Desert Mountain High

A bold beauty of contemporary design basks in the Sonoran sun.

text by: Pam Hait

If houses had voices, this resort home would sing in basso. While the home pays homage to contemporary Mexican architects Luis Barragan and Ricardo Legorreta, it clearly announces a new design talent in its designer and builder, Peter Magee, who has created a singular residence of striking proportions.

A water feature designed by Peter Magee provides a focal point for the outdoor dining area, opposite. The patio furniture is from Inside Out. (Click image to enlarge)

Formerly a finance executive for Ford Motor Co., Magee was a turn-around expert for troubled companies. He subsequently held positions with Hertz Corp. and International Harvester and lived for a year in Rotterdam as an international shipping executive. His sixth career, in residential design, discovered him in 1991 after he moved  to Desert Mountain, an exclusive golf community in north Scottsdale, Ariz. Enthralled by the Sonoran desert and enchanted by contemporary Mexican architecture, Magee saw an irregular 1.2 acre lot that was considered too problematic to develop and was inspired to create this home. His solution? Walls. Carefully positioned and proportioned, the walls provide privacy and extend the outdoor living space.

How did a home-building novice create a modern masterpiece? A quick study with a voracious appetite for information, Magee has honed his passion for good design. He also has “a natural feel for volume and size,” he says. Simple materials fascinate him, especially the way they are incorporated in Mexican architecture. Most important, the man is bold. With no formal training, he dared to create a 7,300-square-foot home that is at once a pristine desert retreat, a declaration of sophisticated design and a serious entertainment showplace. 

The living room’s bar stools and black leather chairs are from Brueton. The trio of suede-covered club chairs are by Burton James. Peter Magee designed the platform bed in the master bedroom. (Click images to enlarge)

“I’ve had men tell me they would stock this with gorgeous women and just have parties,” says Magee, who installed a 750-bottle wine cellar with a slab-limestone decanting area, a 41-foot negative-edge pool, a spa and a private outdoor shower.

While the “toys” are terrific, the real magic occurs within the vast linear spaces. Long hallways serve as galleries for art, with enough wall space for large-scale works. The 81-foot-long entrance hallway is capped with a barrel-vaulted ceiling that soars 15 feet high and features enormous Spanish Colonial gilt-framed mirrors that hang at each end. Another 10-foot-long corridor is illuminated by a line of tall vertical windows. At the far end of what Magee calls the Raiders of the Lost Ark hallway sits a massive faux gold geode that appears ready to come rolling downhill. “Hallways provide a sense of mystery,” Magee says. “They make you wonder what is coming around the next corner.”

With Magee, each corner brings a surprise. The living room has a 40-foot-long, L-shaped cantilevered hearth of polished concrete that wraps sinuously around two walls. The 9-foot-long fireplace is laid with ceramic logs, while above the hearth a 21-foot long niche is slashed into a long wall and lined with gold leaf. In another area of the living room, a mural-size picture window frames the desert and serves as a backdrop for the mahogany-topped wet bar. 
Just as the home’s volumes appeal to the collector and the connoisseur, the kitchen, with its rich mahogany cabinetry and Brazilian cherry plank floor, speaks volumes to the gourmet. Magee, who is a serious cook, efficiently divided the workspace into “prep, plate and serve” areas by positioning three large Brazilian soapstone counters parallel to each other. A slab of glass suspended on round stainless steel cylinders and extending from the “serve” counter is ideal for casual dining. The kitchen flows into an oversize den, and the entire wing opens through 10-foot-high glass doors to the grand plaza, with its outdoor “rooms” for dining, swimming, sun and contemplation.

The stylistic influence of Mexican architects Luis Barragan and Ricardo Legorreta is evident in the home’s architecture and color palette. (Click images to enlarge)

The residence is a hive of detail: Mexican pavers that are 200 years old line the front courtyard; the exterior walls, covered with a cement-based paint to produce a mottled look, are pocked for added texture; a repeating grid pattern on the patio roof, in the squares of limestone flooring and in the scored concrete of the courtyards, reinforces the rectangular geometry of the house. Because entertaining is at the heart of the design, two separate patio areas are devoted to outdoor cooking, and a private outdoor serving area is provided for caterers. 

When the party is over, the serene master suite awaits. The bath features slab-limestone counters and limestone sinks and a negative-edge Kohler Sok tub that fills from the ceiling and a walk-in “shower tower.” 

Desert Mountain originally enticed Magee with its golf, concierge service, health spa and grass tennis courts. But the challenge of this single lot has changed his life. He never thought he would trade his caddie for a CAD, but he has. He is now building more homes. Living large and well is his best revenge.

Desert Mountain
Desert Mountain was developed by Lyle Anderson in 1986 to provide the ultimate experience for living the good golfing life. At an elevation of 3,000 feet, Desert Mountain sits on what was an 8,000-acre cattle ranch in the high Sonoran desert in northern Scottsdale. At buildout, the resort community will have 2,700 homes. 

Desert Mountain boasts six Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses, six clubhouses offering different types of cuisine, nine tennis courts, nine miles of hiking trails, two pools and spectacular sunsets. Athletes, entertainers and former Fortune 500 executives are among more than 2,200 residents, 35 percent of whom live there full time. 

Acclaimed for its attention to design and detail from inception, each of the 28 villages within Desert Mountain must adhere to strict design guidelines that protect the native vegetation, preserve open space and ensure that the beauty of this desert community endures. 

• 100 more multimillion-dollar homes will be completed within the next year.
• The average home price is $2 million. Attached cottages are priced from $800,000 to $900,000.
• 140 custom homesites remain; prices range from $400,000 to $4 million.
• The Deferred Equity Golf Membership Plan guarantees that all future homeowners will have the chance
to buy an equivalent membership with their property. The most popular golf plan is the deferred golf membership, which is currently valued at $275,000 with an 80 percent surrender value.