Sedona Homes Inspired by Nature

What is the BIGGEST inspirational theme when designing a home in Sedona Arizona?  Is it the climate, the beautiful views or the amazing community of people from around the world?  Take a guess!

It is widely know that Sedona is a unique place on the planet with a powerful presence.  Its majestic beauty is so powerful that it has inspired visitors and residents from around the country and world to re-arrange their lives to be here.  Once they are finally here they realize they are living in an amazing community of talented people who appreciate one another as much as the place they call home.

Many of the homes they live in are just as inspired.  Sedona homes vary from simple structures built by simple means to homes designed by Sedona designers and architects and built by talented builders.  There are three main influences, all of which have once centrual theme, "nature".  Here are those themes of nature.

THE NATURE OF THE PEOPLE OF SEDONA:   Needless to say, the central inspiration for the design of any home, anywhere, ought to be the nature of the people who will live in the homes. Nature is defined as "the inherent character or basic constitution of a person or thing".  People and families are entities with unique preferences, priorities, and personalities, and serve as the starting point for the design of a dwelling.   The design must make their life better if it is to have any measure of success.  The better the design, the better their life.

There are many approaches to Sedona single family residential design.  One very successful approach is to start with design from the inside out around how people live.  This is truly "interior design".  This approach requires a thorough understanding of the people and families, first to get the spaces defined around how they plan to live in the home.  Interior design is different from interior decor, but related.  The design is primarily about the shape and flow of space, while the decor is about what is in the space, besides the people of course!

When people move to Sedona they bring two things, their decor and their personalities which may or may not be connected!  It is advisable to begin with personalities and patterns of living to design a house.  The decor will fall into place accordingly.

But the interior design of a home is just one piece of a more complex puzzle.  Sedona designers and architects must contend with the geology and the climate of Sedona which have their own natural controlling forces.

THE GEOLOGY OF SEDONA:  Sedona began forming about 500 million years ago.  For about 300 million years the land was ocean bottom and coastal plains.  As an ocean bottom, layers of sedimentary sandstone rock was formed.  About 3 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau uplifted, and caused erosion by wind, rain and melting snow.  Over time these actions created Oak Creek Canyon and exposed the beautiful layers of sandstone rock that we now see today.  Gradually the vegetation and wildlife migrated and adapted.  Sedona now sits about 4200 feet above sea level in the high desert with a plethora of hearty drought tolerant vegetation and wild life.  All of this serves as inspiration for Sedona house design, and takes the approach to design from the outside in to work on the residential architecture puzzle.

Sedona building designers and architects study each parcel of land to determine how to best fit the house to the rocks, soil and natural slope and flow of the land.  Care is taken to allow the natural flow of water to continue it's path to lower ground without impacting other dwellings or city storm water management patterns.

Consideration is also taken to preserve the natural vegetation and existing ground cover that is centuries in the making.  The City of Sedona has established building design guideline which must be followed to obtain a building permit.  These guidelines bring a cohesive feeling to the design of Sedona dwellings and a smart way to sustaining the beauty of the land.  The result is a city where the homes blend in more than they stand out, allowing the the majestic mountains, vegetation and sky to remain the focus from afar.

THE SEDONA CLIMATE:  Sedona is in the sun belt of the Southwest, but very near the edge of a cooler environment.  The higher elevation keeps Sedona cooler that central and southern AZ and warmer that Flagstaff in northern AZ.  The air is still dry by comparison to most of America, yet the climate supports many trees and shrubs to make it much greener that most deserts.  Because of the dry air, temperatures shift dramatically from day to night.  The diurnal temperature gap from day to night averages about 40 degree, quite a swing.  The sky is mostly sunny, even in the winter, so cooler temperatures are not-so-cold in the sun.  This all plays a significant roll in design Sedona homes and completes the architectural puzzle.

Sustainable residential design looks at the natural patterns of the climate as a source for building.  The Sedona climate is uniquely suited for Passive Solar Design. The rising and setting of the sun each day of the year can be used to orient court yards, patios, windows and doors.  Roof lines and overhangs can be oriented to create shade or let in warmth by design without adding cost to the structure.

Modern building technology continues to evolve making it possible to build homes that rely less on active mechanical systems and non-renewable energy sources, thus reducing the cost of operating and maintaining a home.  Advanced framing, insulation, roofing, exterior finishing, windows and doors are becoming more sophisticated, so that building envelopes can last longer and out perform their predecessors.