Designed by Drewett Works, Ownby Design and Greey|Pickett, The Barn at Silverleaf is the ultimate escape-from-it-all desert dream. The best part? It can be yours—for a cool $29.5 million.
A warm tone-on-tone materials palette—that includes dry-stacked ledgestone and deep overhangs—defines the Prairie-style architecture of this hillside home. The horizontal nature of the architecture was designed to fit the topography. ENDERINGS COURTESY OF DREWETT WORKS
The game room and fitness center are integrated into one highly functional space with media, a golf simulator, a lounge and a bar. RENDERINGS COURTESY OF DREWETT WORKS
Steep sites are nothing new in Scottsdale, especially in the tony Silverleaf community, where breathtaking views are all part of the experience. But, when planning The Barn at Silverleaf (silverleafrealty.com)—a new, 14,048-square-foot on-the-market home conceived by developer Jason Weese and designed by architect C.P. Drewett of Drewett Works (drewettworks.com), interior designer Claire Ownby of Ownby Design (ownbydesign.com) and landscape design firm Greey|Pickett (greeypickett.com)—the challenging topography set the tone in a way it hadn’t in the past. “It’s on a radical hillside that’s really complex,” he shares. “The building itself needs to have a close relationship with the way the topography is working on the site, so that helped generate the form.”
Instead of backing away from a majorly difficult task, Drewett embraced the challenge. “I compare designing on a site like this [to] building a ship in a bottle. You’ve got to define the constraints, which is the bottle that you want to fill, then you can see the ship in the bottle. But it’s upfront finding all the limitations.”
Once he positioned the home on the site and oriented the architecture with the topography, Drewett started subtracting from its form to allow for stunning views. That helped define the design further. “One of the principles of Prairie-style architecture is to erode the corner,” he says. “So in doing that, it gave credence to explore this stylistically.”
The great room offers world-class city views to the southwest through broad expanses of glass. The band below the clerestory windows helps scale down the 15-foot ceilings. RENDERINGS COURTESY OF DREWETT WORKS
This led him to create a home with a strong sense of horizontality influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s aforementioned Prairie style. “There are these layers of rugged stack stone that have a close relationship with the ground floor plan,” he explains of the house that’s nestled into the hillside. “Then there’s a honed limestone that’s more finished and tailored that’s more about structure and holding up the architecture itself. Deploying different types of stones helps weave the story.”
A chic closet area echoes the design sensibility of the rest of the home. RENDERINGS COURTESY OF DREWETT WORKS
Blending the home with the land around it was a clear objective—as was creating a space meant for actually living, not just admiration. “Some spaces are so precious that you tiptoe in them. They’re not necessarily durable, they’re beautiful. But this house is intended to sort of hit back a little bit. It’s meant to be lived in—people congregating all day long, the Super Bowl and parties,” Drewett explains. Illustrating this sensibility is the entire lower level, which houses a large show garage that opens to the game room, bar and lounge, a theater, a golf simulator, a gym and a spa—with a hot tub, cold plunge, infrared sauna and steam room. This area leads out to a lap pool, one of two pools on site. “There’s also a bunk room,” Drewett says. “The whole idea is that this guy is going to have all of his buddies come into town for the Phoenix Open and they’re all going to pile into the bunk room. That’s kind of the mentality.” But Drewett is quick to explain there’s a balanced ratio of spaces. “We wanted to have certain areas activated with activity and others more about relaxation and rest,” he says. “For example, the primary suite literally walks out onto the desert floor, so it’s got this really close, peaceful relationship to the landscape.”
The car showroom is an example of how the main building elements—windows, flooring, ceiling—seamlessly integrate into the design of the rest of the home RENDERINGS COURTESY OF DREWETT WORKS
“SOME SPACES ARE SO PRECIOUS THAT YOU TIPTOE IN THEM. THEY’RE NOT NECESSARILY DURABLE, THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL. BUT THIS HOUSE IS INTENDED TO SORT OF HIT BACK A LITTLE BIT.” –C.P. DREWETT
A spacious indoor living area with views of the McDowell Mountains sits adjacent to the indoor bar, making entertaining easy. The lower ceiling height embraces the space, creating an intimate alfresco setting. RENDERINGS COURTESY OF DREWETT WORKS
Both Drewett and Ownby call out the kitchen as a standout. “The home has so many gems to highlight, but one of my favorite design features is the ‘hidden’ back kitchen that has a motorized panel behind the cooktop that can open up and connect to the front kitchen when service is needed,” Ownby says, noting that the home’s architecture and the surrounding nature inspired the rich and earthy interiors palette of warm woods layered with crisp and clean details. “The doors used to enter the space are concealed in the millwork panels so access is only known to those who need it.”
The primary bedroom’s staggering views double as artwork that changes depending on the time of day or the season RENDERINGS COURTESY OF DREWETT WORKS
Listing agent Mike Sweeney of Silverleaf Realty is also a fan. “The main living room and kitchen are certainly highlights. ... They are key gathering spaces with retractable walls of glass that open to dramatic views, and a feeling of casual elegance sets the tone for entertaining or just enjoying a quiet evening at home,” he says. “The large show garage and bar area also combine to create a unique and spectacular area to take in views, entertain and display a collection of world-class autos.”
A lap pool is situated next to a stone water mill with a ledgestone column, above where a second pool resides. Th e peaceful mountainscape adds to the serene setting. RENDERINGS COURTESY OF DREWETT WORKS
Currently awaiting permit approval—G.S. Fries Construction (gsfries.com) was recently brought on as builder—the stunning masterpiece is just waiting for the perfect buyer to step in. “Buyers are looking for a sophisticated modern design that has all the amenities for an active resort lifestyle,” says Sweeney. “The Barn provides the best of indoor-outdoor living, a state-of-the-art home theater, a private spa and fitness area, a world-class show garage... and comfortable guest areas for entertaining.” Now, who wouldn’t want that?
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