Nestled on a heavily wooded 16-acre site in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, this contemporary custom home blends harmoniously into its surroundings and provides its owner with a picturesque vista of Mt. Rose off in the distance.
With its design rooted in Prairie-style architecture, this post-and-beam constructed home appears to sprout from the local landscape with its redwood construction and boulder-like foundation details. "You can literally see the whole crest of the Sierras from here," says builder Bruce Coburn, of the home’s location on a 16-acre site in a gated community northwest of Lake Tahoe.
The 4280-square-foot, one-bedroom home’s design is influenced by Prairie-style architecture and features predominantly horizontal exterior lines and siding, deep overhangs and ribbon-style window groupings.
"There are literally no 8-foot walls in this house," says builder Bruce Coburn, "making it possible to take full advantage of the views." The home features very high-quality, heavily-insulated custom windows.
On the exterior, large, irregularly-shaped granite bay boulders, quarried from the Tahoe basin, were used at the foundation level, creating a jumbled effect which gives the redwood structure the appearance of actually rising right out of the natural landscape.
Inside the home, the living space radiates off in four directions from the centrally located dining room. The living room, kitchen and master suite are each virtually their own wing.
A unique interior stream, with its own bridge, flows between the living and dining rooms and appears to continue on to the outdoors. Both the kitchen and the dining room have direct access to the home’s spa and deck. Separated from the main living areas by the garage, the home also features a spacious "hobby" area, which includes a train room designed to store and display the owner’s extensive locomotive collection, a dark room and a workshop.
Redwood paneling is used copiously throughout the interior. "We used drywall as an accent inside to break up the look of the wood and to keep it from becoming too overwhelming," says Coburn.
Although the home’s exterior architectural emphasis is on its horizontal elements, the sky’s the limit inside where soaring ceilings permit the use of large windows to enhance outdoor views. Clear redwood paneling covers the walls. The ceiling features tight knot cedar.A loft provides a private retreat from the open living areas on the main floor. Here, the homeowner can set up shop in his own home office.
A second-floor computer loft provides the homeowner with space for a home office.
Specified for its appearance as much as for its durability in the snow country environment, the home features a seamless metal roof, which discourages the buildup of snow and ice. Builder Coburn also used stainless steel nails that will never bleed and stain the exterior redwood siding.
The $1 million home, the second Coburn has built for this client, was completed in mid-1997 and is located within a gated community in Truckee, Calif., northwest of Lake Tahoe. Hard construction costs were $271 per square foot.
Builder: Bruce Coburn, Bruce Coburn Construction, Colfax, Calif.
Architect: Charles O. Mateham, Jr., Tahoe City, Calif.
MAJOR PRODUCTS USED:
Appliances: KitchenAid, Jenn-Aire. Cabinetry: Custom oak & Formica, by Moore’s Woodworks. Countertops: Granite. Doors: Southwest. Home Controls/ Automation: JDS Commander Plus. HVAC: Carrier. Lighting: Halo, Lutron. Plumbing Fixtures: Kohler, American Standard. Windows: Hurd. Skylights: Velux.