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House Beautiful has revisited its May 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 designers Ristomatti Ratia and Michael Haskins used trellises, fabric, greenery and vivid Marimekko patterns to shape the house for its desert setting.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home designed around a central courtyard pool to bring water, shade and greenery into a desert setting. The archive feature recalls a collaboration involving architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia, designer Michael Haskins and the magazine’s editors.
The house was planned on a sandy, treeless site, with its rooms oriented toward a courtyard containing a pool and a large palm. House Beautiful’s original report said the court could be seen from every room, linking the interior to the outdoor center of the plan. Masonry walls enclosed the home, while trellises and fabric were used to filter intense sunlight.
Turnbull, a San Francisco-based architect, adapted what the magazine described as standard builder’s materials with details including battens and latticework. The design also used high ceilings and exposed beams, with visible heating and air-conditioning returns contributing to the open, pavilion-like interiors. The project’s stated purpose was to offer ideas to builders, and the American Wood Council was its co-sponsor.
Ratia, identified in the original article as Marimekko’s creative vice-president, designed custom furniture and brought the company’s bright floral prints and grid patterns into the interiors. The archive account describes a kitchen connecting the rooms to the courtyard, a children’s room with a multi-level platform bed, and a master suite opening toward a trellis-covered hot tub. Canvas canopies and tent-like treatments appeared over seating and the dining table.
A Desert Home Built Around Water
The project offers a concrete example of how a house’s layout can respond to its climate and site. Instead of treating the courtyard as an afterthought, the designers made it the plan’s organizing feature, using the pool, palm and filtered light as a visual connection among rooms. House Beautiful presented the approach as a way to create a sheltered, garden-like environment in a harsh desert landscape.
The house also records a particular approach to residential design in 1979: familiar construction materials paired with customized details, strong patterns and flexible indoor-outdoor spaces. Its archive return gives readers a chance to compare those choices with current design interests, while the original feature remains a historical account rather than evidence of how the home looks or performs today.
outdoor courtyard trellis shade panels
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The May 1979 Design Project
House Beautiful’s archive feature is part of a recurring series called Archive Dive, introduced by editor in chief Jo Saltz as a look at stories from the magazine’s archives. Saltz described the series as a way to revisit past projects and consider why they still resonate. The material supplied for this article does not give a precise publication date for the new archive entry.
The original story, written by Susan Grant Lewin, appeared in the magazine’s May 1979 issue. House Beautiful assembled the design team, with Turnbull responsible for the architecture and Ratia and Haskins contributing to the design. Builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker, of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada, are credited in the original report. The project was located in Las Vegas and was designated that year’s Design House of the Year.
“Every month, we’ll dig up a favorite story from the past.”
— House Beautiful editor in chief Jo Saltz, introducing Archive Dive
The Home’s Current Condition
The archive feature documents the home as it was designed and presented in 1979, but the supplied source does not establish its present condition, ownership or accessibility. It also does not say whether the building or its courtyard features have been altered, preserved or maintained. The article’s descriptions of the design should not be read as confirmation that those details remain in place today.
The source material provides no measurements, construction budget, energy-use data or post-occupancy evaluation. It describes the project’s goals and features, but does not report whether the design reduced indoor temperatures or how the house performed over time.
Further Archive Coverage Ahead
Saltz’s introduction says Archive Dive is intended to revisit a favorite story each month, though the source does not provide a date or subject for the next installment. Readers can look to House Beautiful’s archive series for further historical projects and editorial commentary. No new construction, renovation or other development at the Las Vegas house is announced in the material provided.
Key Questions
What is House Beautiful revisiting?
The magazine is revisiting its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas featured in its May 1979 issue.
Who designed the house?
The project involved architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia, designer Michael Haskins and House Beautiful’s editors. The original story also credits builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker.
What was the home’s main design feature?
Its rooms were oriented toward a central courtyard pool, which the original report said could be seen from every room. Trellises and fabric were used to filter sunlight.
Is the house still in its original condition?
The source material does not say. It describes the home’s design in 1979 but provides no verified information about its current condition, ownership or alterations.
Source: rss
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