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The Morgan Madison Design creative takes us around his places of affection around the West’s Most Western Town. | Credit: Courtesy of Morgan Madison Design
What better way to see the world than through the eyes of our favorite tastemakers? In Hidden Trails, we look at the places that feel most like home to our community of design insiders — wherever those might be — to help you uncover what their cities have in store for you.
The moodiness and eclecticism of the residential and commercial projects of Scottsdale-based studio Morgan Madison Design are enough for you to feel the appetite for constant transformation that serves as the practice’s driving force.
Tanner Morgan, one of its masterminds, points to the so-called West’s Most Western Town as a definitive influence in the firm’s bold, time-traveling understanding of craft, interiors, and lifestyle, where historical artworks and artisan cabinetry are revived through unexpected pops of color, statement surfaces, and a vaguely folkloristic vibe.
“It became a second home for me a few years ago, leaving an indelible mark on both my life and my work,” Tanner tells us. “The pace, the light, and the deep connection people here feel to the landscape have taught me to slow down and design with more intention. Today, it’s a place of both personal renewal and creative inspiration.”
Below, the designer offers the city’s best creative touchpoints.
Discover “a Gem of the Desert” and the Art Awaiting Inside It
The suggestive interiors of Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, lensed on a trip to the Arizona city by our lifestyle editor. | Credit: Gilda Bruno
7374 E 2nd St, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, United States
The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) is a gem of the desert. Its intimate scale makes it approachable, yet its rotating exhibitions feel deeply curated and globally relevant. I love how the architecture frames light and shadow to create an ever-changing experience, both contemplative and inspiring.
American artist James Turrell’s “Knight Rise”, a magical porthole installation sited inside Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. | Credit: Sean Deckert
Go on a Design Trail to Meet Legends and New Makers
A modernist home immersed in the golden greenery of a desert features wood and textile ceilings in beige, carpeted floors in the same color, and geometrical furniture in tones of blue, acid green, bordeaux, and earthy browns.
A modernist home immersed in the golden greenery of a desert features wood and textile ceilings in beige, carpeted floors in the same color, and geometrical furniture in tones of blue, acid green, bordeaux, and earthy browns.
Taliesin West, the winter residence and desert laboratory of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, has been a source of fascination since I first visited. Wright’s use of local materials and the way the complex seems to rise out of the desert floor taught me so much about place-driven design. Every visit offers a fresh detail to admire and a deeper connection to the landscape.
From the palette of its furnishings to its rocky walls and desert views, everything was cherry-picked by Wright to dissolve the boundaries between the indoors and the outside. | Credit: Gilda Bruno
MADE | Materials for Designers is, in my opinion, the most inspiring showroom in all the land. It’s a playground of artisanal goods, innovative finishes, and timeless textures, a space that sparks ideas and showcases craftsmanship at its highest level.
Get a Taste of Arizona’s Multicultural Cuisine
Whether it is Mexican-infused fare you are after or you suddenly crave some Italian, Old Town Scottsdale reunites the world’s flavors into one, spirited district. | Credit: Courtesy of Virtù Honest Craft and Experience Scottsdale
3701 N Marshall Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, United States
Virtù Honest Craft in Old Town Scottsdale has a warmth and elegance that’s hard to replicate. Their Mediterranean-inspired menu is inventive yet soulful, and the intimate courtyard dining under the Arizona sky makes for an unforgettable evening.
Bring Scottsdale’s Crafty Twist Home With One Designer to Know
Artist and maker Rika Kova, founder of One Happy Artist, captures in Arizona’s desert landscape. | Credit: Elizabeth Wells
7001 E Main St Suite 101, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, United States
Rika Kova’s One Happy Artist is a small ceramic studio with an infectious sense of joy and creativity. Each piece feels like a little work of art, handmade with care and full of personality — it’s my favourite place to find something meaningful and beautifully imperfect for the home.
Find New Balance Outdoors
Scenes from an Arizona desert filled with rocky clusters, sculptural cacti, and occasional passersby.
Scenes from an Arizona desert filled with rocky clusters, sculptural cacti, and occasional passersby.
Saguaro Loop Trail, Scottsdale, AZ 85255, United States
The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is where I go to reconnect and clear my mind. The trail system is vast and impeccably maintained. Whether hiking at sunrise or sunset, the desert’s quiet majesty is always humbling.
I can tell you as I have gone and taken a look at it for myself. | Credit: Gilda Bruno
One (Lesser Known) Thing
Many don’t realize just how robust and progressive the public art scene is here. Scottsdale has more than 100 permanent public art installations woven into the cityscape — from large-scale sculptures to thoughtful little moments tucked into parks and streetscapes. It speaks to a community that values art, not just in galleries but in everyday life.
Holiday Delights
Take the radiance of Arizona home with you with these desert-inspired collectible design buys.
Terracotta Vase With Handle Agnon
Alfredo Paredes Isla Dining Chair
Atarraya Placemat – Mustard
Where to Stay in Scottsdale
Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale
The casita-style suites at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale make the ultimate Arizona home for a stylishly invigorating vacation. | Credit: Four Seasons
IN A SENTENCE A hidden-in-plain-sight retreat that blends the boundaries between the outdoors and the inside, Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale rises from the foothills of the Sonoran Desert’s Pinnacle Peak to absorb guests in a multisensory experience punctuated by immersive architecture, moreish flavors, and outstanding sights.
DESIGN DOWNLOAD Borrowing from the desert landscape all around it, its theatrical shadows and shapes, the resort unfolds as a conversation between nature and architecture. The generously spacious, terracotta-hued adobe casitas that dot its plan aren’t the only thing to anchor the hotel in the territory and its history. The fire pits that come alight at night, along with outdoor showers and Native American art, all contribute to imbuing the stay with an evocative sense of place.
Summer might feel like a mirage, but in Scottsdale, it comes early, so why not starting planning your next hot season move? | Credit: Four Seasons
ON THE MENU Taste comes in all shapes and sizes at this Arizona getaway. Comfort-food diner Proof delivers Mexican-infused snacky bites and charcoal-y meats that prove why American classics always stand the test of time (try the chili cheese sauce-filled pretzel ‘knots’). Contemporary steakhouse takes the freshness of Spanish cuisine to the US, while poolside Saguaro Blossom and the terrace-sited Onyx Bar & Lounge bring a sophisticated drinks list and lighter, worldly plates outside.
DON’T MISS The warm cactus gel massage at the resort’s in-house spa, it’s nature bringing you back to life — aromatic, invigorating, and transportative. Plus, the steeped-in-vegetation, panoramic pool and the premium access to the Pinnacle Peak hiking trail.
Hotel Valley Ho
A series of photos showcasing a mid-century modern hotel with linear architecture, palm trees-filled exterior, and beautiful mountain views.
A series of photos showcasing a mid-century modern hotel with linear architecture, palm trees-filled exterior, and beautiful mountain views.
IN A SENTENCE A crystallised old Hollywood fantasy, Hotel Valley Ho sees Frank Lloyd Wright protégé Edward L. Varney’s mid-century modern gem stage its comeback in a restoration that, completed in 2005 by Allen+Philp, steals the spotlight from the cinematic desert resort of Palm Springs.
DESIGN DOWNLOAD Raw stone surfaces and dramatic chrome fireplaces meet sinuous leathery lines in the communal areas of this four-star luxury hotel, as a play of perforated wooden walls and tessellated mirrors adds countless more perspectives to its stuck-in-time allure. In the rooms, colourful lacquered surfaces, daring artworks, fully equipped kitchens and sculptural furniture that winks at the otherworldliness of Space Age design will make you forget this isn’t your home while simultaneously transporting you elsewhere.
The retro-fueled interiors of Hotel Valley Ho, where Space Age design, modernism charm, and bold artwork blend into one. | Credit: Hotel Valley Ho. Design: 3rd Story. Originals: Edward L. Varney
ON THE MENU Available at both in-house restaurant, Zuzu, and by the dotted-in-stripy-loungers-and-palm-trees pool, the culinary offering of Hotel Valley Ho further expands on the nostalgia element that sits at its core. Envisioned by Executive Chef Russell LaCasce, the menu pairs elevated American staples like garlic parmesan fries, Caesar salad and buttermilk fried chicken burger with pickles and Nashville hot mayo with fresher, Mediterranean, as well as Asian-inspired dishes like burrata, Moroccan hummus, and spicy Hawaiian ahi tuna. Cocktails come freezing cold and aplenty, and the pastries are just as good.
DON’T MISS When not booked for private events, the rooftop terrace of the property captures some of the most breathtaking views you can get of Scottsdale’s low-rise skyline and undulating mountain range. It also gives you a chance to snap its iconic pool from up high.
Now that you know what to do in Scottsdale, why not turn your read into the groundwork for an old-style American road trip? From Kelly Wearstler’s guide to exploring Los Angeles, gathering the top restaurants, hotels, and concept stores for a Cali-cool journey into one, to the most coveted bedrooms in New York and beyond, our travel pages come with style-conscious advice to turn every getaway into something memorable.
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