They wanted a piece of architecture that used the mountain in unconventional ways,” says architect John Sather of a Paradise Valley home he created with interior designer Anita Lang.
The homeowners, a couple with grown children, were eager to downsize and start fresh with a new multi-level design that hugged their Arizona mountain site. “This is a client we had done a lot of community development work for, and they thought it was about time to develop a ‘community’ for themselves.”
To that end, the couple asked for a home that was small but smart, and that made full use of not only the views but of tucked-away spaces like a protected courtyard and a downstairs wine cellar. They also wanted the structure to blend unobtrusively into the mountain. “One of the biggest early elements was finding indoor-outdoor stone that would relate to the mountain,” says Lang.
The resulting design melds the homeowners’ different tastes (he likes modern, she likes cozy) into a comfortable aesthetic that celebrates the best of their union. “You can create a beautiful design, but if the clients don’t enjoy it, you’ve missed the point,” says Lang. “I’m happy when the clients are happy.”
