TL;DR
Get business pricing on your home office setup
- Business-only prices and quantity discounts
- Tax-exempt purchasing
- Multiple users, one account, clear invoices
House Beautiful has revisited its May 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home designed as a shaded oasis around a central courtyard pool. The archive feature describes how architect William Turnbull Jr., designer Ristomatti Ratia and House Beautiful editors used trellises, fabric, water and vivid patterns to shape the house. The source does not establish the home’s current condition or whether it remains standing.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas planned around a central courtyard pool and designed to provide shade and a garden-like refuge in the desert. The archive feature recalls the collaboration between architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and the magazine’s editors, whose project paired practical building materials with trellises, canvas and bold Marimekko patterns.
The original project appeared in the magazine’s May 1979 issue. According to House Beautiful’s archive account, the house was built on a sandy, treeless site and organized so that rooms looked toward a central court. A pool and palm tree formed the visual center, while lattice and fabric were used to filter sunlight. The feature describes the water and shade as ways to temper the site’s heat, rather than relying only on the house’s interior rooms.
Turnbull, a San Francisco-based architect, used standard builder’s materials and adapted them with details such as battens and lattices, the magazine reported. Ratia, identified in the original article as Marimekko’s creative vice-president, designed custom furniture and brought in the company’s flowers and grid patterns. The project was developed with House Beautiful editors and co-sponsored by the American Wood Council.
The magazine’s description also highlights the kitchen as a central connection between the rooms and courtyard. Bedrooms included varied layouts, including a children’s room with a multi-level platform bed, while outdoor areas included private decks, a “mirador” and a swimming grotto. Canvas coverings and trellises extended the sheltering approach into both indoor and outdoor spaces. The archive feature is a retrospective of the design; it does not report a new renovation or change to the property.
A Desert House Built Around Shade
The project offers a specific example of how a home’s layout and outdoor spaces can address a demanding climate. Rather than treating the pool and courtyard as extras, the 1979 plan made them the organizing center, with rooms facing inward and layers of shade between the occupants and the exposed site. That strategy is the central idea in House Beautiful’s renewed look at the house.
The archive also documents a period design collaboration in which an architect, an interior designer and magazine editors worked together on a house intended to inspire builders. Its use of familiar materials alongside custom details shows how the original feature framed design as both practical and expressive. For readers, the retrospective preserves a record of the house’s arrangement and materials while showing which ideas the magazine chose to revisit decades later.
outdoor shade sail canopy for patio
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The 1979 Magazine Project
House Beautiful’s original report presented the property as its Design House of the Year, not simply as a private residence. The project involved builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada, and listed the American Wood Council as co-sponsor. The archive article identifies Susan Grant Lewin as the original story’s writer.
The home combined several recurring design elements: Marimekko flowers and grid patterns, exposed beams, high ceilings and open lattice. The magazine also described the garage as a buffer between the street and the house, with skylights and matching redwood. Those details help explain how the project linked its inward-facing plan, shaded outdoor areas and decorative interior into a single design concept.
“Here food is prepared among family and friends.”
— Ristomatti Ratia, quoted in the 1979 House Beautiful report
wooden garden trellis lattice panels
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The Home’s Present-Day Status
The archive feature does not say whether the Las Vegas house still exists, who owns it now, or whether its original interiors and landscaping remain. It also does not provide a current assessment of the building’s condition or document later alterations. The account should be read as a retrospective based on the magazine’s 1979 report, not as a present-day inspection of the property.
outdoor canvas pergola shade curtains
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
More Archive Stories Ahead
House Beautiful presents the feature as part of its “Archive Dive” series, which revisits stories from the magazine’s archives. The series introduction says the magazine plans to examine a favorite past story each month, though the article does not identify the next subject or provide a publication date for another installment. No further development concerning the Las Vegas property is reported.
Marimekko style floral geometric fabric by the yard
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
What was House Beautiful’s 1979 Design House of the Year?
It was a Las Vegas home organized around a central courtyard pool. House Beautiful’s May 1979 issue presented it as a design project intended to create a shaded, garden-like retreat on a desert site.
Who designed the house?
The project brought together architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and House Beautiful editors. The magazine also named builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada.
What design features shaped the home?
The plan centered on a pool and courtyard, with rooms facing inward. Trellises, lattice and canvas filtered sunlight, while high ceilings, exposed beams and Marimekko patterns shaped the interiors.
Is the house still standing?
The archive feature does not report the property’s current condition or ownership. It revisits the 1979 magazine report rather than providing a new survey of the house.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
