In Joshua Tree, an Artist’s Home and Studio Soaks Up Endless Desert Views

In Joshua Tree, California, the dream home of painter Heather Day and creative director Chase McBride sits on five acres at the end of several miles of sandy, unpaved road. When visitors walk through the front door at dinnertime, they’re greeted in many ways at once: Heather and Chase wave as they cook in the kitchen; their dog, Juno, jumps up to say hello; and the enormous glass doors in the living room, sitting open to let in the cooling desert air, frame a perfect view of the sun setting over a nearby mountain.

The couple fell in love with the beauty and solitude of the desert while visiting it from San Francisco, and they hired architect Ryan Leidner based on the recommendation of a pair of his clients they had met at a dinner party. Construction began in 2019, and they moved to Joshua Tree full-time in 2020.

Seen from afar, the two-bedroom, 1,930-square-foot house resembles a small white line on the horizon, tucked almost out of sight. "We all felt the need to respect the landscape with the design of the house," says Leidner—so they agreed upon a compact footprint that defers to the beauty of its surroundings.

Inspired by the simplicity of Japanese and Scandinavian modernism, the home has a rectangular wood frame coated with white plaster stucco to withstand the desert’s fluctuating temperatures. Leidner says he also took cues from the "straightforward and economical" logic of Eichler homes, which flourished in both the Bay Area and Palm Springs in the 1950s. The interior has a warm but spare palette of white walls and blond woods, with the open plan, floor-to-ceiling windows, and exposed ceiling beams typical of Californian midcentury architecture.

One of the couple’s biggest priorities was studio space for Heather, an artist who occasionally paints until 4 a.m. before jumping into bed. She says that in their previous live/work loft in San Francisco, "the studio space really poured over into the living room." Now, the floor of her atelier sits six feet below the adjacent living area. Heather can look down into the space for a zoomed-out perspective on her work, and there’s a place to store paintings below the living room floor. The workspace also has its own washbasin. "I think Chase is plenty happy that I’m not washing my dirty brushes in the kitchen sink anymore," she says.

"The slower pace of life here has been great for both of us, allowing us to concentrate on our creative practices while leaning into the things that make us happy."

 —Chase McBride, resident

For the couple, acclimating to the expansiveness of the desert during the last few years has been a surprising but rewarding process. "I think at first the lack of ambient noise can be alarming," Chase says—but with time, their senses have sharpened to subtle nuances of the Mojave’s light and sound. The isolation also affords simple but profound indulgences, like taking a soak in the west-facing primary bathroom and seeing nothing but endless miles of land. According to Heather, "It’s a welcomed ritual to open the door up to the sunset and let the warm breeze fill the room."

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Ryan Leidner Architecture / @ryanleidner

Builder: Home and Construction Services

Structural Engineering: RA Structural Engineering

Cabinetry: Futura Kitchen Cabinetry

Windows: Fleetwood

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