Incline Village Condo

Seeking a mountain getaway, Stacy and her husband David purchased a place in Incline Village, Nevada. The 4-story unit built in the 1980s had wonderful light and a peek of the lake, but lacked a Tahoe sense of place. Glass block and garden windows dated the house, as did the white carpet and bathroom tile. The tightly enclosed stairway was an especially sore spot to Stacy, being narrow and dark. 

The goals were to revive the house with new life and to connect it visually to the back of the property, which backs up onto the national forest. By relocating some storage areas, it was possible to open up the stairwell, allowing morning light to penetrate this dark corner of the house. Access to the backyard was created with a new rear door, and cold rolled steel railings provide texture and materiality at all four levels.  

The existing house, a one-bedroom two-bath with sleeping loft, was converted into a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, without increasing the building footprint. To achieve this, subterranean square footage at the back of the house was converted into a legal bedroom through the use of a window well.  A half bath was created out of garage mechanical space. At the upper-level, a closet with a low ceiling was expanded with a new gable to become the third bedroom. 

Other updates, such as a refreshed kitchen and bathroom, a re-organized primary bedroom, and wood floors installed throughout the house, add warmth and functionality. Finally, it should be noted that the living room fireplace is designed to be lower than the height of the films that David plans to project on the two-story wall.