Boulders Outside. Bolder Inside.

About Barbara DeSantis

As a director and an artist, it's not surprising that the visuals were what got us. The road wound up through the desert, the yuccas and Joshua trees becoming more and more plentiful as the signs of civilization retreated. There was Pioneertown itself, perfect as a movie set (well, it was a movie set, duh!), Pappy and Harriet's, and then, of course, the boulders themselves - massive, majestic, at once welcoming and foreboding.

Why Barbara DeSantis chose Pioneertown

The house itself. Of course we appreciate the cool, minimalist modernism of so many brilliantly designed or re-thought desert cabins. But for ourselves, we wanted something a little warmer, cozier. Something that felt more like home. Boulder House, with its four bedrooms ( five if you count the guest bed in the computer room), living room, dining room, TV room, outbuildings and pool (available APRIL-OCTOBER), felt right. It had intimate spaces, private spaces, hang-out spaces, outside spaces, places to play and places to work. It sprawled over fifteen acres and had views of washes, a stream, the lights of Yucca Valley far in the distance. It was everything we had been looking for, and it was two hours from Los Angeles. It was home. Ours, and now, if you like, yours. Welcome.

What makes this House unique

Boulder House is a handmade house representing thousands of hours of work by various artists and craftspeople who poured their lives, labor, and love into their sanctuary in the desert. Whatever passion leads you to the desert, we invite you to add your spirit to those of the Native Americans, cowboys, ranchers, dreamers, artists, and visionaries who have blessed Boulder House with theirs. If you would like to contribute a colorful piece of broken ceramic to our broken ceramic garden bed, please feel free. If you would like to document the contribution in our guestbook, or on Facebook, we would love to hear from you!