Warm and bright family retreat

This property is located in the stunning American Southwest, known for its magnificent mountain views and outdoor lifestyle. With the help of The Ranch Mine, the owners transformed their 1970’s home in Paradise Valley into a contemporary dwelling, complete with courtyard, new guest suite, master suite and open living space with floor-to-ceiling glass to enjoy the stunning scenery.

Dark and cramped, with low ceilings. That’s how the owners described their home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, when they contacted The Ranch Mine to renovate and extend it. The architects designed a new internal-external living space with abundant light, added areas to accommodate the growing family and reconfigured the original home to make the most of the construction. All additional volumes are placed parallel to the original building, then linked by a single element comprising a checkroom, shower room and hall. In this way, the new is separated from the old, allowing the original house to be fully reused and providing the annex with dense natural lighting and cross-ventilation possibilities. This separating concept creates a courtyard in the intermediate area, a tried-and-tested way of living in the American Southwest. The addition is anchored at both ends by a new guest suite and another main suite in white stucco, with evenly spaced columns in the middle, supporting a pavilion-shaped roof. The roof covers both the interior and exterior with large overhangs that shade the windows and patio during the summer. Operable windows on either side of the living space ensure cross-ventilation, as does the patio’s cinderblock-inspired design.