Steve and Vanessa Alexander wanted to find a winter villa in the mountains away from their sunny home in Malibu, California, with their three sons who enjoyed little but snowboarding.
“As they grew up, we found that the best trips for the family were action-adventure-like trips with little age difference outdoors,” said Alexander, 51. Interior designer, His sons Jude, Leo and Max are currently 12 to 19 years old.
What they didn’t expect was that their winter vacation would be their favorite four-season destination.
Initially, they searched for a home at a luxury ski destination such as Aspen, Colorado. There were many attractions outside the mountains, including restaurants and nightlife. But while renting a house one winter, he asked, “Why do we care when we really want to stay at home and in a town with all the other facilities?” There was such an inspiration. .. Alexander said. “We were skiing or wearing pajamas, cooking and playing games.”
At that time, she and her talent agency ICM Partners partner Alexander, 55, turned to finding something close to the home, with the goal of owning a home that could be reached by car rather than by plane.
In 2017, they found a location about five hours drive in Mammoth Lakes, California. A new home made of concrete, corrugated metal and black-painted wooden siding, designed by the building company Chen Design.
The previous owner built most of the house, but left it empty. “It was just a shell,” said Alexander. “The outside is almost complete and the inside is a white box.” She said it was ideal because she wanted to bring her vision home.
They bought a 3,525-square-foot, four-bedroom home for $ 1.4 million that March, and Alexander got a job. Outside, she added a deck with integrated seats around a weathering steel fire pit. Inside, she demolished some interior walls to free up space and connected the formerly separate room kitchen to the living and dining areas.
However, most of the effort is focused on building interiors that reflect Alexander’s relaxed modernist commitment, celebrating natural materials rich in textures and neutrals. “I wanted it to be very comfortable and very warm, not strict,” she said. “It was influenced by Scandinavian architecture and Norwegian mountain houses.”
“We used a lot of bronze, brass, leather and a variety of woods for the material pallets,” she said. We also used a lot of durable patina steel and thick natural stone. A violent family living.
The focus of the living and dining area is a long gas fireplace surrounded by patina steel in front of floor-to-ceiling windows with mountain views. The squeeze vintage leather de Sede DS-600 sofa meanders through the space. At his feet, Alexander warmed Eco Outdoor’s gray limestone pavement with the addition of fur-covered sheepskin and Moroccan floor covering. The floor is very durable and is often used on patios.
For the primary suite, Alexander designed an oak bed with an integrated nightstand and a footboard to hide the pop-up TV. “It’s a higher bed than I usually do,” she said, with the top of the mattress being 28 inches.
“But the view of the mountains from the window is great,” she added, wanting to enjoy the view from under the cover.
The bedroom leads to a bathroom with a brass sink and a long oak vanity with walls covered with cloudy waterproof plaster, applied by craftsman Alexander brought in from Los Angeles.
There is also a guest suite with black oak cabinets, concrete counters, a kitchenette with patina backsplash, and a cross-section sofa that doubles as a nap. “There you can play video games and oversleep,” Alexander said.
The house was completed in late 2018 at a cost of about $ 1.2 million in time for Alexander to spend his first holiday season there. Initially, they traveled almost every weekend in the winter, but rarely in the summer. However, during the pandemic, they discovered that the mountains were attractive throughout the four seasons.
“I spent a lot of time there because I couldn’t travel last summer. It was amazing. We fell in love with the summer experience,” said Alexander, who said the family was cycling, fishing and He said he spent days hiking and plans to do the same this year. “Covid opened our eyes to how great it was.”
For weekly email updates on residential real estate news Sign up here.. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate..
A Mountain Escape Turned Four-Season Home Source link A Mountain Escape Turned Four-Season Home