Rustic Done Right

Sometimes, despite a glorious location, a house is just a house, boxlike, lacking character and with no true connection to place. Such a project is a challenge but a rewarding one and such was the situation with the complete redo of the interior design of a house at Tahoe Donner. For an outdoors-oriented owner who wanted a place to bring family and friends, with the interior architecture we created a rugged yet refined masculine-meets-modern mountain retreat of steel, stone and hand-hewn beams. With an eye toward entertaining, the goal was to maximize space and add user-friendly features including a moody dining room with unexpected jewel tones and a steel-paneled ceiling hung with glass-and-brass pendants, seating for six at the oversized kitchen island, a mountain modern bunk room, and a dedicated coffee bar.

Materials were crucial to this interior remodel and include corrugated metal cabinet panelling in the custom entertainment console, a corrugated ceiling in the primary bedroom, and a section of a steel I-beam as a mantle above the fireplace. The interiors also showcase the work of one of our favorite longtime sources, an artisan woodworker running the last steam-powered mill in North America.

LOCATION: Tahoe Donner/Lake Tahoe
BUILDER: High Sierra Customs
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE/DESIGN/PROJECT MANAGEMENT: High Camp Home
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kat Alves