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House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas planned around a central courtyard pool. The archival feature highlights how architect William Turnbull Jr. and a design team used trellises, fabric, high ceilings and vivid Marimekko patterns to shape a desert retreat.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home organized around a central courtyard pool and designed to temper the desert climate with shade, water and indoor-outdoor spaces. The archive feature recaps a collaboration involving architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia, designer Michael Haskins and the magazine’s editors.
The home was built on a sandy, treeless site, according to the original report. Its plan turned inward: the courtyard’s pool and palm tree could be seen from every room, while trellises and latticework filtered sunlight. House Beautiful described the water as a cooling presence and the design as an attempt to make the Nevada desert setting more comfortable.
Turnbull, a San Francisco-based architect, adapted standard builder’s materials with custom details including battens and lattices. The house’s high ceilings and exposed beams contributed to an open, pavilion-like feeling. A garage facing the street served as a buffer between the home and its surroundings, and the report described it as an updated carriage house with skylights.
Ratia’s interiors paired patterned materials with practical features. Marimekko flowers and grid patterns appeared in wallpaper, tile and furnishings, while canvas canopies and tent-like coverings created distinct spaces indoors. The kitchen connected the rooms and courtyard; the bedrooms included custom furniture and storage, and the master suite opened toward an outdoor trellis-covered hot tub.
A Desert Home Built Around Shade
The project’s continuing interest lies in the way its layout responds to a specific environment. Rather than presenting the house as a conventional street-facing plan, the 1979 design directs attention toward a private courtyard, pool and garden. The archival account shows how architecture and furnishings worked together: water, screened sunlight and covered outdoor areas were part of the home’s organizing idea, not just decorative additions.
The feature also documents a period design collaboration intended to influence residential construction. House Beautiful said the project was designed to inspire builders and used standard materials that were tailored through details such as lattice and battens. The account offers a record of how editors and designers sought to combine practical construction choices with highly individual interiors.
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The 1979 Design House Project
The home appeared in House Beautiful’s May 1979 issue as its Design House of the Year. The magazine’s original report was written by Susan Grant Lewin. The project was co-sponsored by the American Wood Council and brought together the magazine’s editors, architect Turnbull, Ratia and Haskins.
According to the report, builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada, constructed the house. Its interiors featured products and materials from several suppliers, including Marimekko patterns, Formica surfaces and American Olean tile. The current archive feature frames the project as a past design story worth revisiting, rather than announcing a new construction or renovation.
“Here food is prepared among family and friends.”
— Ristomatti Ratia, creative vice-president of Marimekko, as quoted in House Beautiful’s 1979 report
The Home’s Current Status Is Unknown
The archival feature describes the original design and its reported materials, but does not establish the home’s current condition, ownership or accessibility. It also does not say whether the house remains intact, has been altered or is open to visitors. The account is a retrospective based on the magazine’s archive, not a new inspection of the property.
Some descriptions, including the claim that the design was intended to inspire builders, are presented as part of the original magazine report. The current feature does not provide evidence about the project’s later influence on homebuilding or whether the stated construction methods produced measurable performance benefits in the desert climate.
The Archive Series Looks Back
House Beautiful presents the story as part of its Archive Dive series, which the magazine says will revisit selected material from its archives on a monthly basis. The feature does not announce a new project involving the Las Vegas home or specify a next milestone for the property.
Readers seeking further details about the house’s present-day status would need information beyond this archival account, such as a current property record or a recent report from the magazine. For now, the confirmed development is the publication of a retrospective that brings the 1979 design, its collaborators and its courtyard-centered plan back into view.
Key Questions
What was House Beautiful’s 1979 Design House of the Year?
It was a Las Vegas home featured in the magazine’s May 1979 issue. The design centered on a courtyard pool and used shade structures, fabric and indoor-outdoor spaces.
Who designed the house?
The project involved architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia, designer Michael Haskins and House Beautiful editors. The original report also named the builders as Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker.
How did the design respond to the desert setting?
The house turned toward a central pool and courtyard, with trellises and latticework filtering sunlight. The report also describes high ceilings, covered outdoor areas and water features as parts of the design.
Is the home still standing or open to the public?
The archive feature does not give the home’s current condition or public access status. Those details cannot be confirmed from the source material provided.
Source: rss
