This massive modern home was designed to make a grand statement

The bright and open great room of this Martis Camp home was designed to entertain on a grand scale

“Lake Tahoe architecture” often conjures up images of A-frames and log cabins, but an expansive home in Martis Camp represents a radical departure from that tradition. Commissioned by a family that was looking for a bright, open-concept abode designed for entertaining on a large scale, the house breaks decisively from older Tahoe styles in favor of a bold, modern layout.

To make their dream a reality, the family hired architect Ted Brobst, principal at W | Y Architects, who worked closely with the homeowners to design a mountain retreat that blends resort-level hospitality with contemporary comforts and endless options for entertaining.

Spread across nearly 9,000 square feet, the house boasts six bedrooms with en-suite baths as well as two additional guest bathrooms. The dimension and scale of the interiors—from 20-plus-foot ceilings in the entryway and living room to a floating staircase that functions as a statement piece—make the entire home feel larger than life. 

“You’ve got these big open spaces where you could literally have three different parties going on and not even know the other party was happening,” says Tad Herrington, operations manager at Crestwood Construction.

It’s not just the square footage and scale that make the property feel grand. Herrington and the Crestwood team, including project manager Shawn Rodriguez and superintendent Bob White, used beautiful finishes throughout, while interior designer Vivian Soliemani sourced several custom pieces to give the home a truly bespoke feel. Thanks to these deliberate design choices, the house brings the premium aesthetics of a five-star resort into the comfort of home.

While the home’s transparent window walls run in a mostly north‐south orientation, W | Y Architects designed solid stone walls to define the spaces in the east‐west direction. These stone elements wrap inside to out and project above adjoining roof planes, creating a series of narrow stone ridges that help define the home’s visual character

From the beginning of the project, one of the owners’ top priorities was showcasing the natural beauty of their surroundings. 

“Their vision for a light-filled, calming interior was centered on open and flowing spaces with an abundance of natural light,” Brobst says. “Meeting with them on site prior to design, we mapped out a strategy to capture views and light at both the front and rear of the property.”

To bring the outdoors to the forefront, Brobst designed what he calls a “unique twin front-and-back patio design” that seamlessly connects to the main living spaces. The home features large terraces and matching firepits on both the front and back sides, allowing the family to effortlessly soak up the sunshine while hosting friends in either space. The living room opens to a front-yard seating area with a firepit, while the dining room leads to a covered alfresco porch with a TV and motorized screen enclosure. For even more entertaining options, the yard also includes a nearby barbecue area, a hot tub and an additional firepit, with a bocce ball court rounding out the outdoor amenities. 

Banks of window walls enhance the home’s free-flowing layout while bringing plenty of natural light inside. Solid limestone wall elements wrap large sections of the home’s interiors and exteriors, hanging suspended above adjoining roof planes to create a series of sculptural stone ridges that add visual variety and shield the house from neighboring properties. One of the exterior limestone walls features a vertical slot window that serves as a focal point both inside and outside the home. 

“The limestone that was used by W | Y Architects really made an exclamation point in my mind from an architectural standpoint,” says White of Crestwood Construction. “Not a lot of people are using that much masonry on the exterior, and it really sets itself apart.” 

One of the stone walls is punctuated with a tall slot window that offers a peek to the wine bar from the front porch. Once inside, a grand floating stairway of glass, steel and artisan concrete anchors the voluminous space

Inside, the foyer is equipped with a floating stairway with a sculptural apple art piece underneath. Brobst placed the staircase in the middle of the space, allowing pathways through the home to feel more continuous as they flow up and around the stairs. 

“We designed the stair structure and rails with steel, glass and artisan concrete treads for a sense of openness and transparency,” Brobst says. “One of my favorite aspects of the home is seeing various angles of this stair as you pass through different parts of the home. The stair is never in the way, but you get little glimpses of the structure as you look through to the windows and the forest beyond.”

The entry and staircase, great room and bar, and front porch are all anchored together by a limestone wall that rises through the roof, joining the spaces in a way that feels both open and cohesive. Inside, Soliemani opted for a lighter palette that mimics the natural characteristics of its forest surroundings. 

“The interiors reflect a modern mountain sensibility,” she says. “The palette is muted, while texture, scale and natural light take center stage. Instead of leaning heavily into rustic elements, the design takes a more refined, contemporary approach to mountain living, letting the views, natural light and materials speak for themselves.” 

Clean lines and warm materials were used to give the house a coherent look, while pops of red add bold touches to key areas, from dark red pillows positioned on the living room couches to red chairs encircling one of the firepits outside.

Balancing warmth and modernity, the primary suite showcases a plaster fireplace, a stone bed wall and a neutral color palette

The great room features soaring hemlock wood ceilings, natural basalt tile floors, a built-in bar area and a plaster fireplace. Accentuating the open flow from the front to the back of the house, the fireplace wall connects everything together. 

“Anchored with a light gray saw-cut limestone, the wall is capped with a light-capturing clerestory interrupted only by the artisan plaster and wood fireplace surround,” Brobst says. 

Flowing seamlessly from the main living space, the kitchen has a stone island topped with Neolith Calacatta porcelain, a book-matched backsplash to provide visual symmetry, and Gaggenau and Sub-Zero appliances. The kitchen also features a built-in dining nook with a bench, custom-designed table and a drop pendant by Jiun Ho. Since the owners enjoy cooking meals together, the kitchen and dining nook were designed to function as a gathering space where they could connect over good food.

The primary suite features a plaster fireplace, a stone bed wall and a neutral color palette. 

“What really sets the primary suite apart is the balance between warmth and modernity,” says Soliemani. 

To strike just the right balance, she chose an upholstered bed, a lounge chair and a bench to introduce softness to the space, while also adding a mix of darker accents, artwork and textures to create subtle contrast. A seating area near the window provides a place to relax and enjoy the views, reinforcing the retreat-like feel of the space. 

Designed to feel like a retreat experience, the primary bathroom is outfitted with custom cabinetry, large-format tile and a freestanding tub set under corner windows

That retreat theme continues in the primary bathroom, which shows off a freestanding soaking tub positioned beneath corner windows, custom cabinetry, clean-lined fixtures and large-format tile.

To customize the home to meet their exact interests, the owners also requested a dedicated office space, a game room outfitted with a pool table and air hockey, a dance studio and a golf simulator room. The latter two rooms are located beyond the garage and attached with a long connecting gallery space, a design choice that minimizes noise impacts throughout the rest of the house. A three-car garage equipped with car chargers, overflow refrigeration and plenty of additional storage space round out the functional blueprint. 

A house built to this scale can sometimes feel too cavernous and unapproachable, but thanks to the thoughtful choices by the owners and project team, it still feels like home. With endless spaces designed for both play and practicality, the house makes a solid case for the idea that sometimes bigger really can be better.

Award: Grand Design

Building Design: W | Y Architects

Builder: Crestwood Construction

Interior Design: Vivian Soliemani Design

Landscape Design: High West Landscape Architects

Square Feet: 8,811