Mountain Rustic Lodge — Case Study
Same mountain lodge as 'Back side.jpg' front view, dark wood board-and-batten, fieldstone chimney and base, warm interior glow, misty pine forest setting, covered porch
Client
Confidential
Industry
Luxury Residential Architecture
Objective
Design visualization and marketing collateral for a luxury residential architecture project in Napa Valley, CA
Deliverables
6 photorealistic exterior renders across eye-level, elevated viewpoints
Project Overview
When Confidential brought us Mountain Rustic Lodge, the design was nearly complete but the project’s visual identity didn’t exist yet. Our job was to create it — a suite of images that would define how the world first encounters this luxury residential architecture project.
The Challenge
Several factors made this project demanding. None of them were insurmountable, but together they required careful planning and constant communication.
The design had details that only become visible at close range — joinery, hardware, texture variation. These details are exactly what separates a good render from a great one, and the Confidential knew it.
Consistency across the full gallery was essential. When someone flips through all the images, they should feel like they’re walking through one coherent place — not looking at renders made by different people on different days.
The material palette was specific and unforgiving. Certain finishes — the way light catches a particular stone, how a timber grain reads at different scales — had to be precise or the entire image would feel off to anyone who knows the real thing.
Our Approach
Landscape and context modelling happened in parallel with the architecture. Trees, ground cover, street furniture, and sky were all custom-built for this project’s specific location and character.
Lighting studies came early. We rendered quick test frames at multiple times of day and in multiple weather conditions, then presented options to the Confidential so the mood was locked before we invested in final-quality production.
The 3D model was built methodically from architectural plans, elevations, and sections. We cross-referenced everything to catch discrepancies that could show up as visual errors in the final renders.
Camera positions were proposed based on what the architecture does best — the moments where form, material, and light come together most compellingly. We presented grey-shaded compositions for approval before adding materials and entourage.
Material development was a dedicated phase, not an afterthought. We sourced or created every texture to match the specification documents, testing each one under the project’s target lighting conditions before locking it in.
The Result
The delivered visualization package has become the primary visual identity for Mountain Rustic Lodge. It’s used across the project website, investor materials, printed brochures, and social media — a single visual language that holds together across every format.
Need renders for your own project? Tell us about it — we’d like to hear what you’re working on. Or see more work like this.
Project Gallery
