5695 Alpinista Circle Reno NV 89511 MLS #250052899

A minute-and-a-half drive from the gate; a five minute walk to the clubhouse (with the best food this side of Edgewood); below the treeline for sun, light, and wildfire safety; and a world above the rest. Walk to the front door of this Arts and Crafts-inspired Montreux Chalet and be transported. The owner longed for the landscapes of her native Michigan, so for the past thirteen years she curated and nurtured the woodland garden you can experience now. Step onto the 17′ x 32′ covered front terrace and settle in: it’s the best room in the house and you haven’t even gone inside. Private and cool, a summer rainstorm spent sheltering here pleasures all your senses and renews your belief in the restorative power of nature. Now come inside.*** “Beauty can be found everywhere you look,” said no buyer ever in the current surfeit of south Reno luxury real estate. But look around. Here, it truly is everywhere. A church-like space (three rooms have double-height ceilings) that is spacious and intimate at once. Tuscan Noce travertine floors; solid natural wood doors, millwork, and trim; semi-rough plaster finished walls; cast iron fittings; a harmony of rustic and contemporary. But as beautiful as it is, to fully appreciate this great room you’d have to spend a summer evening alone under its cathedral ceiling with the waning light streaming through, and then host twenty on a December night with the fireplace blazing. It handles both with aplomb, never feeling too small or too vast; the perfect alchemy of size and scale that makes some–but, alas, few–great rooms great. That’s why we call it Treorsi–“Three Bears” in Italian–because Goldilocks knew what she wanted and found it at their house.***Out back, an earth and arboreal tiered windbreak/privacy screen mitigates the fierce eastern Sierra glare, heat, and wind that thwarts al fresco entertaining for owners of southern- and western-exposures most summer late afternoons, enabling this backyard to remain comfortable and calm for happy hour and later, all season long. Here, the landscape feels like the stepped gardens of Sausalito or Tiburon; a densely layered, shady curtain wall of botanical color and texture that creates a sanctuary inside and out. This is the largest (.55 acre) lot in the enclave, a fact you’ll appreciate someday when the big side yard to the north (we call it the “boulder lawn”) buffers you from your new neighbors. Boulder lawn is also a nice place to sit and enjoy the view of the eastern foothills. As well, Treorsi comes with a Montreux rarity: a fully-fenced backyard. (Montreuvians call them “dog runs.” even if they don’t contain dogs.) The garages also have value-added features: the heated north garage (1+golf cart) has steel-countered millwork, an air compressor, and an epoxy floor; the south garage (2) has an extensive (and expensive) racking and hanging storage system, all of which stays.***Before you leave, sit on the front terrace awhile. Lizard-watch; listen to birdsong; feel the breeze on your skin. One of our favorite things to do is nap here; we recommend trying it when it’s yours.****A note to our Montreux neighbors: As you know, showings must be accompanied, but we’d like to invite you to come for a less formal visit. Around dusk, it’s nice to circumnavigate the house on foot. We’re gone, but we’ve left lights on and all the shades are open, so you’ll be able to preview the property without bothering anyone. There’s no security system, no surveillance, no locked gates, so don’t worry that you’ll set anything off and we won’t be watching. (Honestly, we never even locked our doors when we lived here.) We’d make it into an excuse to go for a walk with a cocktail and our friends, but that’s just us.