we had been looking for our forever home for months

and had agreed that urban ranch best described our style

what does that look like you say?

comfortable …

… yet refined

hard working …

… yet not too serious

think weathered leather and other soft, natural materials … comfortable linens and layers … that are also durable add in some clean, hard lines and other mixed materials … like iron and several wood grains then add some LIFE to the mix with assorted soft, leafy greenery … think lots of plants … imagine the rainforest

and as soon as I walked inside

I knew this was

the ONE

seriously … you gotta look past the cosmetics

cuz i’m telling you … i could see it

this was going to be

home sweet home …

… our urban ranch

stay with me here

the house has great “bones”

it has a completely open concept … one main living space … all connected and cohesive … with finished, exposed beams everything is white … clean … fresh … literally, a blank canvas there are large windows in every room … and an 8 foot slider to the backyard … providing tons of natural light throughout

and, as midwesterners

transplanted from Chicago

we were thrilled to not only have a pool

… but stunning views of it from every room

we also loved that there were 13 palm trees scattered around the property coming from the city, we were so excited about all of this space … but this yard was NOT only huge … it was NOT at all functional for everyday living

and we dreamed of a desert oasis

so we got started on a design that embraced the coveted indoor/outdoor lifestyle of the southwest

but we had to get a bit dirty first

the plan

add as many solar panels as possible … knock down a few walls to make the spaces feel connected move a ton of rock and dirt to level out the yard … and add over 100 feet of retaining wall for design and stability install a hot tub (still gets cold in the desert) … put in a large putting green and then fill it in with an assortment of cacti, succulents and other native plants capable of withstanding the long, hot, dry summers … and low humidity