Collection by John Braun
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The guesthouse was the first part of the project to be completed, and Mel lived there while the main house was under construction. From his buying the property in 2009 to Sarah completing a roof garden, the entire renovation took roughly 11 years. Around the pool, the lounge chairs are from Restoration Hardware in a Charcoal fabric, and the trailing vine overhead is a California table grape installed by Sarah’s studio. The competition around the Cornilleau 500M Outdoor Crossover ping pong table can be fierce.
Tech entrepreneur Sam Friedman found himself drawn to the desert after selling his app, ParkMe. He invested in a 112-acre property with an abandoned 1,600-square-foot geodesic dome, and then set to work transforming the structure into an off-grid retreat. He helmed the entire overhaul—from pulling permits and drawing up plans to developing the solar and gray water systems. He gutted and remodeled the structure with the assistance of day help and friends, while living in an on-site Airstream.
Jessy and Steve were dismayed to find that the walnut plywood siding in the kitchen and dining area had been painted over. “You can’t strip that out,” says Jessy, an interior designer. “We had to replace it.” When they popped off the moldings at the foot of the counter, they discovered original recessed baseboards, which give the kitchen bar the appearance that it is floating.







