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the house. We clad the cabinets in cold-rolled steel with
brass accents and topped them with heavily veined granite
counters in a leathered finish for added texture. The extra-
large island received the same metal cladding but is topped
in an end-grain walnut perfect for prepping dinner—and
gathering around.
EVERY GETAWAY NEEDS lots of bedrooms for friends and
family. Here, we dedicated them to some of Kevin and Nicole’s
favorite writers. With its plaid carpet, vintage wingback chair,
antique campaign chest, and stags’ heads keeping watch
overhead, the Hemingway room is a nod to rugged masculinity
and comfort. Inspired by a jet-setting Bond, the Ian Fleming
suite has walls covered in Fornasetti clouds and streamlined
pieces from the 1970s. We dubbed the bunk room The Drunken
Poets’ Quarters and crafted privacy curtains from wool camp
blankets, custom-embroidered with quotes from Baudelaire,
Dorothy Parker, and Bukowski.
“Our regular visitors have their favorite rooms,” says Kevin.
“The kids have grown up loving the bunk room, watching
fireworks from the dock, and staring up at the Milky Way from
the lawn at night.”
No great lodge is complete without a proper tavern, so we
outfitted a full working bar below the guesthouse. Complete
with tufted, red patent leather banquettes and a temperature-
controlled wine room, the entire bar is sheathed in charred
redwood paneling in the Japanese shou sugi ban style, which
gives the room a smoky, almost ancient quality.
“Designing the pub was the most fun part of the project,”
Kevin notes. “I wanted a secret room, where we could play
loud music and share a great Belgian beer after a day of skiing.”
When it came time to unveil the house to Kevin and
Nicole, it seemed only appropriate that they should arrive via
the lake—the way San Francisco vacationers did throughout
the 19th century. We chartered a historic boat and picked them
up at a local marina. Now officially christened Loomis Lodge,
the finished project was complete. Walking them through it as
collaborators and coconspirators was a thrill. In short order,
significant memories were made.
“I proposed to Nicole on our dock,” says Kevin. “It was
Thanksgiving, and the lake was as still as glass. The sun had
just set, and a stunning sunset lit up the clouds in bright
magenta and purple. Our first real date was a ski-trip weekend
in college to Lake Tahoe, so it seemed fitting that I’d propose
there as well. We feel lucky to wake up in the morning and
look out on the place where we got engaged. And now that we
have a daughter, it’s fun to see her grow to love Tahoe too.
We go swimming at the beach nearby, take her on hikes in the
woods with the dog, and eat meals with her outside at sunset
as we watch the old wooden boats go by.”
As intended, this magical spot has become a true refuge,
and a place purpose-built and designed to imprint memories.
This magical
spot has
become a true
refuge, and
a place
purpose-built
and designed
to imprint
memories.
LEFT THE SUNROOM
FEATURES A SUSPENDED
DAYBED BY ROBERT
BUCKLEY. CUSHION WEARS
A PERENNIALS STRIPE;
CURTAINS OF AN OPUZEN
SHEER; ETHAN MURROW
DRAWING; KRIMSA RUG.
