Modern, Rustic Elements Fill A Scottsdale Retreat

Details

modern exterior sitting area pool...

With the interiors so prominently visible from the back patio, the designers considered it vital to continue their decorating ethos outside. To that end, they chose streamlined pieces from RH Modern for the exterior dining and living areas.

modern bathroom monochromatic black and...

In the powder room, Elitis wallpaper from Town complements the monochromatic scheme throughout the house. An artist in his spare time, Martin created the works on the wall.

modern hallway black and white...

A palm-wood vessel acquired through Turner Martin Design cuts an imposing presence in the entry hall; the rustic table is from China. "Lots of found objects, such as the primitive wood pieces, add visual interest," Martin says.

modern living room gray couches...

An A. Rudin sofa and loveseat covered in Osborne & Little fabric from Dean-Warren anchor a seating area in the living room, which includes custom swivel armchairs in a Designers Guild fabric, also from Dean-Warren. Above the fireplace is a painting by David Dauncey from Costello Childs Gallery; on the coffee table is a ceramic bowl by Darcy Badiali.

modern kitchen black and neutral

A work by Lisa McLean hangs in the kitchen on the pantry wall, which the designers covered in Shou Sugi Ban laminate for a bold effect. The space is outfitted with an Ultralights ironbanded pendant, Eurofase recessed lighting, ebonized-ash barstools and various antique vessels--all sourced through Turner Martin Design. Outside the window is a steel-panel fence the designers added to create a more dramatic sense of arrival.

modern dining room black leather...

Two more pendants from Ultralights hang above the dining room's table and black leather chairs; Loren Yagoda's calligraphic painting from Costello Childs Gallery perches on a custom easel made by Elliot's Custom Welding and Fabrication. Throughout the house, "the art is very tactile and very graphic," Martin says.

modern black and white bedroom

An Erik Gonzales painting in the master bedroom hangs above a West Elm console table illuminated by a Sonneman lamp. At the foot of the custom bed is an A. Rudin sofa in Robert Allen fabric from Pacific Resource Group. Underfoot is an Indian rug of jute and hemp from Turner Martin Design.<

modern bathroom neutral freestanding square...

A window frames desert views in the master bathroom, which is lined in tile from Arizona Tile.

modern bedroom black and white...

Balinese doors displayed on a wall bring a sculptural bearing to a guest bedroom, where a Jon Wessel work hangs above the clients' steel demilune table. The frame of the custom-designed bed is covered in Romo fabric from Town.

modern exterior entry plate-glass door

John G. Martin and David P. Turner renovated the interiors of a Chicago couple's Scottsdale vacation home, which was originally designed by architect Linc Taylor of Linc Taylor Design. Next to the plate-glass front door in the entry portico, the designers arranged a weathered-teak table laden with antique Chinese wood buckets.

modern exterior landscape

Stacked local stone and plenty of plate glass--mixed with stucco-covered concrete--allow the modernist structure to feel at one with the saguaro-dotted landscape. Martin designed the overall look of the grounds and worked with landscape designer Ervin Bollinger, who selected the appropriate vegetation for each area.

The theatricality of the desert’s mood swings requires an equally dramatic setting from which to view them. That is how designers John G. Martin and David P. Turner approached a modernist Scottsdale retreat originally designed by architect Linc Taylor.

The angularity of the home — which is sheathed in steel-framed curtain walls of glass and supported by rustic stacked stone walls — already establishes a stark contrast to the landscape, but Martin covered a prominent sheetrock pantry with Shou Sugi Ban, a paneling of wood that is charred black to preserve it.

“It created this very dramatic wood-like presence that was very sculptural and cube-like,” explains Martin, who continued this material around the kitchen wall and in both directions down the hall.

The use of Shou Sugi Ban also sparks a conversation about the blackened-steel framing of the house, as well as with art that leans heavily toward graphic and gestural black-and-white works. Ethnic pieces–a hollowed-out palm tree stump, chunky Dogon ladders and Balinese doors–speak both to the monochromatic palette (most are dark to the point of near blackness) and also the rough-hewn character of the flagstone. These also heighten the sense of texture and bring irregular forms to the tailored silhouettes of contemporary furnishings.