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Homepage / Interior Design  / This Paradise Valley Home Blends Luxury Design with a Working Family Farm

This Paradise Valley Home Blends Luxury Design with a Working Family Farm

Santa Barbara style meets a couple’s love of entertaining in this pet-friendly Paradise Valley dwelling.

By Nora Burba Trulsson | Photography by Austin LaRue Baker

From a strictly aesthetic standpoint, the Paradise Valley home is gracious and elegant. Set on a 5-acre parcel with views of Camelback Mountain, the two-level, 8,500-square-foot abode was detailed in the Santa Barbara style by architect Mark Candelaria and solidly constructed of masonry block by builder John Schultz. Within the thick walls, interior designer Wendy Black Rodgers wove together an inviting setting, mixing Mexican, Moroccan and Southwestern motifs, drenched in hues of emerald, peacock blue and ochre. Outdoors, landscape designer Jeff Berghoff defined the property with a series of sinuous rock walls and created garden areas that showcase everything from specimen cactus and aloes to fragrant annuals.

Dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear that this home is not a generic beauty. It is, in fact, a residence custom-tailored to its owners. There’s a tricked-out kitchen and pantry worthy of a James Beard Award-winning chef, not to mention a wine cellar tucked under the winding staircase. There’s a dining room that can easily seat 12, plus numerous other areas for entertaining. Then there is a custom upholstered dog sofa for Hammond and Cheese (get it?), two Danish mastiffs that roam the interior, occasionally accompanied by Lucy the goose. Did we mention the barn at the edge of the garden? It’s home to several dozen chickens, 10 goats, some pigs, ducks and two Colorado mountain dogs that patrol the property at night, protecting livestock from coyotes and other predators. And then there’s a lake, where ducks and, occasionally, people splash.

“This is a very personal house,” says interior designer Rodgers , who spearheaded the project and put together the design/build team, all of whom are Masters of the Southwest. “The owners use every square inch of this place.”

Indeed, the owners—a couple starting a family—wanted a home that matched their lifestyle and love of animals. “We live hard,” says the husband with a laugh. “While we wanted a Santa Barbara-style house, we didn’t want anything dainty or destructible. We might have 50 people over for a massive family dinner, and there will be 12 ‘guest dogs’ running in and out.” 

With dog fur, avian feet and epic dinner parties in mind, the home sprang to life several years ago. Architect Candelaria and his then-design colleague Meredith Thompson, walked the site with builder Schultz, using a series of stakes and a cherry picker to plot the house and its views. Inspired by the 1920s works of California architect George Washington Smith, Candelaria detailed the house with wrought iron trim, clay roof tiles, copper downspouts and bracketed awnings, using a turret form to house the interior’s spiral staircase. “Everything here was done to take advantage of the views,” he says, “and we kept the architecture restrained, with a simple palette.”

Inside, Rodgers also kept things simple. “ “The backdrop is simple, without a lot of gewgaws,” she says. “The house can grow with the owners. If they want something more modern in the future, they can change out the furniture and replace the patterned tile.” Rodgers instead focused on comfort, choosing cushy upholstered pieces that invite lounging, sparking the rooms with imported, handcrafted accessory pieces and light fixtures displayed like jewelry. Everything Rodgers suggested was meant to be durable. “The upholstery is outdoor fabrics,” she notes, “and the tile floors can take anything. Even the rugs are not ‘investment’ rugs because you never know what can happen with dogs running around.”

Berghoff’s landscape design included a lusher, more formal look closer to the house and the pool that gently meanders off to more open, natural plantings away from the residence. “We had a huge nursery on site while we were doing construction,” Berghoff notes, “and we salvaged a lot of plants and cactus from the property.” The lake, where koi flash to the surface, creates a reflective foreground for Camelback, adding a sense of depth to the property. Near the barn—where plantings were carefully chosen to be safe for animals, Berghoff created a series of raised beds for vegetables and herbs. 

Settled in the house, the owners have been gracious about sharing it with friends and family, not to mention furry, feathered and scaly friends. Plans are afoot to add on a children’s wing, as the couple is expecting their first child soon.

“This is a legacy house,” Rodgers notes. “It was designed to morph, expand and stay in the family for generations.”

Near the base of Camelback Mountain, a Santa Barbara-style home by interior designer Wendy Black Rodgers, architect Mark Candelaria, builder John Schultz and landscape designer Jeff Berghoff invites gracious living. The architect took inspiration for the front patio from an iconic Paradise Valley restaurant. “We love the see-through fireplace at El Chorro Lodge,” says Candelaria, “and we used a version here.”  Berghoff suggested lusher, formal plantings closer to the residence and installed desert natives at the property’s edges.
A small lake and island, home to ducks, geese and occasional splashing humans, links the house to the barn. “This 5-acre property was part of a larger estate and was just desert when we started,” says landscape designer Jeff Berghoff. “There was a well on site, which allowed us to build the lake and use the water for irrigation.” A fire pit at the lake’s edge is a favorite gathering spot for sunset drinks and mountain views.
Architect Mark Candelaria was influenced by the work of California architect George Washington Smith, who popularized Spanish Colonial Revival style for the homes he designed in Santa Barbara during the 1920s.  Clay tile roofs, wrought iron touches and bracketed awnings mark Candelaria’s pared-down version of the style. He used a creamy white paint for the exterior walls. “I love this color,” he says. “It goes beautifully with the red clay roof and the landscape.” Builder John Schultz championed masonry construction for the project. “This house is solid,” he says, “with walls that are up to 18 inches thick. That allowed us to do the deep, splayed window reveals.”  The husband found the metal dinosaur at a local nursery.
The dining room is a pavilion-like space that opens to the front patio. Interior designer Wendy Black Rodgers melded Mexican, Moroccan and Southwestern influences in the setting, hanging metal and glass pendants from San Miguel de Allende over the table and using a mashrabiya panel for the built-in cabinet doors.
The dining chairs are upholstered in a peacock-blue hue, one of the wife’s favorite colors.  “The owners entertain constantly,” says Rodgers. “We gave them many spots for gatherings. They use every inch of this house.”
The great room’s neutral tones are enlivened by splashes of yellow. Even with elegant looks, the setting is durable for parties and pets, with an easy-care rug and upholstery fabrics. “All of the upholstery is solution-dyed acrylic outdoor fabrics,” interior designer Rodgers notes. “You can put bleach on these, and it will not disturb the colors.”
A beaded dog from San Miguel de Allende guards the spiral staircase up to the game room. Mexican tile was used to detail the stair risers, while a wine cellar was tucked in under the stairs.
The kitchen is the home’s command central. “The husband wanted two 36-inch cooktops so he can cook for the masses,” says interior designer Rodgers. “He also wanted dry-age fridges for the back kitchen for meats and cheeses.” A mesquite-topped island, surrounded by distressed leather barstools, anchors the space. The peekaboo balconies open to the upstairs game room. The kitchen’s piéce de résistance is the boveda ceiling. “The husband’s childhood home had this kind of a ceiling,” explains builder Schultz, “and he wanted to re-create it here. The craftsman who did the ceiling laid on his back on a scaffold for weeks, installing it brick by brick.”
Patterned tile walls, Moroccan pendant lights and arabesque tile flooring, inset with pebble grout, mark the powder room.
“The husband loves hidden passages,” says Rodgers, “and his favorite childhood book was ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’
I took the front off an old armoire and installed it as secret doors to the powder room.” Tiger-patterned wallpaper adds a humorous touch to the setting. The leaded glass window is by Scottsdale artist Kevin Douds.
Blue patterned tile, a Moroccan-inspired mirror and pendant lights set the tone in a guest suite.
Deep aquamarine and olive green combine to create a soothing setting in a guest suite.
Douds created the leaded glass bathroom window.
The interior designer contrasted the solid blocks of color—including the wallpapered ceiling—with heavily carved and inset furnishings and accessories.
The interior designer furnished the generously proportioned back patio to complement the pieces in the adjacent great room. “When the doors are open, it makes it seem like it’s all one space,” says Rodgers. The patio has views of the pool, the mountain and, behind the trees, the barn and vegetable garden.

“This home is all about family, friends and the animals.”

Wendy Black Rodgers, interior designer

Bougainvillea underscores a vista of Camelback Mountain. “We had a huge nursery on site during construction,” says landscape designer Berghoff. “We were able to salvage a lof of the desert natives.”

FARM AND TABLE (Sources)

  • Architect: Mark Candelaria and Meredith Thompson, Candelaria Design Associates, Scottsdale, candelariadesign.com
  • Builder: John Schultz, Schultz Development, Scottsdale, schultzdevelopment.org
  • Interior designer: Wendy Black Rodgers, Wendy Black Rodgers Interiors, Scottsdale, wbrint.com
  • Landscape designer: Jeff Berghoff, Berghoff Design Group, Phoenix, berghoffdesign.com
  • DINING ROOM—Cabinet: Panels from Tierra del Lagarto, Scottsdale, tierradellagarto.com; fabricated by TMC Interior Woodworks, Phoenix, (602) 448-4646
  • Table: rh.com
  • Chairs (custom): wbrint.com
  • Pendant lights: tierradellagarto.com
  • LIVING ROOM—Sofa and chaise (custom): wbrint.com
  • Swivel chairs: crateandbarrel.com
  • Coffee table and chests: tierradellagarto.com
  • STAIRWAY—Tile on stair risers: Handcrafted Tile, Phoenix, hctile.com  
  • KITCHEN—Cabinetry: TMC Interior Woodworks, (602) 448-4646
  • Sinks and faucets: Clyde Hardware, Phoenix, clydehardware.com
  • Bar stools: htddirect.com
  • Appliances: Expressions Appliances, Scottsdale, expressionshomegalleryscottsdale.com
  • POWDER ROOM—Armoire door: noirfurniturela.com
  • Light pendants: tierradellagarto.com
  • Saltillo tile: hctile.com
  • PATIO—Outdoor furniture: tierradellagarto.com; crateandbarrel.com and sunnydazedecor.com
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