KEEP TAHOE BLUE (AND GREEN AND GOLD)

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Primary Bedroom: The green chevron wall design echoes the mountain landscape surrounding this Tahoe cabin. “Choosing a green was really hard,” admits Plumb. “I had a more muted avocado color in mind, but Lisa kept pushing for a more vibrant green. It took a lot of back and forth to get it right.” Above the bed hang paddles hand-painted by Lisa. At its foot is a bench re-covered with a Mexican blanket. The area rug, which sports an oversized plaid design, is “like a flannel pattern but not too on the nose. It’s a subtle reminder that this is a mountain home.”

Nest

inside: Lake house design

Keep Tahoe Blue (and Green and Gold)

Vintage textiles, playful accessories and color—lots and lots of color—add to the playful vibe at this cabin in South Lake Tahoe.

BY CATHERINE WARMERDAM

When Sacramento interior designer Rebecca

Plumb was invited by clients Lisa and Geoff Bardot to help reimagine the vacation home they were remodeling in South Lake Tahoe (a getaway they’d dubbed Camp Golden Bear), she knew that the palette would be nothing like the drab brown-on-brown color scheme that dominates many mountain cabins.

“They are both amazingly creative people who are really into color,” says Plumb, who’d already helped design a cheery studio space for this accomplished artistic couple. (She’s a graphic designer; he’s a photographer.) “I knew they wanted something that felt different; it needed to feel like them.”

Inspiration came in the form of a vintage striped Pendleton blanket, which led to vivid color choices: saturated blue, green and gold tones with some red accents. The hues give off a playful vibe, reminding visitors that this is a destination where fun is the point.

Primary Bedroom (above and page 85): On the bed wall, the green chevron paneling echoes the mountain landscape surrounding this Tahoe cabin. Above the bed hang paddles hand-painted by homeowner Lisa Bardot. At its foot is a bench re-covered with a Mexican blanket. Art selected for a gallery wall evokes the home’s woodland surroundings.

Secondary Bedroom (right and opposite): Designer Rebecca Plumb went with gold paint on the ceiling and across the top of the wall as a way to “add color without saturating the room, so that it’s still light and bright.” The vintage blanket and wildlife etchings above the bed are from the Sacramento Antique Faire. A pair of rackets, one of Lisa’s finds, is a nod to leisure time.

Furnishings throughout the vacation home, from the footed armoire and blue nightstands in the principal bedroom to the dresser in the secondary bedroom, were chosen for their mid-mod vibe.

“We knew we wanted the cabin to have a vintage camp feeling,” explains Plumb. “My job was to make it feel as elevated as possible and still feel like Tahoe. When people go to a vacation home, I think they’re looking for something aspirational. In this era of Instagram, they want a snapable moment of their vacation.”

Plumb worked in close collaboration with Lisa, who helped refine the color choices and source accessories, and Geoff, who did much of the construction and “poured his whole body and soul into this place.” Together, they managed to create a joyful space that conjures up a whole new way of seeing and experiencing Tahoe.

DESIGN: Studio Plumb

Primary Bathroom (right and below): Plumb, who bemoans how bathrooms are often neglected spaces in vacation homes, designed this one with luxury in mind. “This is meant to be an escape,” she says. The space is dominated by Fireclay wall tiles in a color called—what else?—Lake Tahoe. “It gives you the feeling of showering in the lake.” The pink concrete basin by Nood Co. “was our little nod to something playful and different,” explains Plumb. “It softens the other colors in the room.” The bathroom’s wood accents, a reminder of the home’s forest setting, come in the form of shellacked teak tiles from Indoteak Design.

“It gives you the feeling of showering in the lake.”

—Rebecca Plumb