RUGGED ELEGANCE

A sense of belonging is at the core. Building their full-time home perched on the edge of Lake Tahoe, the clients didn’t want a house that felt like it had been airlifted from somewhere else and (mis)placed in its mountain environment and neighborhood.

They worked with Architect Elise Fett to design a look and feel that was “right” for the location - respecting the local architectural vernacular and the natural setting – while also creating a home updated for modern family living, working, and playing.

The design integrated natural wood materials and traditional elements like a sloped roof and exposed beams. Traditional ideals. Modern applications.

Patterns and forms – like the vertical sculpted panels that reflect the stature of the trees – connect the space to its location.

Henrybuilt’s tailored kitchen system created a bridge between the architecture and the day-to-day living with a focus on what happens after the building project is done and the living begins.

“This was designed as a family home,” says Fett. “It works as a family home and has become the family home.”

Like the architecture, the approach to the kitchen was to make it feel that it belonged. Not just to the house, but to the way the family lived. That it worked for the client, not the other way around.

“This is a kitchen that works for you,” says the client. “It’s designed so everything has a place, while also being visible. It tells my family where things are, so I don’t have to. It prevents me from overbuying. And, for people who aren’t naturally organized, it really works. It makes living in it easy.”

I always thought of modern kitchens as stark with nothing visible, while traditional ones have everything out on the countertop – practical real living, but full of clutter. With this kitchen I get the best of both,” says the client.

“Even when items we use often are in plain sight and within reach, it is intentionally designed so it is super conducive to our family living, while still feeling calm.”

On the exterior, the home is designed to fit into the neighborhood. On the interior, it works like a well-planned one.

Tucked within the kitchen are carefully orchestrated layers of activity. A baking zone. A sandwich-making zone. A beverage zone. A family dining zone. Henrybuilt’s holistic approach ensured that while distinct in function, these areas were intricately interlaced. Parts of a whole.

Being at the forefront of performance and innovation doesn’t mean sacrificing traditional craft and quality. “It can go both ways,” said the client.

The use of sculpted pieces, like the paneling in the dining nook and the beveled frame-and-panel oak fronts, scratched the itch for shape and curve.

Henrybuilt’s crafted kitchen system incorporates heirloom quality materials (here, natural oak) and craft methods (like the sculpted hand pulls), marrying legacy and innovation.

It’s a kitchen that carries the values of traditional craft without being nostalgic.

It’s a kitchen that, while the exterior appearance may not scream modern, what goes on behind has stayed ahead of the times.

It’s a place where the tools for performance are built into the home itself, as if they originated from the foundation up.