Soak Up Western-Chic Vibes At Denver’s Urban Cowboy Hotel
Urban Cowboy co-founder Lyon Porter on how a historic mansion was transformed into a design-forward destination.
Urban Cowboy is bringing its inimitable rustic maximalism out west with Urban Cowboy Denver, a 16-room boutique hotel set in an 1880s-era mansion. Known for its clawfoot copper bathtubs, curated vintage furnishings and a cabin fever aesthetic that’s heavy on Pendleton blankets and custom patterned wallpaper, Urban Cowboy previously launched hotels in Brooklyn, Nashville and upstate New York before saddling up in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The centerpiece of the property is a historic Queen Anne-style mansion built by Denver architect Frank Edbrooke for George C. Schleier, a hat manufacturer-turned-politician, during the Mile High City’s Gilded Age. The landmark building’s notable architectural flourishes include an original staircase with carved gargoyles and engraved Bavarian swans reflecting Schleier’s German heritage, an eye-catching “onion” tower cupola, coffered ceilings and eight preserved art-tile fireplaces.
The hotel’s bar and restaurant, the Urban Cowboy Public House, serves guests inside a two-story carriage house behind the main mansion. The watering hole’s antique hand-carved wooden bar may be designed to evoke a 19th-century Denver saloon, but it also channels the brand’s Brooklyn roots by serving craft cocktails, small plates and wood-fired pies from Roberta’s, the Bushwick pizzeria that kickstarted the hot honey pizza trend when it started selling the spicy soppressata and honey-topped “Bee Sting” back in 2009.
Given that Urban Cowboy co-founders Lyon Porter and Jersey Banks are best known for playful properties with a distinctive visual appeal, the hotel’s revamped interiors are sure to lure design-focused travelers looking for an offbeat getaway. Here, Porter annotates ten signature looks from Urban Cowboy Denver.
Urban Cowboy Denver Exterior
“I worked closely with GBX Group and Historic Denver to preserve as much of the original detail and architecture from the mansion as possible, including the Queen Ann-style façade and ‘onion’ tower cupola. The stained-glass windows are all original to the mansion.”
Urban Cowboy Public House
“This is an 1800s turn-of-the-century bar that I found at Wooden Nickel Antiques in Cincinnati, Ohio and drove down to Denver. I found the antique tin ceiling tiles in a field during the Round Top Antiques show in Texas. The garden pattern custom wallpaper was sourced from Printsburgh, created using hand-carved wood blocks—a very old technique not commonly used anymore. The original brick and perfectly preserved wood floors were exposed after demolishing layers of formica and stucco from the walls, and the stained glass is original to the building.”
Parlor 1
“I sourced these Swedish ‘60s settees from Eneby Home, an importer of antique furniture and found objects in Nashville. The Louis the XIII poof is a reproduction and pays homage to Urban Cowboy Nashville as visitors will find a matching version in the parlor at our Nashville property. Victorian mansions are very difficult to furnish given they are all windows, doors, hallways and fireplaces. So, this type of seating is not only period-appropriate but it’s really the only way to meaningfully furnish the space. The artwork, rug and found objects throughout the parlor were sourced from antique shops in the Santa Fe Arts District in Denver and were placed thoughtfully throughout.”
Parlor 2
“The hand-carved fireplace and mantle with imported European art tile from the 1880s really led the design imperative here. Denver became a boomtown in the 1880s, so I did a lot of research to bring that history to life through the design of the space, and mixed in a red motif to make the parlor feel like a sexy lounge from that period. The antique lamps and objects throughout were sourced from antique malls and stores throughout the Midwest and western states.”
Grand Suite
“For this corner guest room, we raised the bed and peeled back layers of formica from the floors and the dropped 1880s ceilings, adding custom Printsburgh wallpaper. The custom claw foot, hand-hammered copper tub at the end of the bed was created specifically for Urban Cowboy Denver and can be found in each of the guest rooms.”
Superior Suite
“I pulled this armoire out of a garage in Denver, having found it on Facebook Marketplace. On the walls is one-of-a-kind trumpet wallpaper from Printsburgh, custom-made for this project. The rugs, which I discovered along Santa Fe Drive in Denver, bring warmth and texture to the room. The bedding is Pendleton and there are found objects throughout the space that I sourced during my sourcing trips around the country.”
Cabin Room
“This is a very special room and is situated above the bar in the carriage house. In designing this space, I was inspired by Urban Cowboy Lodge, our property in the Catskills. Guests familiar with the Lodge will notice similar design elements, such as the Pendleton blanket, antique skis and Printsburgh wallpaper. The goal was to capture that rustic, nature getaway experience and bring it to life in the city. The rug is from El Paso Saddleblanket, and the decorative objects throughout the room have been sourced from local antique shops.”
King Suite
“A standout feature of this room is the rug, which is original to the mansion. We had it extensively cleaned and repurposed for the space. The room is complete with Pendleton bedding, the eye-catching copper claw foot tub and bright Printsburgh wallpaper.”
Pony Suite
“I hand-carved the spades pattern from this wallpaper on a wood block, and this was my first block print wallpaper. This is a very old technique and it was great to see the finished product come to life. The printed Pendleton bedding and clawfoot copper tubs are consistent with all of the guest rooms.”
Honeymoon Suite
“This bathroom features the property’s original stained glass from the 1800s and hanging from the ceiling is a chandelier I found at the Round Top Antique show in Texas, originally from an old bank. I was inspired by a 1700s block-print pattern to custom design the gold wallpaper, and it took over a year in development to get the wallpaper to shimmer like gold leaf. The side-by-side soaking tubs is a unique feature to the honeymoon suite, and the bathroom is filled with found objects and antiques.”
Rooms at Urban Cowboy Denver start at $295 a night and can be booked here.
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