Affluent Page - Index

Affluent Page - affluentpage - Index

The 5,600-square-foot
conservatory, which boasts
a glass-mosaic pool and a
retractable roof, is connected
to the main house via a
90-foot stone tunnel.
Corporation, and his wife, Ann, an artist,
for $4.5 million in 1997. After selling some
of the land, the couple got to work building
their private retreat on a 214-acre site. “You
just don’t get this kind of acreage anymore,”
Chase says.
Working closely with their Reno-based
architect, Jeff Lundahl, contractor Q&D Construction,
and a brigade of local and European
artisans, the couple undertook a three-and-ahalf
year effort to create a retreat that reflected
their lifestyle. “The whole design and concept
came from the owners,” Chase says. “They
are prolific collectors of antiquities from
around the world, and they had various elements
of buildings, columns, and cherubs to
incorporate into the house.”
Entry to the home begins at the gatehouse
off Highway 50, the main thoroughfare
around the lake, and is followed by a drive
(less than a mile) through forests of aspens
and pines. “When you drive up you don’t
see a grand estate,” Chase says. “It’s hidden
around the corner.”
The property consists of eight buildings. A
20,000-square-foot home melds a style that
is part European chateaux, part Tahoe. Standout
features of the residence include a staircase
that replicates the one from the S.S. Titanic,
a cigar lounge fashioned after one at The St.
Regis New York, and a library inspired by
the New York City Public Library. The living
room features hand-carved antique fireplaces
and a ceiling adorned with carved beams,
while the dining room boasts a floor salvaged
from a 17th-century French chateau and a
ceiling hand-painted with images of animals
found in the Tahoe area. In the 3,200-bottle
wine cellar, vintages are kept safe behind a
carved bronze door that once belonged to
William Randolph Hearst. “When you wander
through this home,” Chase says, “your eye is
always cast upon something that is beautiful.
The other seven buildings are scattered
around the private lake. The conservatory,
MARCH/APRIL 2009 AFFLUENT PAGE LUXURY INDEX 75