Fun house

Family finds the perfect setting for whimsy and outright clowning around

By Maria Cote, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Originally published 05:47 p.m., May 8, 2008
Updated 07:25 p.m., May 9, 2008

Photo by Ellen Jaskol

Gina London, Scotty Walsh and baby daughter Isabella. Scotty made this puppet theater — and the Punch puppet — for Isabella’s room.

If babies could gloat, Isabella Walsh would have just cause.

While other babies have to go to children's theaters to see puppet shows, this 6-month-old needs only to grin at her parents and Punch and Judy pop up from a perfectly painted theater in the corner of her room.

A juggling act? No need to pause near a street busker; Dad will begin lobbing the juggling pins and have her giggling at his antics.

And who needs to visit a circus when you have a father who knows his way around a trapeze like most men do a hardware store?

Isabella lives in a charming pale yellow Victorian home near the Highland neighborhood in northwest Denver with her mom, Gina London, her dad, Scotty Walsh, and her beagle, aptly named Snoopy.

One glance inside the home tells visitors that these proud parents have led interesting lives. Rugs from Turkey, pottery from Romania, bells from Cambodia and paintings from Egypt point to the fact that Gina has traveled the world. The former CNN reporter and lobbyist lived in Cairo in 2006 as resident country director for the International Republican Institute.

These days she works as a media consultant, and when she croons to baby Isabella, you know she's happy to slow down a bit and enjoy life with her family.

The 1,800-square-foot home sets a perfect stage for Scotty's passion.

"Technically, what I do is called 'clowning,' but I don't use that word because it puts people off," says Scotty, running his hands over a tiny flea circus before wandering into an office stuffed with harlequin outfits, juggling paraphernalia and colorful masks.

"Ask someone, 'Hey, you want to go see a clown?' and most people wince and say clowns scare them. But if you say, 'Hey, you want to go see a really funny guy juggle spaghetti and meatballs?' they'll say, 'That sounds like fun.' "

His resume is long. On his home page, he lists himself as comedy acrobat, Harlequinistic spaghetti juggler, vaudevillian and world's third-worst magician. He's been invited to perform at festivals throughout the United States and Europe and has worked as a consultant for Cirque du Soleil.

Local kids know him through the classes he teaches at the Denver School of the Arts. He's schooled in commedia dell'arte, improvisational theater that began in Italy in the 16th century. Head to Elitch Gardens this summer to see him starring on the trapeze in Imaginique, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

With every room painted a different vibrant color in the home, it's clear that the list of accomplishments for both Gina and Scotty should include "artist."

"We loved the home because it's old and full of character," says Gina, pointing to an exposed-brick wall in the 1886 home. The molding around the windows is original, as are the stained-glass highlights and the transoms above the doors.

Gina cradles Isabella as she wanders across worn wooden inlaid floors from the foyer into the mustard-colored living room, through the mocha music room past a paprika-colored dining room.

"We were really into food when we chose the paint colors," Gina says with a laugh.

She stops in a a cheerful lemon-yellow kitchen filled with bright tile.

"With the paint, Scotty has been just like he is on the trapeze. He's a daredevil," Gina says with a grin.

Scotty clears his throat and ruffles the peach fuzz on his daughter's head.

"But I've tried to be dignified," he says.

Comfortable furniture tucked into each small room blends in with the colorful walls. Though the couple have lived in the home for only a year, a cozy leather sofa in the living room, a baby grand piano in the music room, and a floor-to-ceiling custom-built cabinet in the dining room look as if they were designed for the home more than 100 years ago.

Upstairs, tucked next to the master bedroom, Isabella's room is a whimsical wonder.

Scotty has created a faux fireplace against one wall near the crib and constructed a puppet theater in a corner of the room. Pretty pastel shades grace the floor, walls and furniture. Paintings and drawings created by Gina and Scotty are scattered throughout the home, illustrating their interests.

"We love Pinocchio," says Gina, whose oil painting of a talking cricket hangs on a wall in the baby's room. "This isn't the Disney cricket; it's the original. It's the baby's conscience."

More than the furniture, it's the artwork that defines this home, much of it from France and Italy.

"We love anything European, which makes sense, since we met on a plane from Paris in 2005," Gina says. "When we moved in a year ago, we decided the European approach worked very well."

A book tucked into a shelf in the baby's room holds a little slice of Europe. It's Scotty's work; he wrote and illustrated The Strange Coincidences of Niccolo Spumoni for his daughter.

"My dream is to publish this book about an old Italian trapeze family," Scotty says. "Partly because circus arts are so misunderstood. The book would give me credibility. But partly because it's for my daughter, and that makes it special."

As if on cue, Isabella beams at her dad, who's pointing out a thrift-store find: a bureau that he and Gina have adorned with their favorite literary sayings.

"What drew us to this home was its character," Gina says. "Basically, when we saw it, we knew it was a happy house. When you come in, you just feel comfortable."

Home details

* What: Victorian-style home near the Highland neighborhood in northwest Denver

* Built: 1886

* Size: three-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath, 1,800 square feet

* Cost: $375,000