When working with young homeowners, designers often come to expect certain requests: guest rooms for friends, a nice layout for entertaining, a a game room, potential space for an expanding family. For this particular 30-something Paradise Valley couple, designer Wendy Black Rodgers was tasked with devising a comfortable, eclectic plan for all the above but also fielded a more unusual ask: accommodating their brood of animals.
“We’re huge dog people, so we knew everything needed to be rock solid—bomb proof, more or less,” the husband says. He and his wife, who are heavily involved in animal welfare, have goats, geese, ducks, about a hundred chickens and four dogs on the property. When they throw a party, 10 dogs might attend. “Durable finishes were the most important design request,” Rodgers notes. Luckily, the couple’s preference for Santa Barbara style in the vein of architect George Washington Smith, with its brick and iron accents, stone floors, dark wood, and handmade Moroccan tile, suited the challenge perfectly.
Having grown up in Arizona, the homeowners were familiar with Rodgers’ designs. “Wendy has a similar taste to my own,” the wife says. “I’ve always loved the Moroccan, old-world style, while keeping things funky and not too serious.” Architects Meredith Thomson and Mark Candelaria, as well as general contractor John Schultz, were also brought on board for the new construction. “The owners have a great appreciation for authenticity,” Thomson notes. “Their parents both have a love for architecture and art, so they were raised with it.”
The two-story house, organized around a central kitchen, is built on five acres with views of Camelback and the McDowell Mountains. Landscape designer Jeff Berghoff appointed the extensive property with plantings that transition from lush near the house to more native, like the cactus garden with pea gravel passages. “It’s a special way to weave through the rest of the grounds,” Berghoff says, which include barns, herb and vegetable gardens, a golf course chipping area, and a pond.
Covered patios off the great room, kitchen and primary bedroom provide southwest views toward Camelback. “The shape of the house itself was patterned after Spanish homes with little indoor-outdoor courtyards,” Candelaria explains. Additional architectural nods to the style include Moorish arches and ironwork, particularly the stair railing. “George Washington Smith was really known for his railing details, so we spent a lot of time with Wendy mocking up the design,” Schultz says. “We wanted to make sure it had an elegant feel.”
Rodgers’ involvement from the outset informed her plans for the interiors. “I made sure the home had clean lines in order to mix traditional Spanish antique furnishings with a more contemporary look,” she says. The designer anchored the abode with dark, weighty wood case goods, many of them Moroccan, featuring moucharaby (carved latticework), or Syrian, with bone inlay. Lighting also comes from Morocco, as well as Mexico. In the dining room, a collection of overhead lanterns from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and vintage moucharaby panels on custom cabinetry built into a Moorish arch niche exemplify the mix.
Carved-wood accents appear throughout: on an entry bench, in several bathroom vanities and on a pair of chests that flank the great room fireplace. The primary bedroom boasts antique Syrian camel-bone inlay doors and an intricately hand-carved black mahogany bed. It’s a modified king plus extra-long twin, providing ample room for visits from the couple’s two mastiffs, who have their own custom-designed dog bed upholstered in rich green velvet.
Of course, a home designed for zoophiles wouldn’t be complete without some animalistic accents. A Mexican dog sculpture sits at the base of the stairs, while a cheetah-print rug in the game room and tiger-covered wallpaper in a powder room add charming feline touches. Reptilian nods are also found throughout thanks to serpentine rugs in the foyer and a guest room as well as the primary bedroom’s snake door handles.
To ensure the dwelling stands the test of time, Rodgers notes that the “structure works with a number of design styles” in the event that, as the couple grows together, their Spanish Colonial-leaning tastes change. But so far, the pair couldn’t be happier in their dream home, beloved by them, their family and social circle, as well as their many furry and feathered friends.
