Arizona-based interior designer David Michael Miller wasn’t house-hunting in 2012 when he got a call from his realtor about a property in Paradise Valley. But as fate would have it, he took the call and fell in love with his future home. “I saw it multiple times,” he says of the property, which sits on a hillside on Hummingbird Lane, just north of Mummy Mountain. “Every time I went, the hook got deeper set.”

The 1984 home was designed by architect Ned Sawyer, and David solicited the help of local architect Susan Biegner of Biegner-Murff Architects to update the home for a new era. “As a designer, it’s always fun to imagine changes,” he says. In addition to remedying various structural issues, adding a pool, and adjusting the floor plan to better suit his lifestyle, David and his team conceptualized how to take full advantage of the home’s spectacular vistas.

To bring the outside in, the design team added walls of glass in the kitchen and master bedroom with the help of Fleetwood Windows & Doors. “They build amazing moveable walls of glass, and they do it in a very quality, quiet way,” says David. They also build screens, which were implemented to capture the airflow on the hillside. “I wanted to enjoy that without letting desert creatures in.”

One of David’s favorite spaces is the dining and living room, with its central fireplace, tremendous panorama, and the sounds of water trickling in the distance.

Restoring the exterior landscape was another priority, so David turned to Charlie Ray and his team at The Green Room Collaborative. “I wanted it to feel like there was some enclosure, and that the elements of enclosure were in the right places,” says David.

Along the driveway, Ray introduced large specimen ironwood trees and tall saguaro cacti to create an impact when entering and exiting the property. “It’s kind of an experience to come home,” he says adding, “When you do, you want to leave your work behind.”

The unusual rock formations close to the house (colored rust, dark brown and black), along with the craggy crevices and sharp boulders around the site were a driving source of inspiration for Ray and his team. “We really analyzed the property and looked at it in a holistic context,” he says.

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It was also important to restabilize the eroding hillside, which had caused water damage over the years. To mitigate the problem, the designers incorporated a wall made from native schist rock, and they pinned boulders into the landscape to prevent future erosion. “I think rock can be a very intriguing material as a layering element—and especially for a site like that,” says Ray. “We looked at it as a design opportunity.”

The team then finessed all the plant material into those rock formations, editing everything that wasn’t native. “I wanted it to feel like we were never there,” Ray says.

Some of the highlights of the landscaping are the native wildflowers, which change seasonally, offering up a surprise with every bloom. While the site had no color or seasonality in its landscaping before, Ray worked to introduce new native material with different blooming cycles. The color also complements David’s signature tone-on-tone interiors, which are best expressed in this residence through the taupe- and charcoal-streaked masonry block and the floors laid with white European oak. “There were many layers to it,” says Ray. “It was a very thoughtful project.”

Being at one with nature and blending into the environs were important design considerations for David while planning the swimming pool. The three-sided infinity pool, built 12-feet above the natural grade, reflects the sky and the surrounding landscape. The design also provides the tranquil spa-like sound of water falling over three negative edges. On one occasion, David watched as a large owl flew in and stood on the naked edge of the pool.

Though David recently sold the property in February 2021, looking back, he still reflects on the quiet stillness and wild desert that envelops his former residence. “Hummingbird Lane is protected by Mummy Mountain, so it’s completely silent up there,” he says. “You can’t hear road noise, you aren’t aware of streets, and at night you have a beautiful, twinkling bed of lights looking out to north Scottsdale—it’s kind of like being in the Hollywood Hills.”

Related Reading:

This Minimalist, Solar-Powered Home Is a True Desert Oasis

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Edward B. Sawyer

Remodel Architect: Biegner-Murff / @biegnermurffarchitects

General Contractor First Phase: Mackos

General Contractor Second Phase: 180 Degrees Inc.

Owner/Interior Designer: David Michael Miller / @david.michael.miller

Glass Windows & Doors: Fleetwood Windows & Doors

Lighting Design: Creative Designs in Lightings

Sound Engineer: Cyber Technologies

Cabinetry Design / Installation: Woodesign

Landscape Architecture & Photography: Charlie Ray / The Green Room Collaborative / @thegreenroomcollaborative

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A Breakthrough Renovation Turns a Brick Home Into a Desert Oasis