Scottsdale home's renovation brings desert beauty inside

Take a tour

Initially, the renovation was confined to the kitchen.

Margie and Kevin Bierl wanted a kitchen that was open, sophisticated and modern and that embraced the million-dollar views from the wall of windows overlooking Pinnacle Peak and the fifth and sixth tee blocks at Renegade Golf Course.

But what began in the kitchen quickly spread to the rest of the Bierls' home in Desert Mountain, a gated community in north Scottsdale.

The kitchen is now a sleek space with a Brazilian Black Beauty granite countertop that wraps around two sides of the room, defining the area and creating access to the adjoining living and dining rooms.

This is a home that accommodates the parties and large family gatherings the Bierls love to host.

The kitchen, with its sweeping counter creating a natural gathering spot that includes the cook in the conversation without interfering in the food preparation, is the hub of the area.

The kitchen is also large enough to handle more than one cook at a time.

There is easy access not only visually between the outdoors and indoors, but physically as well.

Splashes of cranberry accent dark, cherry-wood cabinets, autumn-colored slate floors and stainless-steel appliances.

This color palette extends throughout the main rooms, echoing the Sonoran Desert colors outdoors.

The Bierls wanted their indoor spaces to reflect the desert and mountain scene that dominates their view.

The 24-inch-square slate tiles indoors are echoed in the sweeping patio floor covering, making both spaces appear as one.

Red canvas covers lounge chairs, outdoor sofas and chairs. A negative-edge pool sparkles, seeming to stretch into the desert.

Two fire pits create gathering spots at either end of the patio, one next to the outdoor spa.

Inside, low-profile chairs and sofas create conversation areas. A towering stone-covered fireplace anchors the living room, but the expansive walls of glass create a seamless indoor/outdoor sense.

But one of the family's favorite gathering spots, and one space that affords one of the home's most dramatic views, is the upstairs theater room.

A balcony off this room again provides access to the mountain views.

Margie wanted a home that not only reflected the stunning desert terrain, but one that featured the couple's eclectic, sophisticated design sense.

She didn't want a home that looked like she'd ordered it from a catalog.

"It's a nice quiet feeling," Margie says of their home. "I never feel like I'm closed in."

Reach the reporter at susan.felt@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8246.

Margie and Kevin Bierl liked the open feel of their north Scottsdale home, but they worked to make it fit their sophisticated, modern sense of taste.