and residential design projects, lets the building itself guide her. Although she does tackle some new construction projects, much of her work is dedicated to renovating and remodeling existing buildings, especially in Boulder, where there isn’t a lot of space for new development.
In these situations, Lange seeks to honor the building’s original character while bringing something new and fresh to the space. She is aided in this not only by her interior design background (she has a BFA from Parsons School of Design in New York), but also her knowledge of architecture. Although she is not a licensed architect, she received a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Colorado-Denver in 2002, a distinction that sets her apart from many other interior designers.
“I was a textile designer for several years, and obviously had worked with colors and patterns a lot,” Lange explained. “But I had always loved houses and had been involved in some remodeling projects. I wanted to learn more and went back to school to get my architecture degree.”

Keeping the planet in mind
In addition to the desires of her clients and the demands of the existing structure, Lange also takes the needs of the planet into consideration when approaching a new design project.
She holds multiple “green” certifications, including LEED Green Associate, Green Point Building Professional and Green Advantage. She strives to ensure that every space is not only beautiful, but also sustainable.
One way she does this is by choosing eco-friendly materials.
“I like to use local products and craftsmen for fabrication, whenever possible,” Lange said. One example is lodgepole pine trees destroyed by pine beetles.
“If it is harvested locally within Colorado, it makes all the more sense to use it, as it otherwise would end up in a landfill,” Lange said. “Plus, it is really quite beautiful,” she added. The wood, which has a bluish-gray cast to it, can be used for furniture, flooring, paneling and siding.
Lange also uses a product called 3form resin as an eco-friendly glass alternative for translucent walls, panels, doors and decorative elements. The material comes from neighboring Utah and contains 40 percent recycled content.

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Green is not a trend
Why focus so heavily on eco-friendly design, when more conventional materials might be more readily available or less expensive?
“I can’t imagine not paying attention to it,” Lange said. “The thought that it is considered just a trend really bothers me. … Sustainable development is defined as meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Luckily, Lange is not alone in her dedication to environmentally responsible design. Although she owned her own business, Ulla Lange Design, from 2001 to 2011, in 2010 she helped found Workshop8, a collaborative architecture and design firm headquartered on 15th Street in Boulder with a focus on “providing architecture and design services that are beautiful, sustainable and energy-efficient.”
Although Lange has worked on a number of large design projects through Workshop8 — including the Paisano Green Community senior housing project in El Paso, Texas, and the S. Lowell Apartments rehab and redevelopment project in Denver —it is the smaller, more intimate spaces that are closest to her heart.
“I have two small guest houses in the area that I am really fond of,” Lange said. “They are small, but such gems.”
“But really,” she added, “all projects where the owner is happy with the end result are something to feel good about.”