Canyon Culture: A House Built into a Rock Wall
(Page 3 of 3)
September/October 2001
By Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Dan’s home is small—about 650 square feet for his main room, bathroom, office, and sleeping loft. “I like living in a compact area and using the outdoors as much as I can,” he says. To this end, he has a wide front porch, fully covered by the home’s shed roof, which is ideal for sitting outside on hot summer days when temperatures can reach up to 100 degrees.
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Although compact, the space does not feel cramped. Dan achieved this effect with generous windows, thirteen-foot ceilings where the roof meets the rock, and a relatively open layout. To increase the flow between the bathroom and office, Dan installed his bathroom mirror with door hinges that attach to the top. The mirror opens, window-like, into his office. A brass hook, attached to the base of the loft, keeps the mirror ajar. Not only does this trick allow the home to “breathe,” it also helps with temperature control.
Made for a man
Visitors agree, the home feels decidedly masculine. “All the guys who came to work on this place just loved it,” says finish carpenter Grimes. “It’s got a Western style, plain and simple, with lots of wood and not many frills.”
Inside, the walls, cabinets, trim, and doors are sugar pine. “There are two sides to the wood,” Grimes says. “We used the rough side for the walls, which are tongue and groove, and we used the smooth side for the trim and cabinets.”
The cast-iron, wood-burning stove that sits in the corner also lends a rugged feel, and Dan admits he enjoys cooking on it in his one frying pan. “That’s all you need,” he says.
Going back out
The outdoors is what drew Dan to McElmo Canyon, and its mysteries begin right outside his front door. In addition to the geological majesty, reminders of the Ancestral Puebloans abound. “Dozens of gray pottery shards appeared in the dripline of the roof every time it rained,” Grimes recalls. And within feet of Dan’s living room are the small remains of an Anasazi dwelling. “Originally, my house was going to be right on top of it,” Dan explains. But while excavating for the foundation, he discovered the low sandstone wall, so he shortened the pad and added a last-minute living room window to view the ancient handiwork.
Just around the corner is a panel of Anasazi petroglyphs—spirals and figures chiseled into the soft stone. A reclining Kokopelli plays his flute as he stares toward the stars.
Roaming his property, Dan points to project after project that he wants to complete—from eradicating the invasive tamarisk to building a small gathering hall for his Open Focus clients (see “Working the Land,” page 45). Even with his ambitious to-do list, Dan takes the time to enjoy the land—to hike on the slickrock or simply sit still in this animate canyon, and breathe. NH
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