A modern modular home at the base of Jobs Peak stands out as a distinct landmark in the high desert of Northern Nevada

Long, flat eaves provide shading while full-height glass affords views in the living area, which features a custom dining table designed by Margo Nathanson Interiors with plinth bases to accommodate 12 people

A mountain deserves respect, especially from a new house that arises below it.  

The owner of this Nevada home hails from New England, but he’s always had a reverence for the American West. His sister, an equine veterinarian who now lives in the smaller of the two houses on the 200-acre ranch, had discovered (by pure serendipity) that the flat expanse of land was for sale. Jobs Peak, which tops 10,000 feet, looms nearby, and the sister knew the locale was perfect for her brother’s vacation home.

“I’ve lived in the foothills of the Sierra since 1996,” she says, “and one of the appeals of this land is that its valley location keeps it safe from fires, which are so prevalent here.” The resulting house that she helped her brother commission and design “honors the mountain,” she adds. “And just about wherever you are in the house, there’s Jobs Peak, which defines the Sierra here in Nevada.” 

Although her home replicates the architectural style of her brother’s larger residence, and a new on-site barn serves as her veterinary office, some 180 acres of the property were leased back to the original rancher. The remaining 20 acres serve well as a family compound. 

While at first glance the main house may appear as a decidedly rectilinear, thoroughly contemporary anomaly in the shadow of an ancient, jagged peak, it becomes the perfect companion piece to Jobs. In deciding on the kind of house he wanted as a vacation destination for himself and his three grown children and grandkids, the owner made sure to take full advantage of the glorious site, with the Sierra skyline scrolling across the horizon. He sought as much glass as possible, so the views he dreamed of would never be obscured. 

Located just east of the main house, the Ranch Hand is a single-story home composed of modular units with site-built elements. All exterior claddings, decks, overhanging roofs and railings were installed on-site

Although the house has a solid presence on the land, it’s also something one can literally see through. 

“We positioned the furniture so that there would be as much versatility as possible, while always celebrating the views out to the land and the mountains,” says Margo Nathanson, the Oakland-based interior designer for the project. Adds the owner’s sister, “There’s a larger consciousness that comes into play when you’re looking at the views from inside, a special perspective about the scale and effects of the Sierra Nevada.” 

Building the main house was a first for all concerned, in part because it is composed of six prefabricated modular units, or “mods,” as they are commonly called. Nathanson, a seasoned interior designer, admits that she had never designed the rooms of a “custom, fully ground-up home, let alone a modular one,” while its builder, Danny Webb, had never worked with such pre-made modular forms. 

“The biggest challenge was the precision of the design of these mods, since there were very tight parameters for how the materials, inside and outside, would interface,” says Webb, co-owner of South Lake Tahoe–based Sierra Sustainable Builders, or SSB for short. “The team’s level of coordination had to rise. While we are accustomed to exacting architectural details, SSB and our trade partners had to meet a few objectives that we had not faced before.”

The owner’s sister emphasizes a crucial, architecturally defining dynamic: Each of the 14-by-60-foot modules was designed, then built by Method Homes in Bellingham, Washington. 

The central vaulted section of the home contains the common areas, with more private lounges, offices and bedrooms flanking either side. Floor-to-ceiling glass allows for uninterrupted views of the mountains rising above the ranch

“These were carefully, fully and meticulously designed by the (now-retired) architect, George Miers,” she says. “The interiors, the finishes, the architecture, all was custom. This is essentially a stick-built home built in a factory and delivered by truck.” 

These were not existing modules to be chosen from a catalog but, rather, individually designed by a talented architect. 

It was the owner’s sister who convinced her brother that going modular was the modern way to go. 

“Probably 20 years ago, I was in a dentist’s office when I read an article about the future of high-end homes,” she recalls. “The piece claimed that modular was the future, that building elements in a factory and moving the pieces on site makes sense economically, structurally, environmentally and for the very safety of the workers. My brother agreed.” 

While the two wings of the house are composed of modular units, the central great room was largely built by Sierra Sustainable Builders in situ. SSB prepared what was essentially three foundations, with each accommodating a different piece of the structure. While preparing the land, Webb had to account for what he describes as “quite a bit of water, a natural flow from the foothills of Jobs Peak, and running just about 3 feet below grade. It was not a deep foundation we built, but we had to mitigate for all the water.” 

Sierra Sustainable Builders and civil engineers devised systems to remove the ever-replenishing water, establishing French drains with pumps redirecting the water to silo tanks and irrigation ditches. 

Oak finishes keep the great room space feeling airy and light, while a bespoke rug and organic colors and materials evoke warmth

The SSB crew watched anxiously as the six parts of the house arrived on flatbed trucks and were lowered into place with cranes. 

One wing contains the kitchen and primary suite with a site-built garage out front, while the other two-story side features home offices, additional bedrooms and a playroom for the kids. 

“Once the two wings were in place, we started to build what was in between,” Webb says, referring to an expansive, high-ceilinged great room bisected by a dramatic catwalk. Interior walls of mineral-sparkling Sierra granite continue seamlessly to the exterior, though Webb points out that each required its own footing and positioning. “From a framing perspective, we had to get those to align perfectly, and to give the impression that the same material flows from inside to outside without interruption,” he says. 

The sister, who frequented the construction site, stresses, “The house was a tremendous challenge for Sierra Sustainable. The modern, ‘lean’ design leaves virtually no wiggle room and requires an extremely high level of competence. The head framer and (SSB) carpenters who worked on the project were exceptional.” 

While the owner chose Miers as the architect for his penchant for designing contemporary, minimally articulated homes, Nathanson was commissioned for her ability to fashion interiors that are warm and textural and can soften a space without compromising the strong geometry of the architecture. 

Wood ceilings bring a cozy vibe to the primary bedroom, which opens widely to the outdoors

Nathanson used wallpapers in select rooms and positioned the homeowner’s enviable art collection so the colors in the works became prominent bursts of hues in otherwise sparely furnished rooms. For instance, one of the owner’s favorite artworks, a large-scale depiction of elk in a forest, is set prominently at the bottom of an open-tread staircase. Furniture was kept low to keep views unencumbered, and Nathanson designed a large dining table made of stained white oak.

“These were the best builders I have ever worked with,” Nathanson says. “Danny and his team were the most engaging people, checking in with me about every detail and every finish. They had everything go through me.” 

The team even spent hours staining various grades of wood to get the perfect hue to clad the ceilings. Most of the floors are unstained white oak, but the ceilings are hemlock. 

“Whereas the original specs called for western red cedar on the ceilings, the homeowner and I didn’t want something too red, so that’s where the afternoon of staining hemlock came into play. We took each of our stained samples inside and put them to the test in different light.”  

Once all the elements were in place, outside and in, it was time for the “big reveal.” The homeowner flew to his new home with some of his best friends. 

An airy catwalk leads from the second-floor bedrooms to the upstairs sun deck. Granite stone tiles and thermally modified hemlock flow seamlessly past the windows, bringing outside elements into the home

“It was an incredibly nerve-racking moment for me, since we’d been working on this house for almost two and a half years,” says Nathanson. “I became incredibly personally attached to this project and to the family itself. So it was very important to me to see the homeowners happy.” 

Given that nothing was subsequently changed, moved or altered indicates the level of satisfaction by the homeowner. 

Adds Nathanson: “I love being able to tell the personal story of a family by what is assembled inside the rooms. I think that when you are surrounded by things you love and that reflect experiences you’ve had in life, it makes you feel better, reminding you who you are.”

Award: High Desert

Building Design: Swatt | Miers Architects

Builder: Sierra Sustainable Builders

Interior Design: Margo Nathanson Interiors

Landscape Design: NA

Square Feet: 5,942 main home; 1,800 guesthouse