Given the number of awe-inspiring projects they work on, Tahoe’s home designers don’t typically prefer to discuss their spec projects. But this Martis Camp home is no ordinary spec.

“The team behind the project approached it as if they were designing their own home. They tricked it out more aggressively and were open to pushing the cool factor compared to some of the other specs we’ve done,” says designer Ryan Marsden of Truckee’s Kelly & Stone Architects (KSA). “They treated it more as a custom home, which was exciting for us.”

The owners share that sentiment. A woman and her adult son and daughter from San Francisco were looking for a second home in the mountains where they could escape for a weekend of recreation and relaxation. They wanted something spacious and bright, a place that was well suited for entertaining friends and accommodating for a growing family.

“We looked at a lot of homes up there, and this one was really head and shoulders above the rest in our opinion, from a design and layout standpoint,” says the son, who prefers to remain anonymous. “We’re very happy with it.”

The house, built by Chris Abel and Jeff Collins of Truckee’s Glennwood Mountain Homes, was completed in July 2016 and sold within a week, Marsden says.

Sleek and modern in design, the exterior features multiple shed roofs with large overhangs, clear cedar siding, and board-formed concrete contrasted by black metal panels and structural steel accents.

The modern aesthetic continues by bringing these exterior materials inside, with clear cedar ceilings and walls, a tall, metal-clad fireplace overlooking the spacious great room and a lofty, 15-foot-tall window wall system that spills out to a wrap-around on-grade patio.

Other contemporary touches include rift-cut white oak cabinets, trim and doors, and a custom steel, timber and glass staircase. Reclaimed oak flooring adds a warmer, mountain feel.

Because it was a spec home, the first and second floors were designed with similar layouts, both with a master suite and guest room. KSA also designed a separate wing on a half level between the lower and upper floor, which includes a bunk room and media/rec room that opens to roofed deck and fire pit.

The sloped site allows the home’s main gathering spaces to orient toward an adjacent creek feature, and to capture views to Northstar’s Lookout Mountain and across the Martis Valley to the Carson Range. A hot tub sits on a relatively private patio off to the side of the house, while the front of the home includes a fire pit accessed through the great room.

“I really love the great room,” says the owner, adding that his family is still in the process of selecting furnishings—which was initially done by Truckee’s High Camp Home. “That was really important for us to have the big room where you can be cooking and entertaining and eating all together, as opposed to a more choppy layout. I think that’s where we will be spending a ton of our time, so that was critical.”

Merit Award: Mountain Modern

Building Design: Kelly & Stone Architects

Builder: Glennwood Mountain Homes

Interior Design: Kelly & Stone Architects/ Glennwood Mountain Homes, with furnishings by High Camp Home

Square Feet: 3,917

Year Complete: 2016