When a Rolling Hills couple made the decision to leave the family home where they spent more than 20 years raising their four children and relocate to Clear Creek, a private golf community in Nevada, it came down to a gut feeling.
“We chose it on a whim,” says the homeowner. “We visited friends in Clear Creek in May 2020 and fell in love with the area and concept of the club. We both grew up in the Chicago area with lots of lake living and knew we wanted a home close to a lake for the year-round sports. We were in adventure mode, so it was the perfect combination for our lifestyle.”
After purchasing a lot tucked in the mountains above Carson City—approximately 20 minutes from Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe—they began building and customizing their 5,224-square-foot mountain modern dwelling and choosing every detail down to the hardware. For furnishings, accessories and rugs, they knew they needed the help of a trusted friend and turned to interior designer Julie Beuerlein, owner and principal of JKB Home Design in Palos Verdes Estates.
Coincidentally, Julie’s parents had recently sold their longtime family home in Incline Village, about 30 minutes north of Clear Creek, where she spent many holidays and summers.
“It all came together so beautifully. I love how fresh and warm it feels. Since it is not your typical mountain interior, people walk in with a look of surprise, and our children love coming to visit.”
“My parents had an original membership to the country club that anchored this development, so I was super familiar with it,” says Julie. “When the homeowner told me they decided to build there, I almost started to cry because my parents had just sold their home. I told her how special Lake Tahoe had been to me personally and how Clear Creek has played a large role in my love for the area.”
Julie designed the five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath home entirely sight unseen. She appointed it with new and custom pieces, along with items from their previous home that they had recently remodeled with Norman Design Group in Torrance.
“There was really no room for error here,” says Julie. “Everything was done based on floor plan drawings, and at the end it was all loaded onto a moving truck in Palos Verdes. It was kind of wild and incredibly fun.”
To coordinate with the arrival of the moving truck, they adhered to a firm deadline for the eight-month project. “The lake was our muse,” notes Julie. “The homeowner had a very clear vision of what she wanted and had inspirational photos that helped drive the design direction. She didn’t want brown, beige and gray.”
To achieve this, Julie designed each room with nuances to reflect the family’s style, including a guest bedroom appointed with Gardenside grass cloth wallpaper by Serena & Lily. Another, dubbed the “Ralph Lauren room,” features green tartan plaid accent pillows from Etsy and rustic faux birchwood table lamps from Lamps Plus, reminiscent of Aspen trees.
In the primary bedroom, striped armchairs and an upholstered headboard from their former residence are paired with Markus ceramic table lamps from Regina Andrews atop nightstands by Redford House. The cozy family room features a scalloped console table in fawn by CFC in Los Angeles and custom sofas upholstered in French blue velvet by Sofas Tables & More in Torrance.
“I love the color blue,” says the homeowner. “It just makes me happy. I designed the kitchen around the fact that I wanted a navy refrigerator and freezer, and because I wanted a blue couch in the family room, Julie incorporated the spaces seamlessly. She worked hard to make sure each room flowed to the next but gave each room its own unexpected look.”
With the project complete and every piece in its place, the couple has eased directly into mountain living. “Every time I walk in, I smile and feel so fortunate that Julie created exactly what I was envisioning,” adds the homeowner. “It all came together so beautifully. I love how fresh and warm it feels. Since it is not your typical mountain interior, people walk in with a look of surprise, and our children love coming to visit.”
