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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, with trellises, fabric canopies and bold Marimekko patterns. The archive feature describes how architect William Turnbull Jr. and a team of designers used standard building materials to shape a sheltered, garden-like home for the desert site.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home designed around a central courtyard pool to temper the desert setting and connect the rooms. The archive feature recalls a collaboration involving architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and the magazine’s editors, presenting the project as a record of late-1970s design and a practical response to intense sun and heat.
The house was built on a sandy, treeless site in Nevada. Its plan directed rooms toward a central court, where a pool and palm tree formed the visual center. House Beautiful’s account says the water, protective trellises and fabric coverings were intended to soften the sun and create a more sheltered atmosphere. Multiple outdoor areas, including private decks, a “mirador” and a swimming grotto, extended the home’s living spaces beyond its interior.
Turnbull used standard builder’s materials, adapted through details such as battens and latticework, while the interiors relied on a contrast between orderly grids and vivid floral prints. The archive describes Marimekko fabrics and wallpapers, patterned tile and Formica, along with tent-like canvas canopies and exposed ceiling beams. The project was developed with Ratia and designer Michael Haskins; the American Wood Council was a co-sponsor. Builders named in the original report were Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada.
The kitchen was presented as the home’s connector, linking rooms with the courtyard. Ratia described it as a place where food was prepared among family and friends. The original report also highlighted a master suite, a children’s room with built-in storage and a platform bed, and a hot tub beneath a trellis outside the bedroom area. These details are recounted in the archive feature rather than offered as an update on the home’s present condition.
A Desert Plan Built Around Water
The project’s enduring interest lies in how its layout responds to a specific environment. Rather than treating the desert as a backdrop, the design made the courtyard pool the organizing feature, visible from rooms around the house. Trellises and fabric canopies filtered sunlight, while indoor-outdoor spaces offered shade and visual connection. The archive feature frames these choices as a way to create a sense of refuge in a harsh climate.
It also records a collaborative approach to residential design: an architect, interior designers, magazine editors and a building-industry sponsor worked on a house intended to inspire builders. The use of familiar materials alongside custom details gives the project relevance as a historical example of design ambition applied to a residential commission. Its patterns and furnishings capture a distinct period; its attention to shade, circulation and shared space remains legible beyond that period.
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The May 1979 House Project
The home appeared in House Beautiful’s May 1979 issue as its Design House of the Year. The current article is part of the magazine’s “Archive Dive” series, which revisits past stories and discusses why the publication considers them resonant today. Editor in Chief Jo Saltz introduces the series as a look through the magazine’s historical archive.
The original report, written by Susan Grant Lewin, described a design developed for Las Vegas conditions. It credited San Francisco-based architect Turnbull with shaping the house and named Ratia, creative vice-president of Marimekko, among the project’s designers. The current feature draws on that earlier account and its photographs; it does not report a new construction project or a change in ownership.
“Every month, we’ll dig up a favorite story from the past … and talk about why they still resonate today.”
— House Beautiful Editor in Chief Jo Saltz, introducing the Archive Dive series
What the Archive Does Not Establish
The feature is a historical retrospective, not a report on the home’s current status. It does not establish whether the house still exists in its original form, who owns it now, whether it has been altered, or whether the pool and other features remain. The source also does not provide current interviews with the designers or residents, nor does it document the home’s measured performance in reducing heat or energy use.
Descriptions of the project’s cooling effects and its ability to soften the desert environment come from the magazine’s account of the design. The available material does not include independent measurements, building records or a present-day inspection that would verify those outcomes.
Further Archive Features Ahead
House Beautiful presents Archive Dive as a monthly series revisiting stories from its archives. The feature does not announce a new milestone for the 1979 house or specify a date for another article. Any future updates about the property’s current condition would require separate reporting; for now, the development is the publication’s renewed presentation of the original design and its historical details.
Key Questions
What was House Beautiful’s 1979 Design House of the Year?
It was a home in Las Vegas, Nevada, planned around a central courtyard with a pool and palm. House Beautiful featured it in its May 1979 issue.
Who designed the house?
The archive account identifies architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and designer Michael Haskins as collaborators with House Beautiful editors. The original report also names the builders.
How did the design respond to the desert setting?
The plan oriented rooms toward the courtyard, while water, trellises and fabric coverings were used to create sheltered spaces and filter strong sunlight. The source describes these as design choices, not as independently measured cooling results.
Is the Las Vegas house still standing?
The archive feature does not say whether the home still exists or describe its present condition. Its focus is the 1979 project and original magazine coverage.
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