The glass hallway in a Greg Faulkner home allows more light (and a sense of vertigo) in the home.
It’s my favorite time of the year—not only are the aspens changing color and the temperatures dropping, but it’s the season for the TQ Mountain Home Awards! This year, we’re checking out about 20 homes. I missed the first two days of touring (including the glass house in Crystal Bay that I was pretty bummed about!), but tagged along on Thursday to see a property in Northstar and about seven at Martis Camp. Martis Camp is remarkably impressive. At a time when building has stalled around most of the country, the development, located near Truckee, has some 80 multi-million dollar homes in various stages of construction. What’s even more incredible to me is that the people who are sinking all this money into the houses will probably spend no more than 10 to 15 days a year in them. Regardless, it makes for very interesting touring.
At Northstar, we viewed a very impressive remodel by Diana Vincent of High Camp Home. While it was an alpine style home, she used light-colored woods and rocks to make the house feel lighter than the traditionally heavy Tahoe feel. In Martis Camp, we visited one of interior designer Cathy Nason’s home (always nice), two Greg Faulkner–designed projects (SO thoughtful and impressive!), a Clare Walton lakeside home, a Mark Tanner rustic/industrial house, Ward-Young home with curving copper rooflines and the Martis Camp Grand Lodge, where we were treated to an excellent lunch! I’ve learned a lot about architecture in the past four years, and I can actually see the shift in architectural trends—how big wrought-iron fixtures are giving way to recessed lighting, barn door sliders are being replaced by pocket doors, glass tiles are taking over from travertine, and massive 8,000 square foot properties are downsizing to something a little more livable. Another tour next week, then I get to call dibs on which houses I’d like to write up!
Alison O. Bender 