JOY IN CREATING Design Notes on THE WATCHMAN STEEL HOUSE
112 CANYON COVE | SPRINGDALE, UTAH 3 beds | 2 baths | 1,864 sq ft | 0.94 acres | 112CanyonCove.com
Design Notes on the
WATCHMAN STEEL HOUSE
Every home is a creation and has a story to tell. These are the first chapters of 112 Canyon Cove, the Watchman Steel House, realized in 2020 after years of dreaming what it could be.
We love the stillness that being at the end of a cul-de-sac affords. And of course we love (and still can’t believe) that our literal backyard is Zion National Park.
My wife Odet and I delight in exploring the desert Southwest, especially in late winter and in spring. We have poked all around southern California, Arizona, southern Utah and New Mexico. On a trip in 2005 we fell under Zion’s spell; I visited on a whim in 2006 to look for property. Perhaps akin to choosing a campsite, only that you will camp for a really long time, and that registration will be quite expensive, this spot stopped me in my tracks: we must camp here!! So we purchased, a wide open canvas subject to the shifting ideas that come and go with life, having no idea then that our home would ultimately take 14 years to become reality.
We are architecture buffs and considered many possibilities. Ultimately a desert modern aesthetic, with particular influence by Palm Springs homes built during the 1950s, seemed to best capture our vision. By 2017 we were quite antsy to get started and spent days online searching for the right architecture firm to bring this vision to life. Their portfolio, design philosophy and youthful passion made a compelling case to tap Imbue Design (Salt Lake City) for the project. They delivered in spades, creating not just a house, but also a work of art.
Of course the site was quite fine without us. Through the years we would periodically visit with friends or family, sharing thoughts on what we might build one day. We love the location across the river, which provides an amazing buffer when Springdale is bustling. We love walking into town in the early morning, perhaps running into a kind neighbor, and stopping for just-out-of-the-oven scones at Deep Creek Coffee.
Our goal was to create a flexible retreat to share with family and friends: fostering both catching-up and togetherness while also providing separate spaces for downtime and privacy. The casita plan grew to include a full kitchen; the idea that those who like to cook or bake could create in their own space. Everyone would then come together to socialize, reflect on the adventures of the day, and maybe set plans for tomorrow. We have grown to prefer staying in the casita, allowing our guests to spread out and enjoy the magnificent views from the main house living room.
Three design proposals were presented. Design #3 and its refinements are what sprang to life. Keen intention was made to keep the home modest in height and in footprint. We felt this best respected the grandeur of Zion. If one must, a second story is permitted. For the architects, dominance of iron in the landscape translated into walls of rusting steel. Deep bronze fascia is evocative of the ever-changing shadows cast across the sandstone monoliths. Arrival and entry is an experience. Once inside, the view is revealed anew in a framed context. Imbue Design’s creativity and the necessary detail required for superlative design spurred me to begin studying Interior Design as a second career. There was an open-ended quality to the final design. The project was an exercise in design as a process: that early finish decisions will inform finish decisions that follow, and so on until the project is complete. When it was time at last to select among the myriad choices for cabinet knobs and pulls, a clear and complete design directive had been forged. An influential initial selection was color of the split face masonry wall forming an L along the entry and wrapping around the casita. More than a dozen different hues were considered. Ultimately ‘Chocolate’ (Sunroc, St George) was selected with cues taken partly from the sandstone but chiefly from the earth tones present in the slope behind the house. Lest the wall morph into one continuous color and become quite blah, it was paramount to accentuate the wall’s running bond rhythm. This was achieved by using a contrasting and deeply saturated chocolate mortar. The home is clad in weathering steel, standing off the sheathing and allowing the home to ‘breathe’. The rusted patina continues to evolve and will never need painting. I was lucky to visit when the patina was created by contractor/artist John Fahrenkamp. The steel was first etched with dilute muriatic acid. After rinsing, oxidizing hydrogen peroxide was applied and rinsed away several times. Like magic, in a matter of hours, the steel took on a rust that if one didn’t know better appeared as though it had been present for 20 years. The patina has continued to slightly deepen over time. The floor is a simple polished and sealed concrete and for music lovers yields outstanding acoustics from B&W speakers. Score lines, with location specified by the architects, were placed to minimize cracking and to provide visual relief from one large mass of material. The floor is a snap to clean with a commercial sized ‘Swiffer’ using only water. To add warmth to the space, we elected to place the ‘floor’ on the ceiling using attractively grained black ash (Enterprise Wood Products, Wisconsin) with its hue complementary to the buff tones present in the upper sandstone layers. Three coats of premium matte finish were applied before installation. The installation by finish carpenter Neal and company was painstaking and meticulous: one can observe the same (cut) board running from inside to outside for all of the planks traversing the window plane. Two expertly created drip edges keep the soffit dry during rain.
In considering interior design, we hoped to achieve a spare yet warm and soulful space. Lack of clutter in a vacation home (as well as leaving one’s clutter behind!) is conducive to relaxation. Neutral tones would predominate as intense color resides just outside. Texture and pattern would gain importance, and as a long-existing culture in the region, we turned to Navajo design to anchor the home to this locale. The interior focal point for the main house is the patterned backsplash of ‘Navajo Zebra’ tile (Exquisite Surfaces, San Francisco). A beautiful warmth permeates the space at night when the backsplash is illuminated and it’s time to gather for board games around the coffee table.
house when we are away. The casita kitchen backsplash features hand painted tile from FireClay (San Francisco). The cozy casita patio is a favorite spot to watch the late afternoon sun turn Watchman Mountain aglow in deep oranges and reds. Our driveway needed special consideration as it is tasked with double duty, acting as the entry path as well. To keep it functional but also inviting, we chose a more earthy material, using a paver with color uniquely created for the project (Sunroc, St George). The unusual half basket weave pattern creates interest but is pleasingly less busy than more common patterns. The arranged blocks echo the strong rectangular language of the house. In search of a distinctive weaving for each bedroom, I happily roadtripped through Arizona and New Mexico, stopping at trading posts and galleries.
Primary Suite Weaving circa 1920 | Two Grey Hills Trading Post, New Mexico Bunk Room Weaving circa 1971 | Ganado Trading Post Arizona Casita Weaving storm pattern by contemporary Navajo weaver Stanley Ben, Arizona
Heath Ceramics (Sausalito, CA) artisanal tile since 1958 is well-known to fans of mid-century modern design and clads the bathroom walls. The small batch tile has been described as ‘perfectly imperfect’ with slightly varying color between batches. Such color variation gives the tile a dynamism not found in conventional tile. The house bath is tiled in the color Redwood. Its hue takes cues from the weathering steel and sandstone beyond. The casita bath is tiled in the color Soapstone. This hue takes cues from the conifers growing on the hillside; its tone and color variation exude a calming energy. Pops of color are found in the refreshed classic national park posters created by Ranger Doug and the fantastic limited edition cover reprint of Sunset Magazine July 1904 (Maynard Dixon). The vintage park brochures are nostalgic reading and mean a lot to me: they were eagerly collected when I was just eight on our family vacation in 1972. ‘Abuelo’ graces the casita wall having posed in the Copper Canyon for artist Mark Mace. He greets passersby and watches over the
Odet loves the privacy of our backyard: the peacefulness and beauty of the hillside is hard to beat. The jacuzzi invites after a day of hiking. Our artful beams using excess construction material were a joy to create; their relationship seems to change with changing viewpoints. The beams could make a nice gently flowing water feature if one is so inclined one day. My favorite spot is the small yoga deck patio, sipping coffee and watching the new day’s sunlight strike the West Temple. It is awe-inspiring. As day turns to night, the yoga deck also happens to provide a perfect spot to bundle up, rest one’s head and marvel at a mass of twinkling stars. No detail was too small to consider. Hours were spent imagining an element too often neglected: the address marker. I have tremendous gratitude for neighbor Laura, who helped to guide key aspects of the project and fittingly put her stamp on the marker’s final design. For our home to be recently featured in dwell.com surpasses our grandest dreams. Thank you for your interest in our special retreat. Perhaps you will have the good fortune to enjoy it as we have and be blessed to write its next chapters… Warmly,
Odet and Alex
Sausalito, CA | March 2023
435.229.2411 | Brooke.Wright@EVRealEstate.com BrookeWright.EVRealEstate.com
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