When you enter the courtyard of this Paradise Valley home, the first thing you notice won’t be the size, but the quiet choreography of arrival. A long approach draws you forward, past a formal auto court perfectly aligned with Camelback Mountain. Water cascades downward beside the entry steps, catching desert light. Through a glass wall, the mountain holds steady in the distance. From the very beginning, the house makes one thing clear: this home was designed for experience.
Set on 2.3 acres in Paradise Valley, the sprawling 25,000-square-foot estate is the result of a deeply collaborative vision between architectural director Mark Candelaria of Candelaria Design Associates and principal designer Isabel Dellinger Candelaria of Earth &Images, plus a family of five intent on creating something both spectacular and sincerely livable.
“We started from the beginning,” Candelaria says. “We gathered a list of all the rooms and spaces they wanted, made little room cutouts and started moving them around the site, looking at the views. And we do it collaboratively with the owner, the interior designer and the builder. It just organically turns into a house plan.”
From the first step onto the lot, Candelaria knew the view had to dictate the design. “It’s all about Camelback,” Candelaria explains. “When you first come in, all the primary rooms look at that mountain. That was what they wanted.”
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A Home Designed Around Feeling
Inside, the home reveals its most defining quality: a purposeful balance between quiet and active living. The residence is intentionally bisected to work for both lifestyles under the same roof. One wing hums with energy–children’s bedrooms, a game room, music room and theater—while the opposite side retreats into calm, housing the primary suite, office, spa, sauna and exercise room.
“The kids are growing,” Candelaria explains. “The clients wanted the kids’ side to be active and full of life, and their side to be more sequestered and quiet. You get a house for both—and everyone’s happy.”
This architectural separation gave Dellinger Candelaria a powerful emotional framework for the interiors.
“The architectural division between quiet and active zones allowed us to design with intention,” she explains. “In the active wing, we leaned into stronger contrasts and tactile materials. In the quiet wing, the design becomes more subdued with softer palettes, fewer visual interruptions, and a focus on serenity.”
Lighting, texture, and acoustics shift subtly as you move through the home. The transition is almost imperceptible, but you feel it.
Glamour, With a Personal Heart
While the house balances modern restraint with European influence throughout, moments of self-expression are incorporated as well, particularly in the daughter’s bedroom.
“This room allowed for softness, glamour and a sense of fantasy appropriate for her age,” Dellinger Candelaria explains. “We layered plush textures, neutral tones with a bit of blush and soft plum and subtle metallic and reflective accents to create a space that feels special without being overly thematic. It was important that the room felt personal and joyful, while still evolving gracefully as she grows—so the glamour is sophisticated rather than overtly playful.”
Fire at the Center of the Home
The living room showcases one of Candelaria’s favorite features: an all-glass, columnar fireplace: floating, transparent, and entirely unexpected. “It’s the first time we ever did a columnar, all-glass fireplace in the middle of the room,” Mark says. “You virtually sit around it, and all the views stay open.” More than a fireplace, it anchors the room without interrupting sightlines.
Despite its scale, this estate feels intimate. This balance is deliberate and achieved in a rather simplistic way: by the room sizes.
“Whether a house is 5,000 square feet or 25,000 square feet, I tend to do the rooms the same size,” Candelaria explains. “When rooms get too big, people feel lost. People want to feel comfortable—not like they’re living in a gymnasium.”
Dellinger-Candelaria reinforces that sentiment through layered finishes and lighting. “Human-scaled moments, such as intimate seating groupings, lower lighting levels and carefully placed art, help break down large volumes,” she says. “Ultimately, it’s about creating spaces that feel lived-in, where the architecture supports the human experience rather than overshadowing it.”
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When the House Expands Outdoors
Step outside, and the home seems to exhale. The backyard unfolds as a series of destinations: a sports court, play lawn, pool cabana and guest house orbit a large pool that becomes the social heart of the property. At its center is a sunken firepit—set directly into the water.
“We’ve done this before, and people really love it,” Candelaria says. “You sit at water level, the kids are playing, and everyone’s part of the action; It’s a completely different experience.”
This indoor-outdoor living is achieved intentionally through the interior design as well.
“Our role extended beyond the interior walls,” Dellinger Candelaria says. “We coordinated closely so the outdoor spaces felt like a natural extension of the interior. When the doors are open, the transition feels effortless–almost as though the house simply expands outward.”
A Style That Refuses to Be Named
When asked to define the home’s aesthetic, Candelaria doesn’t hesitate to give the home its own category. “I’d call it glamitarian,” he laughs. “Glammy, European, Mediterranean—it’s a combination of a lot of things. This house is its own style.”
Dellinger Candelaria sees it as something deeper. “Modern restraint paired with international soul,” she says. “I’m less interested in adhering to a single style and more focused on creating spaces that feel emotionally resonant and enduring.”
A Mansion Meant to Be Lived In
In a place where luxury homes are styled for aesthetic, the home stands apart by resisting spectacle. Instead, it prioritizes rhythm, balance and human connection.
“What I’m most proud of is the cohesion,” Dellinger Candelaria reflects. “Nothing stands apart. The home feels calm, welcoming, and deeply personal.”
For Candelaria, the project’s success comes down to collaboration. “The secret formula is always a great team,” he says. “We all worked together really well—and that always makes for a successful project.”
The residence is a home that understands how people live—where glamour coexists with noise, serenity with play and architecture with heart. And that may be its greatest luxury of all.
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