Site
sights inside and out
by
RaeAnne Marsh
Boasting
uninterrupted vistas of Sonoran Desert terrain
and distant city lights, and even catching
a glimpse through mountain contours of a manicured
golf course, this 6,884‑square‑foot
Desert Mountain home stretches far over its
acre‑plus lot.
The
scenery outside competes with the home’s interior
for first impression. A wide window wall spans
the far side of the great room, showing the
negative‑edge swimming pool falling
off to a natural
landscape thick with saguaro, ocotillo, sage
and other desert natives, with mountains as
backdrop. The window panels retract completely
into the walls at either side, expanding the
great room out to the patio.
Interior
features and finishes hold their own against
that competition: accent walls of natural,
locally mined DC Ranch stone and a floor of
chiseled‑edge travertine run through
with rich brown, glassy streaks of true onyx.
The foyer is a cylindrical space contained
within curving stone walls, in which slit
openings allow views to the rooms beyond and
thus add a sense of spaciousness.
It almost literally sets the stage for the
home’s further impact, as it is a platform
from which you descend two steps to the main
floor. A look into the foyer from the great
room catches the dramatic effect of a ring
of clerestory windows filtering light into
the space.
Cantera
accents blend with the natural texture of
the walls’ hand‑troweled plaster as
well as with the aforementioned stack stone
and travertine. Unusual uses such as interior
window ledges in kitchen and dining areas
augment its more traditional presence as fireplace
mantel, helping carry it through as a design
element. Its use is especially striking lining
the doorway of the wine cellar.
Another
feature vying for first attention is the wine
cellar opposite the foyer. Like the foyer,
the wine cellar is a cylindrical architecture
whose rounded, rather than right‑angled,
shape adds to the easy flow of the home’s
floor plan. In echoes of the front door’s
artistic rendering, the room features wrought
iron (more elaborate than the front door,
and, appropriately, in a pleasingly asymmetrical
grape leaf design) over the door’s inset window.
Inside,
the cellar holds 575 bottles of wine and offers
two countertop surfaces of wood that, in its
earlier life, was actual wine barrel staves.
Below a peek‑a‑boo window to the
dining room is a humidor drawer for cigars.
The room’s CellarTec climate control can be
monitored over the Internet, allowing the
homeowner control when away as well as when
home.
Wood‑lined
cove ceilings are a signature of the builder,
John Tracy Desert Golf Properties, and they
help define such dedicated spaces as the formal
dining room and the breakfast nook. The great
room’s ceiling is a loftier vault also made
of wood.
Beyond
the dining room and the kitchen, the great
room narrows to a wide hallway leading to
the secondary bedrooms. Both are suites,
but the first is a mini‑master with
a fireplace, a reading nook and patio access.
Its bathroom features an air‑jet tub
in an alcove that looks out to Desert Mountain’s
natural landscape, and an oversize shower
with a comfortably proportioned bench. Design
details in this, as in all bathrooms, include
mosaics executed in tiny tiles set into shower
walls or vanity backsplashes of travertine
or marble.
