GREAT SCOTT

ABOVE: In the main bathroom, steel retracting doors bring the tub area outdoors into the Sonoran desert. Calacatta Wow marble is used throughout, the bathtub and tub filler are from Waterworks and the chair is upholstered in a Casamance fabric. RIGHT: Designed by PHX Architecture and built by Salcito Custom Homes, the house’s positioning maximizes the spectacular views of the surrounding mountains

A Gregorius Pineo four-poster bed from Kneedler Fauchère grounds the main bedroom. A Holland & Sherry rug, settee upholstered in Jim Thompson linen velvet and a Formations chair round out the custom furniture.

Stumble upon this North Scottsdale lot surrounded by cacti in the Sonoran Desert and you’ll fall in love too. That’s just what happened when a West Coast couple visited the site in 2016 and decided to construct their dream family home. The couple brought in Anthony Salcito of Salcito Custom Homes for this ground-up build and local interior designer Holly Ogden, partner at Wiseman & Gale Interiors, to mastermind its interiors. Ogden had collaborated with the couple and their extended family for years, so there was a familiarity there. “The lot is really positioned at the perfect vantage point to view the mountains in the foreground and the valley below with no obstructed views,” says Ogden. “Positioning the house to best optimize these views was very important. The house feels grounded, but there are definitely moments where you feel like you’re floating as the mountains change colors around you with the rise and fall of the sun.” The couple, who reside at the home with their two teenage daughters and many dogs, tasked the team with creating a comfortable, casual, quintessentially Arizona home that embraced the spectacular desert views and could accommodate their large extended family. “Creating a home and not just a house has always been at the top of the list of the owner’s directives,” says Ogden. “The end result had to reflect their family and lifestyle.”

The hallway features arched plaster walls with European oak chevron floors by Studio Ressource leading you to the stairwell and lower level entertainment room. Urban Electric lanterns hang from the ceiling.

In the office, a custom cabinet by Taber & Company, lacquered Ranier desk by Joseph Jeup and a Paul Ferrante hanging pendant

In the downstairs entertainment room, “Seascape#24” by Kenneth Bauer hangs above a custom-made sectional. The ottoman is upholstered in a Pierre Frey graffiti fabric with an Apparatus Cloud ceiling fixture.

In the powder room, the walls are upholstered in a Maresca textile and a French 17th-century vanity houses a bronze sink and Kallista fixtures

Creating a home and not just a house has always been at the top of the list of the owner’s directives.

— HOLLY OGDEN

In the living room, “Pink Sunflower” by Bill Tull hangs above an 18th-century French limestone fireplace; arched bookcases display a collection of antique Japanese sake jars; a Laura Kirar for McGuire woven chair sits in the foreground with a custom-made sofa in a green Kerry Joyce velvet; a patterned rug by Holland & Sherry; and a Jonathan Browning light fixture

In the stairwell, a minimal aesthetic gives importance to the Jun Kaneko sculpture and a Nancy Tokar Miller abstract painting while a majestic saguaro cactus stands watch

Landscape architect Berghoff Design Group layered the patios with a mix of old and new pots planted with annuals as a nod to the homeowners’ Oregon roots

In the main bedroom, a chaise upholstered in Zak+Fox Sayat fabric with a Holly Hunt floor lamp creates a great reading nook. A Claire Oswalt painting, “Where the Swan Fell,” hangs on the wall.

There’s a sense of scale to this house that you’re always aware of and trying to get right.

— HOLLY OGDEN

BELOW: A slab of Calacatta Wow marble and Waterworks fixtures creates a protected spot to rinse off

Built by Salcito Custom Homes, the negative-edge pool features a sun shelf and spa lined with Bisazza tile and the patio is made of limestone

The resulting home, built into the hillside, boasts 12,000 square feet of living space spread across five bedrooms, five bathrooms and three powder rooms. “There’s a sense of scale to this house that you’re always aware of and trying to get right,” says Ogden. The wife is a great cook and so a working kitchen that functioned well in addition to being beautiful was paramount. “The goal was to make sure the family was represented as a collective whole,” says Ogden. The interiors boast expansive rooms that feature gorgeous natural light streaming in alongside plaster walls and old beams. Terra-cotta roof tiles add a European aesthetic to the American retreat. “The ebb and flow between these spaces was very important to both the function and aesthetic of the house,” says Ogden. “We intentionally played with the restraint from room to room, pulling back almost to a minimal level in some areas and, at other times, going quite grand. The homeowners have an affinity for authentic materials so, with the help of Amy Johannsen and Studio Ressource, these were incorporated into the design from the early stages.”

The well-lived-in home isn’t a showpiece or ever too fussy or formal for its inhabitants. Plus, it’s filled with works of art and objects that the couple has sourced over the years which are very personal to them. Avid art and antiquities collectors, they also brought in works by notable Arizona artists like Bill Tull, Mayme Kratz, Nancy Tokar Miller and Carrie Marill in a nod to the house’s surroundings. The perfect blend of custom-made furniture, unique floor and wall coverings, special art and antiques and beautifully landscaped grounds (thanks to landscape architect Berghoff Design Group) have made this home a true desert oasis. ■