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Houzz Tour: Open Living in the Arizona Desert
Spectacular surroundings drove the design for this warm, contemporary, open-plan home north of Scottsdale
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
The spectacular views on this Arizona property change daily from sunrise to sunset, as well as throughout the seasons. "Some of the most amazing views occur during monsoon season, when stunning thunderhead lightning storms move across the mountains," says architect Mark Tate of Tate Design Studio. "Our unofficial nickname for this house is 'Cloud Chaser.'" The landscape was a driving factor from daydream to completed dream home for an Ohio couple who fell in love with the area after vacationing there for many years. They bought the property for the views, and Tate let the clients' wish to live within the desert landscape guide his design.
"The clients lived in a typical Midwestern house that was private, closed-in and didn't embrace the beautiful environment around them. They knew they wanted to live more simply in a space that was open, airy and connected to the landscape, and then they pretty much gave us free rein to design a home that met their needs and goals," says Tate. "They chose this lot because they loved the spectacular views, and we visited the site many times to design a house that made the most of it." The design takes its cues from the site, and Tate ensured that the couple could "live in the view" from every room of the house.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple originally from Ohio
Location: North of Scottsdale, Arizona
Size: 6,300 square feet; 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths
Year built: 2011
That's interesting: The architect's wife, Lisa Tate, is a builder with Platinum Builders, which built this house.
"The clients lived in a typical Midwestern house that was private, closed-in and didn't embrace the beautiful environment around them. They knew they wanted to live more simply in a space that was open, airy and connected to the landscape, and then they pretty much gave us free rein to design a home that met their needs and goals," says Tate. "They chose this lot because they loved the spectacular views, and we visited the site many times to design a house that made the most of it." The design takes its cues from the site, and Tate ensured that the couple could "live in the view" from every room of the house.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple originally from Ohio
Location: North of Scottsdale, Arizona
Size: 6,300 square feet; 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths
Year built: 2011
That's interesting: The architect's wife, Lisa Tate, is a builder with Platinum Builders, which built this house.
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| "The architecture of the house was completely site driven," says Mark Tate. "The land had a curved spine along it that we followed with the hallway of the house." |
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| Tate's response to the spine was a series of radial lines emanating from it. Some of the walls as well as other lines in the house are radii off the curve, providing interesting angles throughout the home. The house was also set up to make the most of the north and northeast views of the mountains. "There are the most spectacular sunsets in these mountains, but a west-facing house makes sunsets intolerable here," explains Tate. He used 3-D modeling on a computer to thoroughly study the sun orientation. |
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| The entrance opens up to this large, open floor plan. When rooms have fewer walls, elements like the ceiling, the lighting design and changing levels define rooms. While Tate designed the great room for large gatherings, he designed the smaller hearth room beyond it to serve as a more intimate space. Even though it's part of a large, open plan, the lower ceiling gives it a cozier feel. Painting: Max Hammond |
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Rectangular floating wood panels on the hallway ceiling mark the spine of the house, connecting all the rooms on the first floor. "The plan of the house is not that much different from a traditional ranch plan," explains Tate. "We just opened it up and put all the rooms on one side of the hallway." The lines in the ceiling and on the floor also serve as radii just as the exterior walls do.
Arizona brown schist, a native stone that can be found naturally all around the property, extends seamlessly from interior walls to exterior walls, as do the pebbles at the edge of the floor.
Arizona brown schist, a native stone that can be found naturally all around the property, extends seamlessly from interior walls to exterior walls, as do the pebbles at the edge of the floor.
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The walls around the stairwell are also angled in deference to the curve, making it necessary for each stair to have a slightly different shape and size from the last. That's where the expert local glass artists at Meltdown Glass came in.
"We had a tight budget on the stairwell, but we spent the money where we needed to, on the glass risers," says Tate. Each tread was handcrafted by a glass artist and kiln fired. An engineer was brought in to make sure the stairs were structurally sound, were safe and met codes such as slip-resistance requirements.
The stairwell also provides passive solar heating during the winter months, picking up warmth and circulating it. "The sun bathes the staircase in sunlight during certain times of day, transforming it into a crystal staircase," he says. The home is Scottsdale Green Build certified.
"We had a tight budget on the stairwell, but we spent the money where we needed to, on the glass risers," says Tate. Each tread was handcrafted by a glass artist and kiln fired. An engineer was brought in to make sure the stairs were structurally sound, were safe and met codes such as slip-resistance requirements.
The stairwell also provides passive solar heating during the winter months, picking up warmth and circulating it. "The sun bathes the staircase in sunlight during certain times of day, transforming it into a crystal staircase," he says. The home is Scottsdale Green Build certified.
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The view of the stairwell from outside reveals the continuity between outdoors, indoors and back out. "Lots of people think you need to run away and hide from the desert climate, but this house embraces it," says Tate. "The exterior is 38 percent glass."
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| Every room in the house has at least one entire wall of glass," says Tate. The glass is insulated and energy efficient, as well as coated to protect from harmful UV rays. Channel-set glazing lets it disappear into the walls and blurs the line between indoors and out. The three-sided cantilevered fireplace creates a striking transition between the large great room and the more intimate hearth room. It sits atop a natural honed limestone slab with chiseled edges. Painting: Max Hammond |
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| A rich material palette including copper, Arizona brown schist and concrete aggregate floors gives the home a warm feeling. While all the blue glass recalls the brilliant Arizona sky, the truth is it was chosen to honor the University of Michigan Wolverines. "The clients are rabid Michigan fans," says Tate. There are also touches of Michigan maize around the house. It's no accident that the television is frozen on a home game and shows the "M" on the field! |
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| More architectural glasswork from Melted Glass dominates the kitchen in Wolverine blue. The cabinets are touch release, eliminating the need for distracting hardware, and the bar floats atop a Marron Cohiba granite countertop. Lighting design throughout the home: Aterra Lighting Design and Controls |
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| "I love to include elements that are floating and cantilevered; it keeps things light, airy and open," Tate says. In the master bath, a Marron Cohiba countertop extends beyond the cantilevered vanity to the bathtub. The backsplash of the vanity includes vertical natural limestone and iridescent glass tiles. More blue glass shows up in the form of small accessories. The clients' love of golf shows up in the form of Arnold Palmer on the flat-screen TV. The bathtub is semirecessed, and the height was set for maximum ease in getting in and out. |
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| Tate created continuity from indoors to out not only with the large expanses of glass, but also by extending the same materials from inside to out. The brown schist we saw used indoors continues to the exterior, from the house's facade to the edge of the pool. The polished concrete aggregate floor changes only in texture, with a washed exposed finish outdoors. The overhangs provide shade starting at around 3 p.m. in the summer, creating a microclimate on the patio that allows the couple to enjoy the outdoors during the hottest months. The sheer descent at the edge of the pool keeps the water circulating and cools it. |
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| The stepped-up roofline plays well against the mountain in the background. The materials of the house make it look like it could have sprung up out of the desert. |
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| "The two keys to a successful job are the clients' embracing the concept and having a builder who gets it," says Tate. "Everyone that worked on this house had a blast. It was fun, it was different and it would have had the same budget had it been square." More: City View: Phoenix Style Blooms in the Desert |
Ideabook updated on July 16, 2012.
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Quick point of interest concerning the Blue Counter Tops - I wrote an article just this morning on Blue Interiors - If you like Blue then take a look at the last picture of the Blue kitchen, it's a stunner. http://hometipster.com/blue-interiors/
When you have enough money, you can build everything you like, and that's okay with me. No, I am not jealous at all, and my style is completely different. In the end, nobody but the owners have to love this house - and I hope they'll enjoy it for many years to come. But please don't call it "green".
While the materials and textures work together well, is it really necessary for a hearth room and a great room? Also, the laundry is clear on the other side of the house, why not have positioned it closer to the his and her closets? Instead of walking almost half the length of a football field to do laundry, all they would have to do is walk maybe 6 feet if the shorten the closets just a bit.
I think the home truly is beautiful, but lets call it what it really is. A sprawling home in the Arizona desert for two homeowners with impeccable taste and an unrealistic idea of what simple means and an unlimited budget for showing off.
This house met Scottsdale's Green Building Standards, which you can read about here:
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/greenbuilding/
Renewed Living hit the nail on the head - the clients didn't want a lot of clutter around (except for University of Michigan paraphernalia, of course!) and wanted to be able to focus their attention on the landscape, creating a home that celebrated and was open to the beautiful surroundings.
Here at Houzz we don't discriminate by size or price; we share everything from teeny-tiny one-room apartments to mansions. This house was not presented as a green story, I simply mentioned the energy-efficient elements and certification standards it meets. While 6000 sq ft is large, when will you be satisfied? When we're all living in recycled cardboard boxes? It's a slippery slope. If someone wants a larger home with room for doing some serious entertaining and putting up lots of friends and family as guests, yet focuses on making sure it is as energy-efficient as possible, I don't believe in taking them to the virtual stockade. Now, that house in the new documentary "Queen of Versailles" (look it up, there were to be ten kitchens), maybe - I'm not sure where my line is on the slippery slope either! :)