The goal of the Gilmour Project was to replace a dilapidated, old, family cabin on a tiny 50-foot-wide West Shore lot with a new and expanded, modern-day, Old Tahoe-style home. SANDBOX designed a beautiful, new 2,400 square foot Old Tahoe-style gem that is inviting, well-proportioned and well-articulated, appropriately scaled, demonstrates quality craftsmanship, is befitting of its Tahoe context, efficient in its use of space, and rare in its modest size when compared to many of the large homes springing up in Tahoe today. Photo (above) of Front Elevation at twilight by Vance Fox.
Despite the small lot and extremely tight TRPA limits on land coverage, SANDBOX more than doubled the existing livable space of the old cabin and added a one-car garage, resulting in a comfortable home with a lot of program that fits into a very small footprint. The livable space features four bedrooms, three and one half baths, and an open Kitchen-Dining-Great Room floor plan, punctuated with a stone fireplace. The open floor plan and ample window glazing throughout the home make it feel larger than its square footage number would indicate. Finished with native woods and stones, such as Sugar Pine T&G on the walls, the home has a warm and cozy Old-Tahoe feel. Photo (above) by Vance Fox of the Great Room, with Sierra Granite fireplace and Sugar Pine walls – a great place to spend a snowy day!
The home is well connected on the inside to the outdoors by numerous windows, several upper level decks and ground level porches. The exterior application of indigenous rustic mountain materials, such as Cedar and Sierra Granite, coupled with traditional Tahoe detailing, results in a home that sits harmoniously within its context. Photos by Vance Fox showing one of the guest bedrooms with vaulted Sugar Pine ceiling, numerous windows and door to the deck (above left), and exterior photo showing stone and wood detailing (above right).
The Gilmour Residence has achieved an increasingly rare balance between comfortable living and relatively modest size, while echoing classic Old Tahoe style. It serves as proof that it is possible to design and build a true mountain cabin that is still comfortable, spacious-feeling, light and airy. Photo by Vance Fox (above) of Kitchen-Dining areas — modest by most Tahoe standards, yet large enough to prepare a holiday feast for the entire family!
