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House Beautiful has revisited its 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 used trellises, canvas, soaring ceilings and Marimekko patterns to shape a shaded, resort-like interior.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas, Nevada, whose plan placed a central courtyard pool at the center of daily life. The magazine’s archive feature describes how architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and other collaborators used water, trellises, canvas and bold patterns to make a desert house feel sheltered and lush.
The 1979 project was designed on a sandy, treeless site, according to the magazine’s original report. Rather than treating the courtyard as a separate garden, the design made it the organizing feature: the pool and a large palm could be seen from rooms throughout the house, including the master bedroom and an open-sided space the article calls a “mirador.”
Turnbull, a San Francisco-based architect, used standard builder’s materials and custom details such as battens and lattices. The original feature says the courtyard pool, protective trellises and fabric helped filter strong sunlight, while tall ceilings and exposed beams contributed to a sense of openness. The garage, built of redwood like the rest of the house, was positioned between the street and living areas as a buffer.
The interiors paired practical elements with exuberant decoration. Marimekko flowers and grid patterns appeared alongside a kitchen connected to both the other rooms and the courtyard. Ratia, Marimekko’s creative vice-president at the time, designed custom furniture, including a multi-level platform bed and Palaset storage cubes. Canvas tents, a canvas umbrella and indoor greenery extended the project’s vacation-like atmosphere beyond the courtyard.
How the Courtyard Shaped the House
The feature’s lasting interest is in how the house treats climate as a design problem rather than an afterthought. Its central pool, shaded outdoor areas and filtered light connected the rooms to the landscape while offering relief from the desert sun. The magazine presents the plan as a response to an exposed site, not simply as a collection of decorative choices.
The project also shows how design publications once used showcase houses to make architectural ideas visible to builders and readers. House Beautiful says the home was designed to inspire builders and was made through collaboration between its editors, Turnbull, Ratia and designer Michael Haskins. The American Wood Council was a co-sponsor. The archive offers a record of those design priorities, but it does not establish how widely the project influenced later homes.
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The 1979 Showcase Project
The story is part of House Beautiful’s “Archive Dive”, a series introduced by editor in chief Jo Saltz to revisit material from the magazine’s archives. The source describes the publication’s archive as spanning 130 years and frames the series as a look at earlier interiors and design decisions that remain relevant to current readers.
The original report, written by Susan Grant Lewin, appeared in the magazine’s May 1979 issue. It identified the Las Vegas house as that year’s Design House of the Year and credited builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada. The feature names manufacturers and suppliers for some materials, including American Olean tile, PPG glass and Simpson Timber redwood.
““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
What the Archive Does Not Establish
The feature does not say whether the 1979 house still exists, whether it has been altered, or who owns it now. It also provides no current inspection, photographs of the property as it stands today, or account of how the home has performed over time in Las Vegas’s climate.
House Beautiful presents the project as a source of design ideas and describes its materials and layout, but the supplied material does not document measurable cooling performance, construction costs or the project’s influence on subsequent builders. Those points should not be inferred from the original article’s descriptions.
Further Archive Coverage
The current development is the magazine’s publication of the archive revisit; the supplied source does not announce a new construction project or a change to the house. House Beautiful says Archive Dive is intended as a monthly series, with future features drawn from the magazine’s past coverage. No specific subject or publication date for the next installment is provided.
Key Questions
Where was the 1979 Design House of the Year?
The house was in Las Vegas, Nevada, on a sandy, treeless site, according to House Beautiful’s original report.
What was the main feature of the house’s design?
A central courtyard pool organized the plan. The original feature says the pool and a large palm could be viewed from rooms throughout the house.
Who designed the home?
William Turnbull Jr. was the architect. The project also involved House Beautiful editors, interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and designer Michael Haskins.
What made the interiors distinctive?
The rooms combined Marimekko floral and grid patterns with custom furniture, high ceilings, canvas tents and indoor greenery. Ratia designed the custom furniture, the report says.
Does the archive feature say whether the house still exists?
No. The supplied feature does not establish the home’s current condition, ownership or status.
Source: rss
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