Near Death Valley, a Vacation Rental Gets the Designer Touch
You wouldn’t think that one of the hottest, driest places on Earth would attract many visitors. But Death Valley National Park — home to snowcapped mountains, rolling sand dunes, curious wildlife and, yes, extreme heat — has seen visitation double over the past nine years. In fact, a record 1,678,660 people visited the park in 2018, according to the National Park Service. And the month with the most visitors was August, when temperatures often top 120 degrees Fahrenheit — in the shade!
Recently, designer Karen McAloon and business partner Mikel Hubbard took note of this, er, hot spot and decided to get in on the 282-feet-below-sea-level ground floor. They bought a run-down ranch-style house and used Houzz to turn the property into a fun, funky and design-minded short-term vacation home for travelers looking to stay minutes from the park entrance.
Love it!
I'd like to visit and stay for a few days or even a week.
so nice
Beautiful remodel! I am curious why the exterior was painted a dark blue which absorbs the heat usually causing higher utility bills...I didn't read anything about extra wall insulation in the article. Did this change increase the load on the HVAC system and utility bills?
Like the structural changes made to the period of the home opening it up, they did great with that aspect. In terms of decor find it quite busy for a rental property in that it's lots to maintain, and the marrying of the 2 styles in some ways didn't work for me. It definitely has a homey cosy feel that you can appreciate when on holidays.
Nothing to do with Houzz or this story, but WHY would anyone name a place "Death Valley"?
WEIRD.
Such a great remodel. So cozy and rustic! Love the black appliances in the kitchen. Stainless is outdated in my opinion. Would love our vacation home in CO to look like this -- Grandma meets mountains??? :-)
Love all of it but was wondering if the fencing doesn't obstruct the fabulous views???
Super house! very cool place to visit! I LOVE so much of it especially that couch!
Maggielou362...read the story about Death Valley...lots of history through that part of the county...
to maggielou362-
Death Valley was given its forbidding name by a group of pioneers lost here in the winter of 1849-1850. ... As the party climbed out of the valley over the Panamint Mountains, one of the men turned, looked back, and said "goodbye, Death Valley."
Really loving this remodel for the area! Totally getting the grandma-meets-cowboy-meets-Fear&Loathing in LV- feel and they nailed it.
I wish I had this kind of vision!
Fantastic. I love the black and white scheme. The floors are wonderful as are the tile(s), counters, and the muted blue tones of the bathroom. Again, fantastic vision.
@Maggielou362 - Google Death Valley, then you will know
Love this! Great contrast. Especially love the floor, the black cabinets, and the countertops. Only thing I would do different is no leather pulls/knobs. I would think they would permanently stain.
Gorgeous! Kitchen and dining room are my favorite rooms.
Camped under the stars and hiked through Death Valley in Feb one year which was an awesome experience, but, beware of extremely deadly snakes - especially the sidewinder rattlesnake. Also lots of coyotes and scorpions. Could be the reason for the fence around the house, although scorpions are quite good at getting into houses. - GGsandiego: desert born and raised - moved to the coast.
I love your new style to tell the decorating story. The old "formula" was getting predictable. Thank you! It is a beautiful place where I would love to vacation!
This grandma would like to meet that cowboy!
How do you arrange to rent it? Contact information?
This is a most beautiful remodel from the outdoor space and into all of the indoor spaces. I'd love to live here just as it is. My question is how much was spent including the cost of the property. And what is the cost of renting this home.
Lovely! What a fun, beautiful space to stay at while enjoying Death Valley.
fabulous!!!!!!
a bit of Western History in "Death Valley"...enjoy the Spring wild blooms!
There are good ideas here, but overall it suffers somewhat from clutter and a too frequent juxtaposition of discordant colors and styles. This is a failing that plagues many rennovations right now. They do what is popular in the moment, but a few years hence many of the choices will be recognized as false notes in the composition. It takes a rare sensibility, say an Yves St. Laurent, to do this kind of thing and have it pass the test of time.
Like!
Very lovely done. But I am curious: how comfortable it is, given the very hot weather? I did not see any vent on a ceiling. Any AC?
I cannot imagine dusting all of those chairs and rails, etc. in that area of the country.
Thank you all for your kind comments! Just wanted to answer some of your questions:
The house can be rented on Airbnb-
https://airbnb.com/rooms/31180416?adults=1&source=explore_tabs&guests=1&ref_device_id=063156ed3b1248dd698626623db758ea88f6645b&s=41&user_id=10181491
Jeannette: The dark blue exterior color doesn’t really impact heating/cooling. We have mini splits in each room for zone temperature control!
aca1998: I have a secret weapon to achieve the perfect fence height- Mikel! He’s exactly 6’ tall, so while I stood in the LR looking at the mountains, he walked around till he blocked the driveway view but I could see those gorgeous mountains over his head! Thats where the new 6’ fence went
Ah, I see. Very interesting , thanks for the history lesson. Death Valley sounds like an appropriate (if unfortunate) name :)
beautiful. I am surprised there is not some way to shade those outdoor areas. I live in the desert, not too far from here and shade is really important. Many of the folks that visit Death Valley are Europeans. They love it.
Thank you
Fantastic!!
Come on guys, tell the truth. Did you really design this all by yourselves?
If so then you’ve got MEGA talent.
Tina. South Africa
Brilliant idea and design near one of the best national parks. There isn't exactly a glut of housing there (unlike J-Tree where people are snapping up shacks and turning them into boho chic rentals) so this vacation re-do is a real win-win. Bravo!
getting out of CA never a bad plan!
Mandy- those great Windsor chairs came from Houzz!!! Look in the story, they should have a direct link to them! Fyi- the backs are metal and the seat is wood. I chose the metal backs over all wood as I feel like it will stand up to rental use while still being super duper stylish!
kafehausdiva- Yup. All me designing! Some choices were directed by budget rather than my (expensive) first choices, but thats part of design: Looking good & making it fit the budget!
agorski- Glad you think so too! That fireplace was what sold me on the house...it’s gorgeous!!!
XKaren
In the after exterior photo (second from top) was the grass across the street photoshopped to make for a better shot......don't think grass grows/grows that color in Death Valley???
I loved that black leather Windsor chair with ottoman tucked in the corner. I didn't know I wanted one until I saw this great video.
Love the Dining chairs. where did they come from.
What a great remodel and so creative for a vacation rental! Congratulations! The exterior with the French doors and the patio really turned out nice! The only thing I question is painting the exterior such a dark color. While it looks really fab, I have to imagine that dark paint will not fare too well in an environment with high temps/ daily extreme sun. Repainting is such a chore, LOL I try to remind myself I want to do as little of it as possible.
it's really awesome