by Brad Mee
Bev Goddard stood high on a plateau overlooking one of Sunbrook Golf Club’s fairways in St. George. Just by chance, her husband Chris was playing the course far below when he looked up and saw Bev contemplating the building site on which she was perched. “She was standing with her hands on her hips, and I thought right then that I probably just bought the land,” he jokes. As it turned out, he was right—they purchased the lot. “The views sold me from the start,” says Bev, referring to panoramic vistas of the St. George community below surrounded by vibrant red-rock mesas, Snow Canyon, Kayente and Pine Valley Mountains in the distance. The prized views not only triggered the Goddards’ purchase of the property, but they also inspired the design of the home they built upon it.
“We decided on a two-story home so that we could see the golf courses below from the second level of the house,” Chris explains. The spacious upper level includes a broad covered deck overlooking the fairways, as well as guest quarters, a home theater and billiards room, Chris’s office and a lounge-like landing. Together, they provide abundant space for hanging out and hosting friends and family. Beneath, the main level features an open great room, a master suite, office/laundry room, gym, powder room and access to a sensational pool and inviting outdoor living areas. “We designed the floor plan so that Chris and I could live solely on the main level if we wanted to,” Bev explains.
Big views and main-floor living weren’t the only items topping the couple’s must-have list. “They wanted modern desert design, comfort and lots of ‘wow’ moments,” explains Aly Blythe, senior designer with LMK Interior Design. The Goddards had worked with Blythe on a previous home and enlisted her help from the very start of this project.
Blythe teamed with the Goddards and builder Brett Boyce with Split Rock Construction to grace the home with innovative features and bold, memorable treatments. The exterior of the ledgestone and mocha-toned stucco structure boasts deep, oversized soffits, glass-paned garage doors and distinctive recessed channels of stainless steel that run the width of the house, accentuating its strong horizontal lines and bold, contemporary style. Inside, the recessed metal channels repeat on a smaller scale across the great room’s towering, espresso-stained wood fireplace, on custom interior doors, above the flush-to-the-wall baseboards and even on the powder bathroom’s granite vanity. “It’s a detail that elevates the design and creates continuity throughout the interior,” Blythe says.
The home’s commanding décor stemmed from two elements. “We began with the wire-brushed oak floors and the gray lacquered kitchen cabinets,” Blythe says. “Everything flowed from there.” The floors’ natural color and organic texture plays against the cabinets’ high-gloss finish and clean lines to create contrast, a key element Blythe masterfully used to develop visual depth and drama throughout. The designer composed a light-and-dark, desert-inspired palette of creams, grays and rusts in a mix of leathers and textiles, then added black accents. She also chose wood furnishings and lighting fixtures with finishes ranging from dark ebony to warm cerused oak. Room to room, she repeated these materials in varied ways to reinforce cohesiveness and consistency in her design. “Each space feels unique but visually links with others to make the overall décor feel whole and harmonious,” she explains.
While Blythe successfully instilled a sense of unity, she also executed her clients’ call for surprising elements at every turn. In the entry, for example, she backed a sculptural console with a lighted metal-mesh drapery suspended from the ceiling. Nearby, the modern staircase’s thick oak treads appear to float, courtesy of concealed LED lighting, and, around the corner, a built-in bar boasts a waterfall quartzite countertop that’s theatrically backlit. “You can do too much, but you can also definitely do too little,” she says. “I play on the side of being more impactful.” Blythe isn’t one to miss an opportunity. “I start with a floor plan and look for areas where I can make an impression.”
When it comes to impressive features, perhaps the most memorable are the framed views that captivate visitors as they step through the front door, drawing their eyes through the great room and out to the patio and pool that appear to float above the valley below. At the patio’s edge, a ribbon of flames rises from a short stone planter wall from which water spills into the large rectangular pool. Nearby, chairs surround a raised fire pit providing the Goddards with yet another spot to sit back and soak in the sensational scenery—the same scenery that inspired the daring design of the contemporary house they proudly call home.
Modern Moves
1. Designed for entertaining, the bar opens to the living room and features a waterfall backlit countertop of Lumix quartzite.
2.Concealed LED lighting theatrically illuminates the stair’s custom handrail and each of the thick wood steps.
3. Formed with strong horizontal lines and uncluttered planes, the home perches on a plateau overlooking St. George valley.
4. Homeowners Chris and Bev Goddard by the living area’s high-style bar.
5.Stainless-metal drapery is lit from above to create a dramatic backdrop for the entry’s asymmetric table.
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Featured Image:
A large pivot door, detailed with ribbons of frosted glass and an oversized handle, opens to spacious living areas and sensational vies of St. George. Photo by: Scot Zimmerman
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To see more inspiring house tours, click here.
Sources:
Interior Design: Aly Blythe, LMK Interior Design, SLC
Contractor: Brett Boyce, Split Rock Construction, St. George
Landscape Design: A&W Landscaping, St. George, 435-688-2688
Millwork: Riverwoods Mill, St. George
Cabinetry and doors: Designed by Aly Blythe and crafted by Riverwoods Mill, St. George
Hardwood flooring: Oquirrh Mountain Hardwoods, St. George
Electrician: Custom Electric, Washington, 435-229-7774
Metal Work: Designed by Aly Blythe and crafted by Metal by Trent, St. George
Furnishings: LMK Interior Design, SLC
