Discover An Indoor-Outdoor Living Haven In Arizona

After years in their adobe-style Arizona vacation abode, one Chicago couple felt it was time for a change. Like many Sonoran snowbirds, they desired a property with golf course access and plentiful mountain views, and this North Scottsdale lot offered both. With this opportunity to build from scratch, they wanted to focus on creating an effortless flow between indoors and out for easy entertaining.

“We designed this house to feel like it has open arms that welcome you inside,” says architect Erik Peterson, who set the home high on its site to capture the vistas. His gracious entry sequence brings visitors through an intimate courtyard seating area flanked by two wings—one with guest rooms, the other with the living spaces and primary suite. “They wanted visitors to have their own defined areas but still be attached to the main house, not in separate casitas,” Peterson explains.

“The clients also wanted a fairly traditional exterior but a more transitional interior with lots of social space, inside and out, so this plan really offers that,” the architect continues. Once through the courtyard, the front door opens to a light-filled foyer that brings guests into the great room. There, an open living area and kitchen connect to their alfresco counterparts via large glass doors. The covered patio nearly mirrors the indoor space, offering plentiful seating, a generous dining table and a kitchen with a pizza oven. Extending beyond is a pool and surrounding gardens by landscape designer Jeff Berghoff. It’s just the indoor-outdoor ease the homeowners envisioned.

Balancing the contemporary open layout are historically inspired details. Through clever adaptations of 18th-century architectural elements (chevron-patterned floors, wall and crown moldings, coffered ceilings, exterior openings cased with limestone), Peterson introduced a sense of relaxed formality. These simplified, crisp nods toward classic design add an elevated feel without being stuffy. “It’s a Santa Barbara style but not too rustic,” general contractor Anthony Salcito notes. “Erik gave it these cleaner lines and a more modern look. It’s a nice mix.”

“Because the owners’ previous home here was adobe style, they were really open to doing things differently with this house,” interior designer Lissa Lee Hickman adds. The goal was to create calmingly monochromatic rooms that encourage togetherness while being durable enough for grandkids, challenges the designer met with stain-treated fabrics, synthetic leathers and quartzite countertops. “I like to think of it as ‘approachable glamour,’ ” she muses.

Hickman kept to a soft palette throughout the dwelling but carefully crafted moments of darker color for visual interest, like the charcoal-blue washable velvet of the living area’s armchairs. “Using different finishes and textures makes the rooms feel more layered and collected,” she says, noting how the veining of the great room’s stonework speaks to the graining of the wood floors and kitchen cabinetry while playfully echoing the mountain views. When furnishing the adjacent covered patio, Hickman sought “equally comfy” upholstered pieces to ensure that it augmented the great room as “a dual living space,” she says.

Off the kitchen is the formal dining room, a separate and more defined space where Hickman included a polished-steel wine cabinet and again found cozy upholstered seating for the fire pit just outside. “As with the great room, both spaces can be enjoyed at the same time,” the designer explains. “You can open up the dining room and people can lounge both inside and out.”

Balancing the happy hubbub of the public spaces is the couple’s bedroom suite at the far end of the house. Soft whites and grays highlight the room’s decorative moldings, while subtle prints and textures play on the desert terrain. Personalizing the suite is a sky-lit seating area where the couple can enjoy quieter pursuits, like reading and needlework. “This house is a great example of how a home can be elegant and user-friendly at the same time,” Hickman says.

“I think this mix of Spanish styling with formal and contemporary elements was really exciting for all of us,” Peterson adds. “The result is luxurious and modern but livable, because it’s also cozy.”