USA, Nevada

USA, BURNT CEDAR BEACH

This property is nestled on a hillside that overlooks the north shore of Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America.

Part of a neighborhood originally built in the 1950s and bordered by homes on both sides and behind it, the property takes on the simple form of a box, half of it built into the hillside.

When California architect Greg Faulkner designed this minimalist home, he had a treasure trove of elements to work with: a fresh water lake surrounded by the Sierra Nevada mountains and countless towering pines. Incorporating the scenery into his design, the architect reduced to a fine line the boundary between the natural landscape and the built environment. Once inside this residential refuge, only nature’s bounty – water, trees and sky – is visible through the immense front façade.

"It’s a kind of house with a single opening", stated the architect, who used significantly smaller windows and essentially opaque walls for the remaining three elevations of the structure. "The steel and glass structure faces the light and the lake; the other sides are much more focused inward."

The sunlight that bounces off the polished black concrete floors in the living spaces reflects the surrounding landscape, giving the impression of floating on water.

The home’s generous square footage offers ample space for two stand-alone Soft Dream sofas placed facing each other. Both sofas are upholstered in a light-hued fabric that blends harmoniously with the color palette in the rest of the room.

Interior Design: EKR Design Studio

Photography: Joe Fletcher