SubscribeGet The Magazine
mobile-logo
back to top
Homepage / Architecture  / Wings Over the Desert

Wings Over the Desert

David Dick’s Paradise Valley design takes flight.

By Robrt Pela | Photography by Phil Paul

“It’s the angled roofline,” Scottsdale architect David Dick says about the Paradise Valley home he’s dubbed The Butterfly House. “The bend in the roofline makes the house appear to float like a butterfly over the desert.”

His clients weren’t necessarily looking for a new home that resembled a winged insect. They’d asked for a design that would be comfortable for two—he’s a builder, she’s a heart surgeon—but could easily host a dozen family members for the holidays. Dick’s final design of the northeastern facing structure became a response to the lot’s views of the McDowell Mountains in one direction and Camelback Mountain in the other.

“There are peek-a-boos in every direction,” Dick says, “that make the property itself seem larger than it is. That’s why the roof is bent—to make sure that no matter where you are inside, you’re seeing mountains.”

“We designed a glass entry that looks like it’s inviting you in even while it’s creating some privacy,” Dick says. The stairwell references the shape and design of the chimney, using the same inset, this time a window that pours light into the staircase instead of a quartzite panel.

Dick took his bigger-than concept into every corner of the project. There are a sun-sheltered outdoor kitchen space and a loft over the bedrooms that became what he calls “activity spaces” where the owners can exercise and work when guests aren’t sleeping there.

Among the architect’s favorite elements of this handsome dwelling is the stained-fir planked ceilings, made dark from an application of steel wool and vinegar. He’s also proud of the steel stovetop hood and wall sconces, both crafted by designer Francis Duckworth. “Those are really something,” the architect says. “The light that glows through them looks trapped behind the glass and just hovers there, illuminating the room—another element that floats like a butterfly.”

The texture of stonework, Dick says, gives the building’s design a “rawness and a Southwestern flavor” that offsets the post-and-beam construction and the Modernistic deep overhangs.
The concept behind the covered patio was to create a space with no dead ends. “I wanted there to be room to circulate, to move in and out through an outdoor living room,” Dick says. He designed a two-sided fireplace and an outdoor area that, in the fall and spring, provides enough shade to keep the patio inviting and livable.
Dick says the height of the ceilings is great enough that the living area feels “disconnected from the ground.”
The home’s lighting designer wanted a series of fixtures that appeared to be floating away. “We wanted them to flow together but also be separate fixtures accenting a different space,” Dick says. “The circles that light the space have an energy of motion, so they always look like they’re about to take off through the windows.”
The homeowner wanted a kitchen hood that complemented the backsplash tile she’d found and that had what Dick calls “the color and texture of graphic movement.” Crafted by designer Francis Duckworth, the steel hood and matching sconces are among Dick’s favorite details in the house.
The home features a dramatic front elevation with soaring cantilevered overhangs. According to architect David Dick, the Butterfly House’s angled roofline “makes it look like someone has pried it open so you can see inside. And the idea that the house looks like a butterfly about to take flight came from that roofline angle.”

Sources

  • Architect: David Dick, Scottsdale, daviddickarchitect.com.
  • Landscape installation and lighting: Mys Landscape, Mesa, mys-landscape.myshopify.com.
  • Lighting design: Walter Spitz, Creative Designs in Lighting, Scottsdale, cdltg.com.
  • Structural and decorative steel, kitchen hood, wet bar shelves, interior/exterior guardrails, cabinetry and wood ceiling: Duck Steel LLC, Phoenix, (480) 371-5234.
  • Countertops: Stone Craft Unlimited, Phoenix, stonecraftunlimited.com.
  • Stone veneer: Solscape Landscape Design Inc., Tempe, (602) 330-2326.
  • Stucco: Butch Walts, Ingram & Walts Plastering LLC, Scottsdale, (480) 596-8587.
  • Pool and spa: Cayman Pool & Spa, Mesa, caymanpoolsaz.com.
  • Decorative tile backsplashes: A. Torres Tile, Phoenix, (602) 750-0625.

Share

RELATED ARTICLES

Sign up for the Phoenix Home & Garden Newsletter

Stay up to date with everything Phoenix Home & Garden!

Our newsletter subscribers will have early access to things like:

  • Upcoming Events & Pre-Sales
  • Special Promotions
  • Exclusive Giveaways!