Sultry Scottsdale

A hotbed of contemporary architecture rises in the Arizona desert.

text by: Mike Sheridan

January 1, 2005

To Learn about a Peter Magee home, you need only close a drawer halfway. Rather than stay partially open, a drawer in a Magee custom home glides silently to a full close. (Click image to enlarge)

Such a performance is no accident. Magee spent extra to install the special glide mechanisms in every drawer in his recently completed 8,000-square-foot contemporary home in Scottsdale’s Desert Mountain community.

“In order to differentiate myself as a builder, I had to commit to a level of quality and content that exceeded what everyone else was doing,” says Magee, who has designed three luxury-spec estates to date and is embarking on his fourth (for a glimpse of another Magee project, see “Desert Mountain High,” Vacation Homes, Fall 2004). “Many builders try to do as little as possible inside a home to maximize their profits. Sometimes drawers are installed and just glued together. The majority of customers don’t know the difference. But when potential buyers come to me, I try to educate them about the quality of my homes so they will realize the distinction between a Magee home and another builder’s home.”  (Click image to enlarge)

Magee, who spent years as a top corporate turn-around executive, drew upon his own experience of mansion living when he started building and designing custom homes. Because he was new to the construction business, he had a different way of looking at things. “I have bought some homes on this scale and gotten involved in the building of such homes,” he says. “I have a feel for what is relevant and what is not in terms of content and quality. Most homebuilders have never lived this way. I have. I know what works and what doesn’t. I design and build homes with my head, but also with my heart.”

Oftentimes, it is sensibility that wins over sense. “I often thumb through magazines and tear out pages with items I like,” explains Magee. “I saw a picture of an apartment in London with a beautiful solid limestone tub. I fell in love with the tub. It was a piece of art. I discovered that Boffi made it, so I ordered one. My head kept saying ‘no’ to a $35,000 tub, but my heart won out.” (Click image to enlarge)

Dawn Dickinson, Exclusive Properties of Arizona
480.363.0175
www.eprealtors.com
 
Magee Custom Homes
480.488.0090

Holler and Saunders
520.287.5153

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