An experienced team puts all the Tahoe must-haves into a thoughtfully designed Lahontan home

Guests are greeted in the front entry by a cascading water feature

Seamus Gallagher knows what makes a great Tahoe home.

As president and general contractor at Gallagher Construction, he has more than two decades of construction experience in the Tahoe area. As a former member of the Lahontan Design Review Board, he’s had a hand in shaping and maintaining the character of one of the most prestigious and desirable luxury communities in the state. He even built his own Lahontan home, where he lived for years.

That’s why, when he had the opportunity to buy a Lahontan property and invest in a spec house, he took it. He quickly sought to partner with an architect he had worked with before: Brendan Riley, who had just founded his own firm, designSense. Together, they discussed their prior collaborative and independent projects, then brainstormed what they could expand and improve on.

“At the time, we were just coming out of Covid,” Gallagher says. “We kind of witnessed how people were coming to Tahoe—in particular, during Covid—and really creating their own little compounds for not only family, but also running businesses from home. Big businesses, too.”

The idea was to put together a house that would allow anyone who lived there, from the head of a corporation to entertainment-seeking youngsters, to get what they needed. Of course, function doesn’t have to exist in a vacuum, so form was important to them as well. To that end, Riley calls the property “somewhat understated,” describing it as desirable, with privacy and seclusion, but without that grand lake or mountain view other local lots can boast.

Bold design meets nature in the living room

“We needed to create some interest that was innate to the house itself,” Riley says. “We asked ourselves: What makes a great house when the views you have are the immediate context—the pine forest, spring blooms and winter powder, even just the blue sky—the kinds of views other houses take for granted?”

Embracing its tranquil site, the home’s exterior features a main terrace, two firepits, a semi-subterranean hot tub, kitchen, dining area and streamscape built to channel interest in addition to runoff. Riley likens the architectural design process to alchemy, spinning golden exterior features to create a special quality that other homes might borrow from the grand scenery.

Inside, to ensure there was enough space for everything the future homeowners would want and need, the home was outfitted with six bedrooms, a home gym, an office, a large great room and a bonus room, all clocking in at just under 6,000 square feet—which nevertheless sits on the larger side of Lahontan’s building restrictions.

The speculation paid off, with buyers taking the home while it was still under construction. 

For as much as Tahoe is seen as a natural playground where people come to escape the “real world,” life keeps happening. The wheels of commerce don’t grind to a halt just because the snow looks pretty or the wildflowers are blooming.

Warm wood and sleek finishes highlight the kitchen

With this in mind, Gallagher and Riley not only wanted to include a vital home office, but also to expand on the concept to create a “showstopper” of a room. A floor-to-ceiling wall of glass reveals the forested open space that backs up to the lot, summoning feelings of both majesty and privacy. Gallagher says the dimensions are similar to a “decent-sized living room.” They dubbed it “the executive office,” envisioning a CEO using it for all the necessary functions of the position.

Sure enough, Gallagher says, the clients have adopted the space for that purpose.

The homeowners hired Katie Geresy, principal at KTG Design, to align the design with their vision and lifestyle. Geresy and her team began work immediately. The house was still in its framing stage at the time, which Geresy says presented an exciting opportunity to influence key design elements even before electrical wiring was installed.

“We were proud to deliver the full scope of services: finishes, furniture and everything in between,” she says.  

Riley says he was impressed with how Geresy’s team took the architectural ideas and refined them in the interior design, creating distinct differences between and among the various spaces in the home.

“Forget about mountain modern,’” Riley says. “It’s almost like ‘Manhattan mountain.’”

A moody office complete with a library and ladder is softened by natural light and clean lines

For the executive office, Geresy curated a sophisticated palette featuring darker tones, including Down Pipe, a rich gray paint from Farrow & Ball, and copper accents like the custom copper fireplace surround. These elements bring warmth and depth to the space, with the copper creating both a striking visual centerpiece and functional comfort. She incorporated a hemlock ceiling to complement these features, adding lightness and balance to the room’s overall ambiance. 

The result is authoritative, offset with the playful touch of a library ladder. Seating apart from the desk is provided by two leather club chairs she describes as cozy and masculine after finding them at the Round Top Antiques Fair in Texas. 

The executive office also works as a separating element between the core of the home and the primary bedroom. Other bedrooms are distributed around that core, and Riley worked to ensure that while everything was cohesive, it allowed for some separation as desired. Above the garage, which is almost another half-flight above the main space, there’s an entertainment and media room, then a rooftop terrace where adults may choose to congregate away from children busying themselves with whatever electronics they’ve plugged in.

Climbing the stairs also begins to reveal more airy views that aren’t visible from the main level—a vital element for Riley.

A serene bath retreat with forest views and elegant textured silver travertine details

“I’m a huge fan of glass,” he says. “One of the most important experiences a mountain home should have is understanding what’s outside: the falling snow, the setting sun, the squirrels running around, all of that. It’s not Truckee-Tahoe, not even West Coast. To me, it’s just innately human. I think we want to understand the world around us, and I think glass allows that.”

Riley used glass starting at the firepit and entrance terrace, transitioning “up and over” the massing of the fireplace and on to the west side of the house. This continuity of glass welcomes the sun into the home throughout the day, from the morning with coffee cup in hand to the evening with guests socializing over a bottle of wine. 

In the kitchen, natural stone slabs pair beautifully with steel-and-glass upper cabinetry, creating a timeless, clean aesthetic. These materials are echoed in other areas of the home, such as the steel-and-glass door system leading to the office and recreation room, and the great room’s fireplace. The design further emphasizes clean lines and subtle luxury with polished nickel plumbing and hardware, silver travertine-clad walls in the primary shower, and a herringbone ceramic mosaic tile with a soft gray haze finish in the bar area.

Given his time on Lahontan’s Design Review Board, Gallagher wanted to be sure the outside of his spec home reflected the same thoughtfulness of the interior. He compliments Riley on bringing in modern textures and materials, especially after what he calls the “heavy topic of conversation”: exterior siding. 

A striking mirror and organic console bring modern calm to this inviting entry

Riley says he wanted to use something other than cedar, but he did end up going with that wood, albeit in raked form to help it hold its color and texturing.

“It’s rough and rugged and kind of handsome—qualities that freshly milled cedar sometimes lacks,” Riley says. 

There is no stone veneer, no granite wainscotting. The exterior is all board-formed concrete, which remains earthy without being derivative or repetitive. In fact, the whole goal for this project was not just to deliver on everything a family could want in a Tahoe home, but to provide it in unexpected ways.

“For a home in Lahontan,” Gallagher says, “I think it’s continuing to push the envelope of what high-quality mountain-modern architecture can be.”

Award: Functional Design

Building Design: designSense

Builder: Gallagher Construction

Interior Design: KTG Design

Landscape Design: Estate Landscape

Square Feet: 5,944