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House Beautiful’s archive feature revisits its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home organized around a central courtyard pool. Architect William Turnbull Jr. and interior designer Ristomatti Ratia used trellises, fabric, greenery and bold Marimekko patterns to shape the house; the archive feature presents it as a design response to the desert climate.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas planned around a central courtyard pool and designed to offer shade and a sense of retreat in the desert. The magazine’s archive feature recalls how architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and House Beautiful editors combined practical building materials with textiles, trellises and vivid patterns.
The home was built on a sandy, treeless site in Nevada, according to the archived report. Its plan oriented rooms toward a courtyard, where a pool and palm tree formed the visual center. The magazine said the pool could be seen from rooms across the house, including the master bedroom and an elevated viewing area called the mirador.
Turnbull used battens and latticework to adapt standard builder’s materials to the project. Protective layers of fabric and trellis filtered sunlight, while high ceilings and exposed beams gave rooms a pavilion-like feel. The garage was also positioned as a buffer between the street and the home, the original report said.
Ratia, then creative vice-president of Finnish design company Marimekko, supplied custom furniture and interior elements. The archive describes bright floral fabrics and grid patterns repeated across wallpaper, tile and furnishings, alongside canvas tent-like structures, indoor greenery and a mural. The project was co-sponsored by the American Wood Council, and builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada, worked on it.
A Courtyard Built for the Desert
The design’s central idea was not simply to decorate a house in a desert style, but to make the courtyard the organizing feature of daily life. Water, shade and views inward offered a planned counterpoint to the exposed, treeless surroundings. House Beautiful’s retrospective frames that strategy as a reminder that a home’s layout and outdoor spaces can respond directly to local conditions.
The project also shows how a magazine design house could bring architecture, interiors and building-industry partners together in one demonstration home. The original report described the project as intended to inspire builders, using standard materials in customized ways. Its mix of lattice, practical storage and bold pattern records one particular approach to residential design in 1979, rather than establishing how widely such methods were adopted.
outdoor courtyard trellis shade panels
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The 1979 Design House Project
The home appeared in House Beautiful’s May 1979 issue under the magazine’s Design House of the Year banner. The original story was written by Susan Grant Lewin and described a collaborative project assembled by the magazine’s editors. The current article is part of House Beautiful’s Archive Dive series, which revisits material from its archive.
Rooms were designed as distinct retreats but connected to the courtyard and kitchen. The kitchen was described in the archived article as a link between the other rooms and the court. Bedrooms included a high-ceilinged master suite and a children’s room with a multi-level platform bed; the master area also opened toward a trellis-covered hot tub. These features show how the project carried its water-and-shelter concept into private spaces.
“The court of the house is key to understanding the plan.”
— House Beautiful’s archived 1979 report
The Home’s Present-Day Status
The archive feature does not say whether the 1979 house is still standing, whether its interiors remain intact, or who owns it today. It also provides no assessment of how the home performs under current energy-efficiency standards or how its design influenced later construction. The source describes the magazine’s original intentions and design decisions; it does not document the project’s long-term effects.
More Stories From the Archive
House Beautiful presents Archive Dive as a recurring series revisiting stories from the magazine’s 130-year-old archives. The feature says editor-in-chief Jo Saltz will select a favorite story from the past each month and discuss why it still resonates. The source does not announce a date or subject for the next installment.
Key Questions
Where was the 1979 Design House of the Year?
It was located in Las Vegas, Nevada, on a sandy, treeless desert site, according to House Beautiful’s archived report.
Who designed the house?
Architect William Turnbull Jr. worked with interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and House Beautiful editors. Builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker also worked on the project.
What was the house’s main design feature?
A central courtyard with a pool and palm anchored the plan. The magazine said rooms were oriented toward the court, making it visible from across the house.
Is the house still standing?
The archive feature does not confirm whether the home still exists or describe its current condition.
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