Scottsdale Arizona – “The Most Western Town”, are we losing it or what? Is Scottsdale beginning to look a little like Tuscany? If it were up to all
architects and, designers in town, I think “look” would overtake whole desert. Every shop and designer touts “Old World Elegance” with velvets, brocades, and beads. Venetian colors of olive, burgundy, gold and black proliferate interiors. We may love look in Tuscany, but in desert? Finding velvets and brocades in Scottsdale is just about like chintz and floral fabrics – out of pocket.
How many more rocks and turrets are we going to see, before this “look” bites dust? Whatever happened to simplicity of adobe? It suits our desert environment. It belongs in our Western atmosphere. Fortunately or unfortunately, we do not have ranks and rows of cypress trees and gazing out window at cactus and sand, kind of makes beads and tassels more than a little out of character.
Having worked as a designer for many years, I have always been a firm believer in design to suit your locale…right along with Frank Lloyd Wright who chose Scottsdale as his home. Taliesin does not contain velvets and brocades, but takes advantage of desert vistas and local materials. There’s a reason for Charleston “Single Houses”, “Shingle Style” of our Eastern beaches, “Prairie Homes of Wisconsin, The New England homes with “widow walks”, “shotgun” houses in Bayou, and all other historical home designs that were born from need and suitability.
