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House Beautiful’s archive feature revisits its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas designed around a central courtyard pool. The original project paired practical building materials with trellises, fabric canopies and Marimekko patterns to create a sheltered oasis in the desert.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home planned around a central courtyard pool and designed to temper the desert climate with shade, water and sheltered outdoor rooms. The archive feature returns to a project created by the magazine with architect William Turnbull Jr. and designers Ristomatti Ratia and Michael Haskins, presenting it as a period example of how a house could respond to its setting through its layout and materials.
The home was built on a sandy, treeless site in Las Vegas. Its plan turned inward: a courtyard with a pool and palm tree formed the visual center, and the magazine’s original account said the surrounding rooms were oriented toward it. Trellises and latticework filtered sunlight, while the water was intended to bring a cooling presence into the house and court.
According to the archive report, San Francisco-based architect William Turnbull Jr. used standard builder’s materials and customized them with battens, lattices and other details. The project was developed with House Beautiful editors, interior designer Ristomatti 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 interiors combined practical features with a distinctive decorative scheme. The magazine described Marimekko floral prints and grid patterns recurring across rooms, alongside high ceilings, exposed beams and visible heating and air-conditioning elements. Canvas canopies, a tented dining area, an open kitchen and custom furniture helped give the rooms a pavilion-like character. The archive feature also notes private decks, a “mirador,” a swimming grotto, a hot tub and a garage designed as a buffer from the street.
A Desert Home Built Around Its Court
The project’s central design move was to make the courtyard, rather than the street-facing exterior, the organizing feature of daily life. Rooms looking toward the pool connected the house visually and made the sheltered court part of the interior experience. That arrangement is the feature House Beautiful highlights in revisiting the home: the design responds to an exposed desert site by creating a protected center.
The house also linked its visual style to practical construction choices. Trellises, lattice and fabric were used to filter sunlight, while the original report described the architect’s approach as using standard builder’s materials with custom detailing. The project was presented as a source of inspiration for builders, though the archive material does not establish how widely its design was adopted or how the home performs under current standards.
For readers, the feature is both an account of a particular home and a record of late-1970s design choices: bold printed textiles, visible mechanical elements and indoor-outdoor planning. Its renewed publication lets readers compare those choices with current interest in shade, courtyards and climate-responsive architecture without implying that the 1979 design is a modern technical model.
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The 1979 Design House Project
The house appeared as House Beautiful’s Design House of the Year in 1979, and the archive feature identifies the original story as one written by Susan Grant Lewin. The current article is part of the magazine’s “Archive Dive” series, which revisits material from its collection and discusses why past design stories continue to attract attention. The publication describes that collection as spanning 130 years.
The original project was collaborative rather than the work of one designer alone. House Beautiful’s editors worked with Turnbull, Ratia and Haskins, with the American Wood Council listed as co-sponsor. The archive account names products and suppliers used in the house, including Formica surfaces, Marimekko designs and PPG glass. These details document the project as it was presented in 1979; they do not, on their own, confirm the present condition of the house or whether every feature remains in place.
““The heart of the house is the kitchen, not only because it is the connecting link to all other rooms and the court, but also because it is the very pulse of the house.””
— House Beautiful’s 1979 report, describing the kitchen
The Home’s Present Condition
The archive feature describes the design and its original presentation, but it does not say whether the Las Vegas house still exists in its 1979 form, who owns it now or whether its interior and landscaping have changed. It also provides no current inspection, energy-performance data or assessment of how well the house manages heat by today’s measures.
The article’s “time capsule” framing refers to the home’s period design and the archival material, not a verified claim that the property has been preserved unchanged. The source also does not give a current address or explain whether the house is open to visitors.
More Stories From the Archive
House Beautiful introduces “Archive Dive” as a monthly series revisiting stories from its collection, including room makeovers and design projects from earlier decades. The magazine says future installments will look at past work and discuss why it remains relevant to readers. No further details about the Las Vegas property or plans for a new Design House of the Year project are provided in this feature.
The next development identified by the source is another installment in the archive series. Whether House Beautiful will publish additional records about the 1979 home, or report on its present-day condition, remains unclear.
Key Questions
What was House Beautiful’s 1979 Design House of the Year?
It was a Las Vegas home planned around a central courtyard pool. House Beautiful’s original project involved architect William Turnbull Jr., designer Ristomatti Ratia, designer Michael Haskins and the magazine’s editors.
What was the main idea behind the home’s layout?
The plan turned inward, with rooms oriented toward a central courtyard and pool. Trellises, lattice and fabric canopies were used to filter the strong sunlight and create sheltered spaces.
Who designed the house?
William Turnbull Jr. was the architect. The project was developed with House Beautiful editors, interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and designer Michael Haskins.
Is the house still preserved as it appeared in 1979?
The archive feature does not say. It documents the home’s original design but provides no update on its current condition, ownership or accessibility.
What is House Beautiful’s Archive Dive series?
It is a recurring feature that revisits stories from the magazine’s archives. Editor in chief Jo Saltz described it as a series about past design projects and the reasons they continue to resonate.
Source: housebeautiful.com
