Blog Content

The Scottsdale architectural firm of Candelaria Design Associates is one of the premier luxury residential architecture firms in the country. Enjoy our blog which features our work, our travel, our recipes, wines, tips on design and decorating, and the lives of our clients and employees, etc.....its all the ingredients for the Candelaria Design Lifestyle. Contact Candelaria Design to start your dream residence 602-604-2001!

2014 That's a Wrap and here we go ~ 2015!

Wow, what a year 2014 was. I enjoyed it thoroughly and all it brought our way. Probably the biggest change was relocating our offices from Central Phoenix to right in the heart of Scottsdale. The overall reaction from our clients has been very favorable and we all love our new home. Much was accomplished and I am so optimistic of what lies ahead in 2015.

First and foremost, I thank my clients, staff, friends, vendors, builders, and of course my family for the continued support and encouragement. We have all made it through some tough times over the last eight years and I feel like we are all now back on track and moving forward. I'm so encouraged by the projects underway and just the underlying optimism and drive I'm seeing out there is so uplifting. What an exciting month we have ahead here in Phoenix/Scottsdale with the Barrett Jackson Car Show and the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl and Phoenix Open! I love it! Let's all showcase our beautiful city and state in a positive and friendly manner.

It all comes down to our attitude, our drive, and our optimism not just with our work but with our lives. And the power of our collective optimism makes an even greater difference. So let's GO!

So here is a look back to 2014 - what a year for Candelaria Design. I think you will see that Candelaria Design is about much more than just drawing a set of plans. We are about infusing a lot of life and living into our plans and designs. Enjoy and follow us in 2015 on Candelaria Design on Facebook  and Candelaria Design Lifestyle on Flipboard

January 2014 

We started the year with some cooking of course. A little paella is always a good start to the year at Casa Candelaria with friends from Arizona and Spain!


We wrapped up the design on several homes to start the year including a lovely Ranch Hacienda home now starting drywall in Verrado being build by Steg Custom Homes and a Ranch Contemporary underway in Paradise Valley by Schultz Development. 



Project Manager, Meredith Thomson, and I traveled to the Bay Area to start design on a home in Atherton and toured the process on our Candelaria Design home under construction in Cupertino. CA. 

Probably the most exciting event was the selection of our new Candelaria Design Home in Scottsdale and the start of our design and construction!

We then saw the completion of this beautiful Candelaria Design Formal Mediterranean Estate at Silverleaf  built by Schultz Development! The home is now featured in the Spring / Summer 2015 Issue of Tuscan Style! 


We finished the month off with a trip to Vegas with clients to shop for finishes at the Surfaces Show. 

February 2014

We finished production on our first Season of Architainment on The Design Network. Get ready for Season 2 now with our new show SKETCH on The Design Network.


We started work on the Mountain Shadows project which is so exciting! Get ready for construction starting this January 2015!


Of course we always worked some cooking in! How about this herb crusted pork roast with roasted apples!

We always work in our commitment to community with our work on the design for the new Colton Bat Cave and of course our ten year commitment now to St. Mary's Food Bank!




A number of new projects continued forward including this Candelaria Design ~ Earth and images Desert Mountain remodel by Landmark West Construction. 

And this beautiful Transitional Style hillside home underway on Mummy Mountain being built by GM Hunt Construction!

Mathew Grove joined Candelaria Design in February of 2014 as an intern and affiliated with the firm full time as Job Captain following his graduation from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the College of Architecture Planning and Landscape Architecture. 


 March 2014


March was filled with a lot of action! From the completion of this Candelaria Design Ranch Hacienda in the Upper Canyon of Silverleaf with interiors by Caroline DeCesare and construction by Ron Barney. 
 

to the completion of this beautiful Santa Barbara Transitional Revival in Paradise Valley by Schultz Development and Berghoff Design Group. 


Design wrapped up on a Candelaria Design Spec Home in Verrado being built by Steg Custom Homes.

We enjoyed a day oaf Spring Training Baseball at the Charro Lodge at Scottsdale Stadium with the Candelaria Design staff  and I auditioned for the singing of the National Anthem for the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. I didn't make the cut for the Diamondbacks but I will be singing the National Anthem on March 5th, 2015 at 1pm this spring at Scottsdale Stadium!!!

Our Project Manager, Damon Wake, designed and built this fabulous Micro Dwell at the Schemer Art Center in Arcadia. 


We broke ground on our 5th Candelaria Design home in Arcadia Silverleaf with interiors by Earth and Images and construction by Tom laBlonde and we completed our 3rd and 4th homes both built by Fratantoni Luxury Estates.



We completed this amazing backyard and Pool Cabana featuring and underground poker room and wine vault as featured on our show Architainment on The Design Network!


We completed work on a beautiful Candelaria Design renovation in LaJolla, California. 


Traveled to Kansas City, MO to look at some exciting new Candelaria Design possibilities. 


And we said farewell to the amazing Jeff Kramer with a goodbye happy hour at El Charro! We may have said goodbye on a day to day basis but its great to have Jeff available as an on-going consultant to our firm. Jeff and his family will always be a part of our Candelaria Design Family.


April 2014

We started this month with a lovely open house hosted by our clients at this spectacular Candelaria Design ~ Schultz Development ~ Berghoff Design Group ~ Treken Interiors estate in Silverleaf!

Work started on the remodel and addition to this classic Candelaria Design ~ MRA Custom Homes  estate in Paradise Valley with interiors by Earth and Images.

 Isabel and I traveled with our lovely Desert Mountain clients, Phil and Renee Giltner, to Highpoint, North Carolina to do a little shopping in the furniture capital of the country, enjoy a little Southern barbecue and some sights from the Vanderbilt Estate in Ashville, North Carolina.

I was also able to do a little filming with The Design Network on the Hot List!


Of course there is always work to do…. started design on a beautiful Paradise Valley Transitional Estate with MRA Homes. 


Finished design and broke ground on a beautiful Candelaria Design ~ DC Homes Rural Mediterranean estate in Desert Mountain! 
 

Worked in some more travel with a Spring Break trip with all three of my girls to NYC!


And finished the month starting conceptual sketches for the new Village at Mountain Shadows for Cullum Homes. 


 May 2014

May was a great month and it started with the completion of a lovely Candelaria Design ~ Schultz Development Santa Barbara Style renovation in Paradise Valley. 


Probably one of the most satisfying events of 2015 for me was moving my parents from Denver to Arizona! It is so nice having them here and sharing time and experiences with them! 

And yes - we love the outdoors including some fishing on the North Platte River with clients and buddies  - I love it all. 


We broke ground on some more projects in May including this new home in Paradise Valley with Schultz Development with interiors by Caroline DeCesare and landscape by Berghoff Design Group. 

Design continued on this French Transitional Candelaria Design ~ Earth and Images home coming on the Paradise Valley Country Club being built by Desert Star Construction.

Then we celebrated a beautiful wedding of our client at her newly decorated Candelaria Design ~ MRA Custom Homes estate in Paradise Valley with interiors by Isabel of Earth and Images. 

Then I worked in a trip to one of my favorite places, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to start work on a new home on Hayden Lake and stop by to visit our client on another Hayden Lake home we completed in 2013!




We completed the renovation of this little Candelaria Design  ~ Andra Miller Design ranch charmer in Clearwater Estates, Paradise Valley only to have a buyer walk off the street and buy the house shortly after the homeowner moved in……Not bad!
 

Finally, we finished the month with a little more cooking both at Marcellino's where I played guest chef with the amazing Marcellino and then he was gracious enough to come cook at my client's home where we christened her new Candelaria Design kitchen at her home in Arcadia. My guest chef appearance raised over $5000 for St. Mary's Food Bank!!! Thanks to all of my clients and friends who supported us. What a great evening that was. 





And we are were proud to bring Hector Medina on board as a Project Manager. Hector graduated with honors in 1996 from ITESM (Mexico), started his own firm as an Architect/Builder. He lived in Italy in 1997 and 1998, where he learned not only the language, but the culture.Mark and hector worked together on a number of projects in the past so it was great to bring Hector on board and part of the Candelaria Design family. 

June 2014

Summer arrived and the projects just kept moving starting with framing underway on our Candelaria Design ~ Ownby Design `Schultz Development Ranch Contemporary in Paradise Valley.

We broke bread for the fist time with our Candelaria Design Tour Italy 2014 Travelers at Marcellino's.


Design continued on this Candelaria Design Formal Mediterranean residence on Roadrunner Rd in Paradise Valley while drywall way underway on the Candelaria Design Spec home right next door completing five Candelaria Design Homes in a row on Roadrunner!



And preliminary sketches were underway on a new Rural Mediterranean in Mirabel in North Scottsdale and this Mountain Lodge in Flagstaff. 

Isabel and I made a quick trip to Dallas, TX to market and some brainstorming time with my good friends at Bentwood Kitchens.
 Lee Tribbie joined Candelaria Design in June of 2014. Originally from Charleston, West Virginia, he earned his Bachelor's Degree in architecture from Fairmont State University. He then decided to move to Arizona to study at Arizona State University to receive his Masters of Architecture. During his time as a student, Lee has had the opportunity to study abroad in many cities including Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, New York and Montreal. 

July 2014

$th of July is one of my favorite holidays and definitely a time my family and it seems our clients take a nice summer break to escape the AZ summer 100º + temps. We made our way back up to Coeur d'Alene to spend a little time with clients and family.

Work continued on several Candelaria Design projects across the Valley including Litchfield Park, Paradise Valley, and Desert Mountain.





And the ground was broken on the Village at Mountain Shadows by Cullum Homes with interiors by Anita Lange of IMI Design Studio. 

Scott Morgan joined Candelaria Design in July of 2014 as a Job Captain. He is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Architecture from Arizona State University, and will graduate in the Spring of 2016. 


August 2014

August had some more travel with another trip to Coeur d'Alene at the beginning of the month to start another project there with my associate, Vivian Ayala and her family, then off to Santa Fe, NM to enjoy the summer temps and time with Isabel's family,  and then to NYC with clients! So much fun!!!










And I said goodbye one last time to my old office of 15 years at 12th Street and said hello to our new office in Scottsdale. And so the move in began …..

 Even with the traveling and moving we kept the projects going including a groundbreaking on our fourth Candelaria Design home in Fulton Ranch - this one with Fratantoni Luxury Estates right across the street from another Candelaria Design Home with Argue Custom Homes.


September 2014

September was probably the busiest month with us finalizing the moves of both our office and home and then Isabel and my American Wedding to our departure on the 12th Candelaria Design Tour Italy. Still - we made some amazing progress on a number of wonderful projects. 
 
Final touches on this Candelaria Design ~ Manship Custom Homes residence in Desert Mountain with Interiors by Ashley P Interiors. 

 
Our first Candelaria Design Happy Hour in our new home compliments of our client John Deakin!

 French Country residence in Arcadia.

 
New Rural Mediterranean Residence in Horseshoe Canyon ~ Silverleaf. 

A new spec residence for Sage Luxury Homes in Arcadia getting ready to break ground in January 2015. 

 And of course the wedding and Tour Italy! Thanks to all who attended our wedding and donated to the American Heart Association!!!





October 2014

We finished the second half of our Candelaria Design Tour Italy with the grand finale at Villa de Este at Lake Como. What a great trip and fun group!




One of our Candelaria Design ~ Nance Construction  homes made the cover of Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine and was featured on the Dream Homes Tour. 

And our Candelaria Design ~ Camelback Interiors  ~ RJ Gurley Construction Dream Room at the Phoenix Dream Center won AZ Foothills Magazine Favorite Room Award! We are looking forward to participating in 2015! Great job by Project Manager, Peter Ekama, and the entire team and vendors who contributed. 


 Finally, we started preliminary design on a new home at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado.

November 2014

 We finalized plans on a new Candelaria Design home in Arcadia Silverleaf...



And saw framing progress on this Candelaria Design ~ Vallone Design home being built by Schultz Development in Paradise Valley. 

Work was completing on this Candelaria Design Guest House addition to an Arcadia property by Vista General. 


And conceptual design was completed on this Candelaria Design ~ Earth and Images Ranch Transitional in the Boulders by Landmark West Construction. 



December 2014

Finally December…. We started with our Post Italy Trip Brunch so graciously hosted by our clients and Italy travelers, Phil and Renee Giltner at their newly completed Candelaria Design ~ Earth and Images Interiors Desert Mountain Home built by Ken Madden of Landmark West Construction. 

And then some cooking the very next day to christen another Candelaria Design ~ Manship Builders ~ Ashley P Interiors  home - this time in Desert Mountain. 

Squeeze in a quick framing walk through in this Candelaria Design ~ Vallone Design home is Montecito, CA. 


Design work continued on this new Candelaria Design ~ Schultz Development Paradise Hillside Contemporary Home in Paradise Valley.

along with construction on this Candelaria Design ~ Caroline DeCesare Interiors ~ Berghoff Design home being built by Schultz Development that we broke ground on in May 2014 (see above!!!)


And finally we are getting ready to go vertical on this Desert Mountain Candelaria Design ~ DC Homes  residence we broke ground on in April 2014 (see above!)




Well that's it! What a year!!! As you can see we aren't sitting around and waiting for things to happen. We have clients that keep us on the move with projects now in California, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, and a new one getting ready to get started on Long Island, New York! Tomorrow we start our first week of the year! We wish you all a great 2015 and we hope we can be a part of it. Let's saddle up and as the Scottsdale Charros say - Let's Ride!