Brilliantly Blends with Nature - Page 2

Recently updated, a well-appointed, custom kitchen conveniently opens to dining and living areas on both sides. There are also a number of unique design features, as Clifford points out.

"The ceiling is super interesting," she says, "with 2x4s on their side. But there are cutouts where there are skylights, so there's this beautiful light filtering down through the skylights from certain portions of the ceilings. It's really dramatic."

Doors play an important part in any home, but especially at 13 Heather Way. "In general, the door heights are wonderful because they’re really solid wood, tall doors," says Clifford. "Every door is the same height, probably nine or more feet tall, unusually tall. The whole effect is dramatic."

The home also features a large home office, as well as a one-bedroom suite ideal for overnight guests.

An invitingly private rear yard features a swimming pool and hot tub set into a mature landscape of lush trees and flowers. Looking up towards the house from the pool area is a Sunset magazine moment, you might say, offering an appreciative view of the home and garden.

It's quite possible that you haven't come across a home by Henrik Bull, and there's good reason for that. The architect was devoted to integrating his structures into their natural surroundings.

"Architects need to work with the land rather than on the land," Bull explained when he was interviewed by Bull Stockwell Allen, the architectural firm he founded, and later published in Tahoe Quarterly.

A diehard skier who was on skis by age three, Bull spent a lot of time in the Lake Tahoe area, where he did snow country planning. There, he was involved with two large developments, North Star and the Tahoe Tavern Condominiums, which won a Governor's Award. A Fellow of the National AIA, the architect also made significant contributions to another award-winner, the Bear Valley Visitor Center at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Since he chose to design buildings that fit in with nature, his works skillfully blend into their individual sites, becoming part of their natural surroundings. The architect's thoughtful approach and keen eye for design remain an important part of the warmth and feel of Northern California architecture, a feeling that the home on Heather Way reflects to this day.

"It's a beautiful house, it just feels really pure," says Clifford, adding, "Looking out those windows when you first walk in is just breathtaking."

For more info and photos of the Heather Way home, click here.