Pennyroyal

Approached by a family of four to update an existing cabin in Lake Tahoe, we reinterpreted the 1970s ski chalet aesthetic while preserving the warmth of the original design. Inside, the house opens up to views of the mountains and towering pine tree meadows.

The interior spaces unfurl around a staircase built with wide planks of light oak. High solid casing gives the stairs a sense of enclosure, turning them into a cozy nook in an otherwise open-plan. Oak also visually unifies the design, reappearing at the floors, kitchen cabinetry, ski cubbies, entire hallways, and, in a slightly redder hue that calls back to the Douglas fir exterior, the columns, and millwork. Subtle dark gray stone accents—the built-in bench along the fireplace mantle, the heated mudroom floor, the kitchen countertops—reference the surrounding granite mountains.