This Utah Spec House Was Designed to Blend in with Its 1970s Neighborhood

Maggie Glendenning had looked at just about every mid-century modern house there was to see on Zillow in St. George, Utah. It didn’t take her long either—there’s only a handful that still have their original character intact. “I had always loved all the interesting wood, the Malm fireplaces…homes used to have such personality, and they don’t anymore,” she says. Glendenning held out hope she’d be able to buy one someday, but nothing came of her tireless search. 

When new construction started booming in the town post-COVID, Glendenning and her siblings decided to take advantage of the market and build a house on a lot in a golf course community. The 3,400-square-foot home was meant to be an investment project for the family. Glendenning, who runs her own events planning and interiors business and had recently secured a general contractor’s license, oversaw much of the year-and-a-half-long project alongside Matt Metcalf, their architect. Her goal: create a spec house with some personality while also paying homage to some of the circa-1970s homes in the surrounding neighborhood. 

“I didn’t want to have all white rooms,” she shares. Somewhere along the way, she started designing it as if it were her dream home. “And then I was like, wait, I want to live here,” she says. Ahead, the designer looks back on becoming her own client and shares what it takes to give a new build a groovy edge.