Hoot Owl Ranch

A California Homesteader’s Cabin Turned Modern Ranch House Near Pappy and Harriet's

This designer rehab of a 1958 homesteader’s property in the California desert near Joshua Tree mimics its boulder strewn landscape. Strong, natural, and architecturally innovative, the ranch house was created to blur the boundaries between indoors and out via a peaked roof, open floor plan, abundant windows, and the creative upcycling of salvaged wood from its original good bones. The owner/architect of this vacation home rental in California took his inspiration from a family ranch he loved as a child, and created this desert outpost on 10 unique acres dotted with iconic Joshua trees, cholla cactus and creosote, and the boulder fields outside its door and windows.

The architect owner of this unique desert getaway got much of his inspiration from the family ranch he visited as a child in the mid 1970s. Hoping to recreate the magic and memories of that retreat in a home for his own children and their cousins, he spent a year exploring the dramatic Mojave Desert around Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree National Park, ultimately discovering a former homesteader’s cabin in the Boulder Hills that now serves as this completely redesigned home’s base.

The homesteader’s place had been added onto over the years, and the space felt haphazard at best, so the owner returned it to its original footprint, salvaged the wood and concrete from it for reuse, and set about tackling his redesign. The idea was to blur the boundaries between indoors and out, so he raised the roof, created an open floor plan, added modern bathrooms and a large bedroom suite, and upcycled the homestead’s original wood and concrete into exterior and interior cladding, outdoor furniture, and patios and walkways.

Indoors, white oak covers the communal-styled kitchen that is fully equipped to serve a crowd with a dining area that seats 12 and a window seat-type reading nook that seats an additional five. The decor throughout favors a mid-century vibe, and furnishings include Hay pieces made to replicate Danish Modern designs. Open, floor-to-ceiling shelves divide the cathedral-ceilinged living room from the dining area, and the mid-century modern look continues, where the fireplace mantle holds cool wooden accessories, funky pendant lamps hang overhead, and a 1970s era swing chair sways in one of the many banks of windows offering views out onto the rugged, prehistoric-seeming landscape.

The home’s bedrooms are ideal for hosting, with the vaulted plywood main suite offering floor-to-ceiling windows with big views, a built-in king bed, and a deep bathtub isolated in a picture window alcove with views onto the rocks outside. An additional en-suite bathroom offers both indoor and outdoor showers, the latter with access to the home’s covered, porch-like deck that frames the building and offers outdoor lounge and dining areas. A second bedroom offers a queen-sized bed and workspace, plus another en-suite bath. And the kids will love the bunk room, with its four beds, own TV and big windows onto the desert world scurrying by outside.

AROUND

Set in a Flintstones-esque landscape dominated by the huge boulders typical of Joshua Tree National Park, this vacation home rental in California has an otherworldly setting, surrounded by spare desert flora and wild fauna in a section of the Mojave Desert known as Yucca Valley’s Boulder Hills. 

The area was originally a remote getaway for folks from LA who came to spend rustic weekends there, but now has municipal power and water due to an influx of more full-time residents. Close enough to the town of Joshua Tree to benefit from all its services, the home’s location features the exposed boulders like those within the nearby Joshua Tree National Park, and iconic Joshua trees also dot the 10-acre private plot, joining cholla cactus, creosote, and other spare, prickly desert growth. 

The home is a quick drive from the Joshua Tree National Park entrance and makes a great base for exploring and enjoying its well-known recreational opportunities—hiking, bouldering, and rock climbing. After nightfall, the home offers amazing peace and quiet and breathtaking starry skies that are joined by twinkling city lights below to brighten the night. Palm Springs, with its vibrant Desert Modernist design community, is further away, yet still easily accessible from the home.

The house is about two hours from LA without traffic. In general, try and leave LA before 1:00PM to avoid mild to heavy traffic.

LOCATION

Yucca Valley, California, USA. Nearest airport: Palm Springs

BEST TIME TO VISIT: Year round