Clubhouse: Solstice: A Moveable Feat

Solstice finds the perfect Napa Valley home—in Texas.

text by: Jessica Daynor

photos by: James Ray Spahn

December 1, 2008

Graham and Shay Kos, founders of the destination club Solstice, searched for three years for a Napa Valley home to add to their club’s collection of vacation properties. The Koses finally found what they were looking for when the architect of their Telluride residence, Ira Martin, of Tony Martin Builders, showed them a diamond-in-the-rough stone fort he had stumbled upon. Masterfully handcrafted and bursting with character, the 1876 building, a former Pony Express outpost, was everything they had been envisioning. The Koses considered it a done deal, save for one problem: The structure was in Texas.

Knowing that the building would be a great addition to Solstice’s portfolio, the Koses decided to transport it from north-central Texas to Napa. It took 10 stoneworkers 60 days to dismantle the 1,344-square-foot structure, which was hauled to Napa on a train.

The home is the latest chapter in Solstice’s book of storied properties, which includes a 17th-century Paris pied-à-terre, a clandestine retreat on St. Bart’s, a 90-foot yacht that cruises the Northeast and the Caribbean, and nine more properties around the globe that carry an average value of nearly $7 million.

The club was founded in 2004 and currently has 94 members. Membership ranges from $615,000 to $1.95 million, with annual dues from $34,000 to $86,000, and grants between 14 and 56 days of annual reserved access, as well as unlimited use on a space-available basis. "We have a smaller club with a smaller membership base and a smaller amount of properties, so we tend to focus on quality versus quantity," says Graham. "We like to do things that are different, so that when you’re in a home, you get a sense of where you are, as opposed to being in a three-bedroom condo that looks the same in Paris as it does in New York and London. We find the needle in the haystack in every location, and we spend a lot of time and effort on the details."

Still, the Napa property has been the Koses’ greatest labor of love to date. The home, dubbed "Indian Gap" after the Texas settlement in which it was found, was reconstructed in the Napa Valley town of Rutherford and overlooks Robert Mondavi Winery’s vineyards. It now comprises five structures: a 2,000-square-foot great house, a detached study, and three 1,100-square-foot master suites, each with generously sized spa bathrooms, outdoor showers, and private meditation gardens. The original structure serves as the great house and was reproduced in Napa almost exactly as it was in Texas, with additional materials, that include recycled timbers from Canada and a wooden floor from a 1950s sewing factory.

Shay, a former graphic designer who now designs the interiors of most of Solstice’s properties, calls the home’s decor "sophisticated industrial," which is evident in elements such as the contraption of gears that opens and shuts the great room’s glass wall and the chains that are threaded through 150-year-old hand-hewn beams. "I shopped for this home for several years," says Shay, who sourced some of the furnishings on European shopping trips. Among the home’s standout pieces are 12 antique ceramic glove molds repurposed to hold toilet paper, a C-130 airplane wing fashioned into a desk, and an old gym locker and leather European gym mat that are used as coffee tables. Other touches include custom beds and a kitchen island concealing four attached stools.

Outside, the home features a pool, a spa, a barbecue, and a bocce ball court, all of which overlook a windmill, vineyards, and valley. The site, all but lost in acres of fruit, is so private, it is easy to forget that activities such as hot-air ballooning, wine tasting at the Cakebread Cellars and Beaulieu Vineyard wineries, and golfing at the Chardonnay Golf Club or the Silverado Country Club & Resort are nearby. In fact, the Koses love the location so much, they bought the lot next door and will introduce a second Napa Valley home in about two years. Graham says that while Indian Gap’s neighbor will be equally "unique and unusual," it will not come from Texas.

Solstice, 877.727.5535, www.solsticecollection.com
Tony Martin Builders, 830.685.3100, www.tonymartininc.com