When John and I decided to build our Arizona home, one of the most important factors for us in constructing it was honouring the actual location itself.
This region is a very special place, and the mountains and desert are so unique to the state. There’s obviously the Grand Canyon, that mile-deep chasm carved by the Colorado River, or the spectacular Sonoran Desert. It’s an environment that really and truly needs to be championed.
Arizona home is all about location
So, when we thought of building a home, it was very critical we create a space that blends seamlessly into the landscape, while also looking like a sophisticated country home.
In that vein, we’re building our home on the side of a mountain and in close proximity to Camelback. I’ve put a lot of thought into the colour of the sky and the scale of the mountains when mapping out our blueprints for our build.
Stone work from European inspiration
We also have a huge connection to Europe: France and, more significantly, Italy (as that’s where John’s family comes from) so that was the inspiration point for the exterior stone design. We wanted it to feel like a small, elegant country home with timeless design.
We’re using some soft, whitewashed limestone that will all be laid by hand, and what drew us to use this material is the fact that this kind of work really feels like an ancient art: it takes time, patience and a lot of skill, and that fits in nicely with our overall theme.
The finer touches
Our windows are black-paned to add a striking contrast, and they will help ground and define our overall look as well. Our roof is special: made of classic Tuscan clay tiles (gorgeous!) with corbels that sit under the roof edges framing and supporting it. Interestingly enough, that’s a cornerstone for Dunpar Homes, of which I’m creative director. They too focus a lot of attention on beautiful home exteriors in their projects.
Another interesting feature is our garage door. I designed the doors to be drastically different-looking from what you would normally find in a home. We like to keep things interesting!
No surprise we have much to do, so stay tuned here as I’ll be sharing updates as we move along! In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of the progress so far.