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Text by: Shannon Sharpe

Photography by: Lance Gerber Studios

Romancing the Stone

STONE JOURNAL ISSUE 3

For many architects, designing a home in the desert is an exercise in resisting it—attempting to soften the rough landscape using sleek materials and green grass. But for architect Sean Lockyer of Studio AR&D, the goal is the opposite. Rather than shield occupants from the environment, the homes he designs are conceived to be in conversation with it.

Case in point: a modern rustic home within Southern California’s Echo Rancho Mirage community. “We really wanted to pencil this house within that desert setting,” Lockyer explains, noting the surrounding dark boulders and native vegetation. That connection began with wrapping the exterior in Buechel Stone’s Barnwood Blue Webwall, an irregular stone that the team drystacked with no grout joints. Lockyer even instructed masons to avoid aligning the stone too perfectly; the installation needed to feel imperfect, a controlled chaos that mirrored nature. “We wanted to celebrate the labor in the application of the stone,” he explains. “The slight imperfections are what make it feel authentic.”The team carried the Barnwood Blue Webwall beyond the façade, allowing the same stone to move uninterrupted from exterior walls through the foyer and into the open living space. On a wall in the great room, the stone runs perpendicular to the sliding glass doors, visually merging the exterior courtyard and indoor living area into one continuous environment. “By using the stone indoors and outdoors, we continue the material conversation,” Lockyer explains, noting that the approach “really helps blur the lines between the landscape and the interior architectural environment.”

While the Barnwood Blue Webwall’s continued material thread defines the architecture, so does the spatial experience, which is shaped less by decoration than by volume. Ceiling heights expand and contract as occupants move through the house, subtly guiding circulation. The foyer feels compressed and sheltered, encouraging a pause. However, as one proceeds toward shared areas, the ceilings widen and rise. “As you enter a home, it should feel tighter and more refined,” Lockyer notes. “Then, as it opens in width, it should open in height”. The ceilings of more intimate rooms—such as the scullery, media room, and laundry room— are lower again, creating what the architect describes as “a gentle hug.” These secondary spaces are intentionally cozy, designed for separation from the larger open plan. “People can’t be on top of each other 24 hours a day,” Lockyer says with a laugh. “We need some breaks.”

The progression from the entry is intentional, with a tighter, sheltered hallway giving a moment of orientation before moving into the rest of the home.

In the living room, a wall clad in Barnwood Blue Webwall extends directly through to the courtyard beyond, reinforcing the home’s desert connection.

“We wanted to celebrate the labor in the application of the stone. The slight imperfections are what make it feel authentic.”

The firm also served as the landscape architect, allowing the exterior spaces to develop simultaneously with the home. Outdoor living and dining areas extend directly from the house, encouraging movement between interior spaces and the landscape. Native desert vegetation—sage and creosote bushes—was preserved and supplemented rather than replaced, allowing the terrain to remain visually consistent with the surrounding environment. The pool sits within this natural setting, reflecting light back toward the house while maintaining clear views to the boulders beyond.

This ongoing dialogue with the desert makes an extension of its surroundings rather than a mere standalone building. The mosaic stone, natural wood, abundant light, and shifting spatial volume guide movement while keeping occupants engaged with the desert beyond the glass. By resisting smooth minimalism in favor of texture and handcrafted elements, the house finds its identity not in contrast to the environment but in harmony with it. As Lockyer puts it, “The more things feel authentic and real, the more successful the project is.”

◗Architecture: Studio AR&D. Mason: AA Masonry. The stone used in this project is Buechel Stone’s Barnwood Blue Webwall.

From the approach to the entry to the backyard, the landscape remains intentionally consistent. Native desert plantings—such as Saguaro and barrel cacti, creosote, and sage grass—extend across the property to visually connect the house to its setting.

The progression from the entry is intentional, with a tighter, sheltered hallway giving a moment of orientation before moving into the rest of the home.

Clad in Buechel Stone’s Barnwood Blue Webwall, the home is designed to sit within—rather than apart from—its surroundings. The irregular mosaic stone echoes the boulders and terrain beyond the site.

The home’s stone façade was drystacked, without grout to highlight its handcrafted character. The irregular pattern creates a sense of “controlled chaos,” reflecting the firm’s philosophy that architecture should feel natural, tactile, and enduring.

As architect Sean Lockyer explains, the, the Barnwood Blue Webwall has “a very organic edge detail—very raw, similar to what you find native in the exterior landscape,” giving the façade a natural presence against the desert backdrop.

“By using the stone indoors and outdoors, we continue the material conversation.”

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