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House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas organized around a central pool and courtyard. The archive feature describes how architect William Turnbull Jr., designer Ristomatti Ratia and House Beautiful editors used trellises, fabric, Marimekko patterns and open, high-ceilinged rooms to soften the desert setting.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home planned around a central pool and courtyard to create a sheltered garden setting in the desert. The magazine’s archive feature recalls how architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and House Beautiful editors combined trellises, fabric, patterned surfaces and soaring rooms in a project intended to inspire builders.
The house appeared in House Beautiful’s May 1979 issue and was built on a sandy, treeless site in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to the archived report, the central court and its pool were the organizing features of the plan: rooms faced inward toward the water, palm and garden rather than toward the exposed desert landscape. The article describes views of the court from different parts of the house, including the master bedroom and an open-lattice viewing area called the mirador.
Turnbull used standard builder’s materials, adapted with features such as battens and lattices. The design also used protective layers of fabric and trellis to filter sunlight, while high ceilings and exposed beams gave rooms a pavilion-like quality. The original report said the project was meant to show builders how familiar materials could be tailored to a particular site.
Ratia, then creative vice-president of Marimekko, designed custom furniture and contributed the home’s vivid textiles and patterned details. The archived feature describes Marimekko flowers alongside repeating grid motifs in wallpaper, tile and other surfaces. The kitchen connected the rooms and the courtyard; bedrooms offered more private retreats, while outdoor decks, a swimming grotto and a trellis-covered hot tub extended the home’s living spaces. The American Wood Council was listed as a co-sponsor.
A Courtyard Designed for the Desert
The archive feature presents the house as an example of design responding to its surroundings rather than trying to ignore them. Its central court brought water, shade and greenery into the daily view, while the inward-facing plan reduced the home’s emphasis on the exposed, treeless site. Fabric and trellises filtered strong sunlight, and the open, high-ceilinged interiors supported the intended sense of airiness.
For readers, the project also offers a historical snapshot of how a sheltering, vacation-like atmosphere was pursued with a mix of practical construction choices and expressive interiors. The report calls the approach “decorative pragmatism,” linking useful elements such as the kitchen’s hanging utensils and visible air-return duct with color, pattern and custom furnishings. That description is the magazine’s framing of the design, not an independent assessment of how the house performs today.
outdoor garden trellis shade panel
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The 1979 Design House Project
The original story was written by Susan Grant Lewin and featured a collaboration among House Beautiful’s editors, Turnbull and Ratia, with designer Michael Haskins also named as a collaborator. The builders were Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada. The project was presented as House Beautiful’s Design House of the Year, a showcase meant to bring together architectural planning and interior design.
The current article is part of House Beautiful’s Archive Dive series, which revisits material in the magazine’s archive. In introducing the series, Editor in Chief Jo Saltz described it as a monthly look at past stories and design choices that continue to resonate. The new feature revisits the 1979 house through the original report and its archival imagery; it does not announce a new renovation or provide a current property update.
““Here food is prepared among family and friends.””
— Ristomatti Ratia, creative vice-president of Marimekko, as quoted in the 1979 report
What the Archive Does Not Establish
The current feature does not say whether the Las Vegas house still exists in its original form, who owns it now, or whether its pool, interiors and custom furnishings remain. It also provides no recent inspection, performance data or assessment of how well the original design choices have held up in the desert climate. The article is a retrospective based on House Beautiful’s archival material, not a report on the property’s present condition.
The 1979 report describes the project as a source of inspiration for builders, but the available material does not establish whether it changed construction practices or how the house performed against specific energy or cooling measures. Those outcomes remain outside the claims made in the archive feature.
Further Archive Features Ahead
House Beautiful says Archive Dive is planned as a monthly series revisiting stories from its archive. The article does not announce a future feature date or name the next project. For the 1979 home, the latest development is the magazine’s renewed presentation of the original design story; any update on the building itself would require new reporting beyond the archived account.
Key Questions
What was House Beautiful’s 1979 Design House of the Year?
It was a home in Las Vegas, Nevada, featured in the magazine’s May 1979 issue. Its plan centered on a pool and courtyard, with rooms oriented toward the sheltered outdoor space.
Who worked on the house?
The archive names architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia, House Beautiful editors and designer Michael Haskins as collaborators. Builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air are also credited.
What design features defined the home?
The report highlights the central pool and courtyard, trellises and lattice, high ceilings and exposed beams, Marimekko patterns, custom furniture, and indoor and outdoor tent-like spaces. The kitchen connected the home’s rooms to the courtyard.
Is the house still standing or open to visitors?
The archive feature does not give the home’s current condition, ownership or visitor access. It revisits the 1979 story but does not provide a present-day property update.
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