Design is in the Details
A European-inspired home in Lahontan, Calif., benefits from Old-World
materials, thoughtful planning and the perfect finishing touches.
CONSTRUCTION BY JOHN BRINK CONSTRUCTION
INTERIOR DESIGN BY BRANTNER DESIGN
When they dreamed of their home in Lahontan, California, not far from Lake Tahoe, the owners of this wooded lot wanted the dwelling to be “timeless, evocative; a kind of home that would reflect our family and be respectful of the forest around us,” the owner says.
Many homeowners have said the same thing. But unlike many homeowners, she meant it.
So she gathered a design team that shared her passion for detail and authenticity, and together, they created a mountain retreat that feels reminiscent of a northern European country home. “Our mantra was ‘perfectly imperfect,’” says John Brink, principal of Tahoe City-based John Brink Construction. “We wanted to create a home that looked like it had been standing here for 600 years.”
Appropriate materials were essential to achieving this authentic atmosphere, so the homeowners journeyed to France on two occassions, where they combed the country in search of antique materials: reclaimed oak beams, aged limestone tiles and salvaged limestone fireplaces. “It was so exciting to go and gather the materials,” the homeowner says. “We took an unforgettable week-long road trip, traveling to remote villages to visit barns that were slated to be dismantled and the materials salvaged, and a ‘factory’ where stone flooring was being processed from old, extremely thick limestone tiles. These materials add such atmosphere, such texture.”
Of course, it’s one thing to source the materials; it’s another to get them from France to the West Coast. “We asked the French supplier of reclaimed oak beams to give us a list of what they had in the yard. They told us they could provide anything we wanted. After creating detailed plans for the ceilings that illustrated the beam layouts, we gave them our list, and they said, ‘Oh, no. We don’t have any of that,’” Brink laughs. C’est la vie.
So Brink didn’t know what he’d find in the shipping container when it arrived. Luckily, it revealed an exquisite puzzle of beautiful old beams. In a rented warehouse in Reno, his team unpacked and sorted the timbers, selecting where and how to fit each one into the home.
Because the timbers weren’t rated for construction—an industry standard that ensures a material’s soundness—the team built a house within a house. They used conventional post-and-beam framing to create the structure. In the warehouse, they pre-cut and pre-fabricated the beams and trusses and then added them as decorative elements. To install the limestone floors, Brink hired French masons “who had a great appreciation for the materials and the craftsmanship,” he says. “They laid the floors in a way that will allow someone to pull them up 300 or 400 years from now and reuse them somewhere else—in keeping with the spirit of this house.”
Want to read more? Go here.
INTERIOR DESIGN BY BRANTNER DESIGN
When they dreamed of their home in Lahontan, California, not far from Lake Tahoe, the owners of this wooded lot wanted the dwelling to be “timeless, evocative; a kind of home that would reflect our family and be respectful of the forest around us,” the owner says.
Many homeowners have said the same thing. But unlike many homeowners, she meant it.
So she gathered a design team that shared her passion for detail and authenticity, and together, they created a mountain retreat that feels reminiscent of a northern European country home. “Our mantra was ‘perfectly imperfect,’” says John Brink, principal of Tahoe City-based John Brink Construction. “We wanted to create a home that looked like it had been standing here for 600 years.”
Appropriate materials were essential to achieving this authentic atmosphere, so the homeowners journeyed to France on two occassions, where they combed the country in search of antique materials: reclaimed oak beams, aged limestone tiles and salvaged limestone fireplaces. “It was so exciting to go and gather the materials,” the homeowner says. “We took an unforgettable week-long road trip, traveling to remote villages to visit barns that were slated to be dismantled and the materials salvaged, and a ‘factory’ where stone flooring was being processed from old, extremely thick limestone tiles. These materials add such atmosphere, such texture.”
Of course, it’s one thing to source the materials; it’s another to get them from France to the West Coast. “We asked the French supplier of reclaimed oak beams to give us a list of what they had in the yard. They told us they could provide anything we wanted. After creating detailed plans for the ceilings that illustrated the beam layouts, we gave them our list, and they said, ‘Oh, no. We don’t have any of that,’” Brink laughs. C’est la vie.
So Brink didn’t know what he’d find in the shipping container when it arrived. Luckily, it revealed an exquisite puzzle of beautiful old beams. In a rented warehouse in Reno, his team unpacked and sorted the timbers, selecting where and how to fit each one into the home.
Because the timbers weren’t rated for construction—an industry standard that ensures a material’s soundness—the team built a house within a house. They used conventional post-and-beam framing to create the structure. In the warehouse, they pre-cut and pre-fabricated the beams and trusses and then added them as decorative elements. To install the limestone floors, Brink hired French masons “who had a great appreciation for the materials and the craftsmanship,” he says. “They laid the floors in a way that will allow someone to pull them up 300 or 400 years from now and reuse them somewhere else—in keeping with the spirit of this house.”
Want to read more? Go here.
