Phoenix Home & Garden
November 2021

Influenced by classic design, this contemporary home favors uncluttered spaces, clean lines and artistic flair. AFTER DECADES OF LIVING ON THE EAST COAST, WHERE THEIR high-powered careers took them to Washington D.C, Philadelphia and New York City, Carol Ann Petren and Floyd Clarke moved to Arizona in 2013.

Phoenix Home & Garden
Special Edition 2015

BUILDING A NEW HOME on any mountain can be challenging. And building on a rocky mountain in Scottsdale can be downright difficult. But numerous boulder outcroppings didn't deter architect James Hann, especially after seeing the location’s raw beauty and jaw-dropping views. “The two most significant things that drove design decisions for this home were the lot itself and the views,” he says.

Phoenix Home & Garden
October 2013

Except for a backdrop of saguaro cacti, this stone-clad dwelling might be centuries old and perched on a hillside in Italy’s Tuscany region. In reality, the timeless-looking home and garden are just four years old and poised dramatically on a mountain northwest of Tucson.

Phoenix Home & Garden
February 2012

COLUMNS LEADING TO THIS award-winning north Scottsdale home’s entrance are encrusted with stacked stone-evocative of their boulder-strewn sur­roundings. The same pillars continue inside the house, where they serve as structural elements and dramatic visual “sculpture.”

Scottsdale Living
Winter 2012

From the exterior, the custom home’s entrance is reminiscent of a courtyard from more than a century ago, which leads into a custom-carved entry door. Taking more than two years to build by Dan Couturier of Madison Couturier Custom Homes, the Italian­inspired home is surrounded by Arizona’s untouched desert landscape with mountains and golf courses as backdrop views.

Luxury Home Quarterly
August 2011

James Hann, AIA, principal of James Hann Design, AIA, in Scottsdale, Arizona, started his business in 1988 after working with a number of other firms. And from the very start he has specialized in custom homes. “I’ve always enjoyed custom residential work,” he says. “With commercial designs, the key consideration is the budget, and architecture is a relatively small part of it. But with custom residential projects, you’re dealing with the owners-individuals and families. They’re more likely to splurge on what they want. Purely from an architectural and design standpoint, those projects arc a lot more fun.”

Arizona Foothills: Style Substance Sophistication
December 2011

Earth tones and sun-shielding fixtures that produce a warm glow make family and friends feel at ease at this not-your-average guesthouse. Though the welcoming patios and custom light fixtures are of note, the six majestic arches act as the main architectural focus.

Phoenix Home & Garden
February 2010

This stone-clad Scottsdale residence is Home Sweet Home with an emphasis on Sweet. Built for everyday family life and entertaining, it has all the comforts of home, and a super-size helping more.

Oasis: The Luxury Collection
2007 Edition

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE EVERLASTING. This is no less true when it comes to designing a home. When a prospective home buyer walks on a building site for the first time, the inherent views are usually the most significant determinants in the buyer’s first impression, and often they are the deciding factor upon which the decision to purchase is based.

Phoenix Home & Garden: The Magazine of Southwest Living
July 2006

FLOYD CLARKE AND CAROL ANN PETREN knew their two-year search for an Arizona home site had ended when they clambered up boulders at the base of Apache Peak in north Scottsdale. The dramatic mountainside setting, with its panoramic views and cool breezes, felt like the perfect place to escape the pressures of their busy Washing­ton, D.C., lives.

Phoenix Home & Garden: The Magazine of Southwest Living
November 2004

Judging by this home’s facade, one might guess it to be a century old. That is the impression homeowners Dennis and Ro­maine Markel hoped to create with their Tuscan-inspired Scottsdale residence, winner of a 2000 Gold Nugget Grand Award at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, and one of two Extreme Dream Homes being featured on Phoenix Home & Garden’s 2004 Palette of Homes tour.

Luxury Home Builder
September 2004

“You’re just infected with a festive feeling as soon as you walk inside this home’s pool-oriented courtyard,” says architect James Hann. “It is almost as though you were walking into a party.” All of the outdoor spaces connect to the interior courtyard. A curved upper balcony extends the second-floor game room to the outdoors, echoing the shape of the breakfast nook beneath it.

Phoenix Home & Garden
April 2004

After years of living in climates where cold or humidity dictated the lay of the land, Dennis and Romaine Markel fell in love with the Sonoran Desert. “We find the desert intriguing,” Dennis acknowledges. “It offers so much you just don’t expect.”

Phoenix Home & Garden
June 2003

If, as they say, less is more, then a transplanted Michigan couple has taken less to the max in a sleek Southwest Modem home. Its clean lines and geometric forms flirt with the ruggedness of the surrounding desert. And its interiors, dressed with spare smartness and natural materials, pay homage to the landscape and invite it inside.

Arizona Foothills
February 2001

SOMETIMES A PROJECT evolves into a complement of elements coming together to form a synchronized, artful creation. Often this creation would be impossible without any one of those elements. Such is the case with this project. Its components include a visionary builder, a creative architect and insightful homeowners.