A couple with an eclectic collection of art finds a home with the right fit.
Sedona and Switzerland are worlds apart, but both locales factored into how a Washington couple ended up with a spot-on spec house in Paradise Valley. After coming down with a case of red-rock fever, Jim and Sandi Weder bought a vacation home in Sedona decades ago. They eventually yearned for action beyond Pink Jeep tours and vortex seekers and purchased a starter townhouse in Phoenix. While in Switzerland, where Jim has roots, they decided to pull the trigger over a romantic dinner.
“I think it was the wine,” recalls Sandi, of their 2019 decision to buy a 7,000-square-foot home that was far too big for the empty nesters. “We just fell in love with the house. It has that indoor/outdoor layout that we enjoyed in Sedona.”
It also has views, which is why its Phoenix-based architect and builder Richard Doria, in collaboration with developer Tom Knutson, selected the lot and made sure every room offers macro and micro snapshots of the desert scenery. Against a backdrop that includes panoramic vistas of Four Peaks and Mummy Mountain, layers of lush vegetation accented by flickering fire features unfold in every direction following a full landscape installation on the property’s original blank slate. The effect warms up the home’s scale and minimalist, poured-concrete shell. White oak floors—sans grain for a smooth finish—walnut cabinetry and a pale palette further soften the structure.
“It’s a throwback to midcentury modern, an ode to ‘Mad Men’ with a lot of wood and brass,” says interior designer Krissie Young, who was on board from the beginning. “We were going for a serene feeling that doesn’t distract from the views. It’s a great backdrop for art, too.”
The Weders, who share an affinity for collecting luxury watches, clocks and cars, also fill their home with artworks, including large-scale photographs and sculptures. One immediately picks up on a motif of movement relating to complex timepieces, from a cool grandfather clock to a playable guitar clock as well as music boxes. It makes sense with Jim’s background and Switzerland being the watch capital of the world. They’re like kids in a candy store at Maximilian Büsser and Friends’ M.A.D. Gallery, which specializes in radical, tricked-out timepieces and mechanical art—basically, heaven for watch geeks. Jim highlights a music box that resembles the Starship Enterprise and plays the Star Wars theme by John Williams. It’s something you’d show Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk if they stopped by. But first, they’d be greeted by two sculptures—one natural in the form of a relocated, mature ironwood tree and the other by Scottsdale steel sculptor Michael Anderson displayed in the front yard. Another folly, a perforated metal bridge inspired by Desert Botanical Garden’s signature bridge, was also added for water run-off. Illuminated at night, it casts a pleasant glow.
“The property was wide open before, so we created meaningful connections through hardscapes and built exterior walls of poured concrete for privacy while still being open to the desert.”
— Donna Winters, landscape architect
“The landscape (by Phoenix Home & Garden Masters of the Southwest award-winning landscape architect Donna Winters), is where we really went overboard,” says Sandi, who lost count of the outdoor fire pits within a new hardscape scheme that includes steel planters to create numerous outdoor rooms—from where Jim sips his morning coffee in peace outside his office to where they entertain guests around a fully equipped outdoor kitchen’s massive island overlooking a fountain and patch of lawn. “Our son-in-law is French, so he plays pétanque on the grass,” Sandi notes.
The couple’s love of entertaining and the concept of a hearth carries over to the home’s interiors. During holiday family get-togethers, a player piano sets the vibe. A large wooden cube between the kitchen and dining room serves as a butler’s pantry for ample storage and a clever answer to breaking up the great room for intimacy. Guests can gaze into a prominent, two-sided fireplace facing the foyer and living room. Naturally, an oversized timepiece wall sculpture is mounted above it.
One can’t blame the Weders for losing track of the number of fireplaces and pits. Accessed through a hefty pivot door, the master bedroom reveals yet another one, a slick, free-standing style. The modern interpretation of a ’60s staple uses gas, versus traditional wood.
“We spend a lot of time in Europe, where they have so many cool fireplaces,” says Jim of the last piece of the puzzle. “It seemed like the room called for it.”
