Desert Mountain High
A bold beauty of contemporary design basks in the Sonoran sun.
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.
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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.
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“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.
The house in Gambel Quail Village is for sale for $4.5 million
Dawn
Dickinson, Exclusive Properties of Arizona
480.363.0175
www.eprealtors.com
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