When building a home on a beautiful desert hillside, you have some serious site planning and engineering to consider. When designing a home nestled into the side of a rocky hill outside Phoenix, architects Jon Bernhard and Mike Wetzel of Swabuck Partners knew they had to bring in the engineers and the big trucks - big trucks full of massive boulders. The boulders ensured that the hillside was stable and retained its natural beauty, and they enhanced the way the house and its built landscape related to its spectacular surroundings. The architects were ‘guided by the owners’ appreciation for outdoor living and the qualities the native desert has to offer,’ says Bernhard. Single-slope, computer-engineered roofs follow the shape of the hillside. ‘The deep roof slopes match and follow the mountain slope, and cantilevered terrace areas soften the home’s imprint on the property,’ says Bernhard. ‘This light touch on the site is further represented by the use of desert colours and textures, and by blurring the line between the native and the man-made by engaging boulders and landscaping within the living areas.’ This included integrating water, which cascades down the hill and appears to continue across the patio and out past the entrance. All of the interior spaces take full advantage of the natural light and surrounding views, and it’s hard to know where the interiors end and the outdoors begins. Both indoors and out, spaces range from soaring and open to small and intimate. Because this home transitions so seamlessly from front to back, side to side, and indoors and out, it’s only fitting that we will be hopping from outdoors to indoors and back out again along this tour. Houzz at a Glance Who lives here A family of five Location Outside of Phoenix, Arizona Size 4 bedrooms, including a guest house with 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom That’s interesting Some of the boulders added to the site were so large they were brought in singly on their very own trucks.

Ancarva 4 - Terrace/Balcony

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