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House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home planned around a central courtyard pool. The archive feature describes how architect William Turnbull Jr. and a design team used trellises, canvas, vivid Marimekko patterns and indoor-outdoor spaces to shape a retreat in a desert setting.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas organized around a central courtyard pool and designed as a shaded, garden-like retreat in the desert. The magazine’s archive feature recounts how architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia, designer Michael Haskins and the magazine’s editors combined practical construction materials with fabric, trellises and bold patterns.
The home’s plan focused on a central courtyard with a pool and palm tree, visible from rooms around the house. The original report said the arrangement made the courtyard central to understanding the layout. Protective layers of fabric and trellis filtered sunlight, while enclosed walls created a series of outdoor areas, including private decks, a mirador and a swimming grotto.
Inside, the design paired Marimekko flowers and grid patterns with exposed beams, lattices and tall ceilings. Canvas canopies appeared over seating and the dining table, and the kitchen connected the rooms to the courtyard. The magazine described the house as a project intended to inspire builders, using standard builder’s materials that Turnbull customized with details such as battens and latticework.
The original feature credited Ratia, creative vice-president of Marimekko, with the custom furniture and interior environments. The American Wood Council was a co-sponsor. Builders named in the report were Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada. The current archive feature is presented by House Beautiful editor in chief Jo Saltz as part of a series revisiting stories from the magazine’s archives.
A Desert Plan Built Around Water
The design offers a specific example of how a house can respond to heat and an exposed desert site through its layout and outdoor spaces, rather than relying on decoration alone. The courtyard pool forms the visual center, while trellises and canvas provide layers between rooms and strong sunlight. The archive feature frames the home as a retreat shaped by its setting.
Its relevance now is also historical: the 1979 project brought together architecture, interior design and magazine editorial direction as a coordinated demonstration house. Revisiting it lets readers see how patterns, materials and indoor-outdoor planning were used in one period-specific residential design. The original article’s stated aim of inspiring builders is part of that story, though the archive feature does not report on the project’s effect on later building practices.
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The May 1979 Design Project
The house appeared in House Beautiful’s May 1979 issue under the magazine’s Design House of the Year designation. Its location was Las Vegas, Nevada, on what the original report described as a sandy, treeless site. The editorial team assembled the project with architect Turnbull, Ratia and Haskins, and the American Wood Council served as co-sponsor.
The archive account recalls a design built around repeated contrasts: an orderly grid alongside large-scale flowers, masonry walls around open-air spaces, and practical materials given custom applications. The original report called the approach “decorative pragmatism,” a phrase attributed to Turnbull in its discussion of the kitchen’s visible utensils and red return-air duct. This article is a retrospective on that 1979 feature, not a report that the house has recently been renovated, sold or opened to the public.
““Here food is prepared among family and friends.””
— Ristomatti Ratia, creative vice-president of Marimekko, as quoted in the 1979 report
The Home’s Current Status Is Unreported
The archive feature describes the house as it appeared in the 1979 report but does not say whether it still exists in its original form, who owns it now, or whether it has been altered since publication. It also provides no recent inspection, preservation assessment or current photographs establishing the property’s condition.
The article does not quantify how well the design reduced indoor temperatures or how the house performed in the Las Vegas climate. Its descriptions of cooling water, filtered sunlight and breezy interiors are presented as design intent and editorial characterization, not measured performance results. No information is provided about later influence on builders or the project’s reception at the time.
More Archive Features Are Planned
Saltz’s introduction says Archive Dive is intended as a monthly series revisiting stories from House Beautiful’s archives, including room makeovers and design projects. The magazine has not specified in the supplied feature which story will appear next or when it will be published. For the 1979 house, the current report offers a historical revisit; it does not announce a new project or a change to the property.
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. Its design centered on a courtyard pool and palm tree, with rooms arranged around the outdoor space.
Who worked on the house?
The original report names architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia, designer Michael Haskins and House Beautiful editors. It also lists builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada.
What made the design distinctive?
The plan combined a central pool courtyard, shaded outdoor areas, tall ceilings, trellises and canvas coverings with Marimekko floral and grid patterns. The original article presented the project as a design intended to inspire builders.
Is the house still standing in its 1979 form?
The archive feature does not report the home’s current condition, ownership or later alterations. It describes the design as shown in the original 1979 report.
Source: rss
