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House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home planned around a central courtyard pool. The archival report describes how architect William Turnbull Jr. and designer Ristomatti Ratia used trellises, fabric, high ceilings and vivid Marimekko patterns to shape a desert retreat. The piece is an archive feature, not an announcement about a new renovation or the house’s current condition.
House Beautiful has revisited its 1979 Design House of the Year, a home in Las Vegas organized around a central courtyard pool, in a new archive feature about the project’s desert-oriented design. The original report described a collaboration involving architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia and the magazine’s editors, with rooms and outdoor spaces arranged to make the courtyard a focal point.
The original feature, written by Susan Grant Lewin and published in the magazine’s May 1979 issue, presented the house as a garden oasis on a sandy, treeless Nevada site. The courtyard pool and a large palm were visible from rooms throughout the home, including the master bedroom and an open-lattice viewing space called the “mirador.” The archive feature frames the design as a response to the region’s intense sun and arid conditions.
According to the original report, Turnbull used builder-standard materials and customized them with devices including battens and latticework. The house combined high ceilings, exposed beams and visible air-conditioning returns with trellises and fabric coverings intended to filter sunlight. The plan also included private decks, a swimming grotto, a hot tub and a garage that acted as a buffer between the street and the home.
Ratia’s interiors paired bright Marimekko floral designs with recurring grid patterns. The kitchen connected the other rooms to the courtyard, and the report described it as a gathering place for food preparation among family and friends. Other features included a canvas dining canopy, a children’s room with multilevel platform beds, and custom furniture designed by Ratia. The project was co-sponsored by the American Wood Council; the original article also named builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker of Rancho Bel Air, Nevada.
A Courtyard Plan for Desert Living
The archive feature offers readers a concrete example of how a home’s layout can respond to a demanding climate without relying solely on the interior. In this design, the courtyard pool was both a visual center and a source of water and shade, while trellises and fabric softened exposure to sunlight. The rooms’ orientation connected daily life to that protected outdoor space.
The project also documents a particular design approach: combining practical construction choices with assertive color, pattern and custom details. The original report called this relationship “decorative pragmatism,” a phrase attributed to Turnbull. Revisiting the house matters as a record of how architecture and interiors were presented to readers and builders in 1979, not as evidence that the home has been preserved unchanged or remains open to visitors.
outdoor pergola trellis sun shade for courtyard
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Inside the May 1979 Project
House Beautiful’s archive series returns to stories from the magazine’s past, and this installment focuses on the May 1979 Design House of the Year. The original report said the project was developed by House Beautiful editors with Turnbull, Ratia and designer Michael Haskins. It was intended to inspire builders, and the American Wood Council was identified as a co-sponsor.
The house’s design relied on a clear organizing idea rather than a single decorative feature: rooms faced the courtyard, while walls and outdoor areas created a sequence of sheltered spaces. The archive account highlights the contrast between the site’s exposed desert setting and the home’s enclosed, planted interior world. It does not provide a current property profile or a history of changes made after the original publication.
The Home’s Present Condition
The archive feature describes the house as it appeared in the 1979 report; it does not establish its current condition, ownership, accessibility or whether the original interiors and landscaping remain. It also does not report a new restoration, sale or building project. The current feature’s framing of the home as a time capsule is an editorial interpretation of the archival material, not confirmation that the property survives intact.
Further Archive Features Ahead
The feature introduces House Beautiful’s Archive Dive series as a recurring look at stories from the magazine’s archive. The source says the series is intended to revisit a past feature each month, but it does not identify the subject or publication date of the next installment. No additional development about the Las Vegas house is announced.
Key Questions
What is the news development?
House Beautiful published an archive feature revisiting its 1979 Design House of the Year, a Las Vegas home designed around a central courtyard pool.
Who worked on the 1979 house?
The original report names architect William Turnbull Jr., interior designer Ristomatti Ratia, designer Michael Haskins and House Beautiful editors as collaborators. It also lists builders Connie Sommers, Duane Daum and Ernest Becker.
What made the design distinctive?
The home faced its rooms toward a central pool and palm, while lattice, trellises and fabric filtered sunlight. Its interiors paired vivid Marimekko patterns with grid motifs and custom furniture.
Is the house still in its original condition?
The archive feature does not say. It documents the house as presented in 1979 but gives no verified information about its current condition, ownership or accessibility.
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