As any designer who has worked on projects with dramatic siting can confirm, it’s better to complement rather than compete with the beauty of nature. Claire Ownby, design principal of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Ownby Design, recognized this reality in this home – an erstwhile stucco-clad McMansion that had been radically transformed set in the desert community of Paradise Valley – and knew that natural materials would play a prime role in her design.
“Embracing the desert surroundings, we selected a muted palette and minimalistic design style that would sit quietly in the background of Camelback Mountain,” said Ownby.
Natural Materials Link to Landscape
In the open kitchen, the designer chose vertical-grain, rift-sawn white oak for the cabinets, as it coordinates with the Douglas-fir ceilings and walls in the home, as well as with the buff limestone floors. A working island and a twin eating island are topped with light quartzite stone counters. Over the range, a band of blackened steel encloses the ventilation hood and echoes an architectural accent used throughout the home.
The clients didn’t want daily kitchen activities to intrude upon the experience of the adjacent areas of the open-plan home, which included the great room, family room and dining room. Ownby’s solution was to create a boxy, pavilion-like pantry clad in the same white oak as found in the kitchen. Insulated from the main house yet convenient to the main kitchen, it provides a discreet home for secondary appliances, prep space, and storage.
For the primary bath, the homeowners requested a space that would allow them to interact and enjoy each other’s company. While Ownby accommodated that immediate need by placing the tub, shower and vanity around the perimeter of the expansive room to optimize circulation, she was also conscious of the couple’s longer-term comfort and wellbeing.
“Keeping the future in mind, we knew it was essential to make this space easily adaptable and universal in design,” she said. The oversized, curbless shower features two comfort-height benches and easily accessible hand showers that are strategically placed for multiple bathing options. A linear drain maintains the minimalist aesthetic. The vanity has both open and enclosed storage installed at different heights. White oak cabinets and stone and tile surfaces continue the thematic use of natural materials in the design.
