Photos by Laura Moss Border collies Snoopy and Lola rest under a series of high arches at the entrance to this Argentine-inspired Arizona ranch residence owned by Donna and Mort Fleischer.

A Sonoran Desert Estancia IS a PLACE of Rare Distinction

Just when you think you’re leaving civilization behind, you reach the gates of Donna and Mort Fleischer’s MorDo Ranch, a 100-acre spread in northeast Maricopa County.

The couple combined their first names to come up with MorDo, and the unique desert venue likewise is a combination of their interests and personal style.

Her husband, retired from the world of real estate finance, is now the “gentleman rancher” he desired to be, reports a smiling Donna. She is a trained horticulturist with her own greenhouse on-site, and still an Iowa farm girl at heart, she says.

The first hint that you are entering an out-of-the-ordinary place is not far beyond the gate, where a penned buffalo—a gift from Donna to Mort—surveys the scene. Arenas and a stable for horses are not far off. The homeowners raise cutting horses, used for working with cattle, and Donna has ridden them in competition. Around the bend is the pièce de résistance—a stately home with an intriguing air.

The residence, designed by the late George Christensen and built by Kitchell Custom Homes, could just as well sit on an Argentine Pampas ranch, with gauchos on horseback circling about. And that was the couple’s plan. “I always wanted to be a rancher,” says Mort. “Some years ago, Donna and I decided to live that dream and built this home. Donna found a book on Argentine estancias, and we thought their European influence would be perfect for a Sonoran Desert horse ranch. It turned out to be so.”

An English Tudor table, circa 1600, takes center stage in this light-filled foyer. The sculpture of a lion and lioness, titled Lion et Lionne, is by Louis Riche. The Oriental rug is antique, while the silver sconce is a Spanish Colonial reproduction. Granite cobblestones run in a border around the space. Carved wooden doors lead to the master suite; the wall just beyond showcases a collection of Spanish Colonial iron kitchen and ranch-related implements.

As in Argentina, both ranch site and house are called estancias. Sophisticated and elegant with a measure of rustic restraint, the estancia’s interiors—with assistance from interior designer Nancy Kitchell—give new meaning to the “collected look.” That is because, as Donna relates, “We are insatiable collectors.”

The large great room with Spanish-style beamed ceiling, for example, is an exciting repository of the Fleischers’ finds. In the midst of the room’s modern-day upholstered pieces are antiques, artifacts, art and curiosities. Ornate chairs that once belonged to Imelda Marcos of the Philippines and Egypt’s King Farouk are in a cozy conversation grouping near the high stone-faced fireplace, its stones rescued from a former home that had burned down.

That fire figured into the design scheme, according to the interior designer. “The challenge here was to bring back to life some of the wonderful pieces that had smoke damage, refurbishing and recovering them,” she recalls. Also in the great room, a saddle, gleaming with silver repoussé adornment, seems a work of art and is part of Mort’s historic American Western saddle collection, numbering nearly 170.

Art throughout the house and in a separate ranch building includes paintings created by American and Russian Impressionists. There are enough works to fill a museum, and once did—the former Scottsdale-based Fleischer Museum.

With all of its fine accoutrements, the couple’s residence is a comfortable place that suits their casual ranch lifestyle. Very “forgiving,” the home’s scored-concrete floors allow the two border collies to freely roam about, and the Fleischers to come in from outside without removing their cowboy boots. The canine pets were trained to herd cattle, and they travel with the homeowners to perform their work. Reports Mort: “A few years ago we completed our dream by buying a cattle ranch in Montana, where we raise Black Angus cattle.”

Kitchell, a 1990 Phoenix Home & Garden Master of the Southwest, says of MorDo Ranch and the home’s estancia style, “It was exciting to see it all come together. The mix was elegant and rustic—a collection that speaks of real history and interesting people.”

At the fireside grouping, the leather sofa was rescued from a fire at a former home and refurbished, says interior designer Nancy Kitchell. Beyond the fireplace, the portrait of Mort Fleischer on horseback is by Buck McCain, as is the bust on a pedestal (below) near Alexey Steele’s portrait of Donna Fleischer.

The expansive great room is multi-purpose, with areas for dining, conversation, playing pool at an 1895 pool table, and TV-watching.

Ample in size, an L-shaped granite-topped island in the kitchen is perfect for food prep and casual dining. The silver candelabra was a Christmas gift from her husband, says Donna Fleischer. A collection of copperware is displayed on a shelf.

Simple elegance defines the powder room, where a hammered-silver sink is set in a carved cantera base designed by Nancy Kitchell. The mirror’s angel-dotted silver frame is a Spanish Colonial reproduction, and the iron sconce is an Italian design.

Like a piece of gold jewelry, the dining room’s ornately framed mirror is a source of attraction and has been for centuries; from Spain, the High Baroque piece is circa 18th century. Beneath the mirror is an English linenfold chest dating from the 1700s. The tall antique vases are Gorham silver. The early-20th-century wooden dining table with carved edge is topped with embossed leather. Titled Grace, a sculpture of a giraffe by Dan Ostermiller sits on a tray among silver pieces as a centerpiece. An Italian reproduction iron chandelier hangs above the table.