In Praise of Shadows

Set on a winding street and screened by clusters of creosote bushes and palo verde and ironwood trees, Ethan Wessel and Sarah Swartz Wessel’s Phoenix residence does little to call attention to itself. And that suits them just fine. "We’ve come back from the airport and the driver will ask, ‘Where’s the house?’" Ethan says. But step through the gate, and the front courtyard opens to a breathtaking vista clear through the living/dining room to the rear patio and beyond to a custom skate bowl.