Wild Wild West (Coast): Bust'n B Ranch in California

Remember the 1992 Clint Eastwood movie Unforgiven? It was shot on a 480-acre ranch in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains just outside the Canadian town of Calgary. But as one particular property in California proves, it doesn’t take hiking all the way up to Canada (or anywhere else) to experience Eastwood’s wild wild west. Bust’n B Ranch, located about ten minutes from Pioneertown, a historic Hollywood western set town in California founded in 1946 by legendary Western actors such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, is where spectacular landscapes meet spectacular sunsets, and nature never ends. It’s a scene straight out of a cowboy movie, except over here, you don’t need to wear a bandana or a buckskin or carry a rifle or a revolver to feel right at home.

Make no mistake, by the time mother and son duo Wendy and Edgar Langman of development company Wedgar Properties purchased the circa-2003, Sante Fe-style ranch house a few years ago, it had all but lost its sheen. But the Langmans (Wendy is a former fashion merchandising executive, Edgar works in ultra-luxury hotel operations at Aman Resorts) recognised its potential as a holiday rental. So much so that they made an offer, signed the deed, and enlisted architecture firm Studio Caban and Mexican-American interior designer Sydney Ballesteros to bring it back to life.

Studio Caban Sydney Ballesteros Bustn B Ranch Photo Yoshihiro Makino Yellowtrace 05

That the 250-square-metre home was built in the Santa Fe style, was located by the Mojave Desert, and was originally a working ranch were enough to convince Sydney to stick to an aesthetic nary too shiny or new. “The goal was to return to the natural essence of the space by using earthy materials and elements that reflect its original character,” she explains. Of course, as Wendy and Edgar tell it, this was an exercise easier said than done. “The biggest challenge was picking materials that were authentic to the concept and using them in a fresh way,” avers Wendy. A little experimentation went a long way, resulting in a palette of soft, calm tones and organic materials such as stone, wood, clay, concrete and steel to echo the surrounding landscape. With clarity, came colour, which Sydney limited to the bedrooms, designating each a different hue, theme and texture.

The house reverberates with echoes of indigenous and Latin cultures in the way of pottery here, chandeliers there, tapestries in the bedrooms, 1940s Mexican butaque chairs in the style of Clara Porset in the living room, a large-format recycled cotton fibre installation by Mexico-based studio Caralarga in the dining room, wooden beams outside, and perfectly patterned hand-painted tiles in the primary bathroom. “The influence of symbolic heritage designs and religious iconography from colonial Spain is evident in southwest US and Mexico. These deeply rooted influences have left a lasting impact on the cultural narrative of the area, and it was essential to include them in the home,” says Sydney, who gingered up the visual vocabulary in some places with “pieces that felt like updated versions of old-world designs.” Exhibit A: the main bedroom, where a stainless steel four-poster bed by Zach Lihatsh and a mesquite wood chandelier by Carolina Del Dago of La Yuma Taller—the latter inspired by a primitive wood candle ceiling fixture—channel an old adobe hacienda of New Mexico.

Studio Caban Sydney Ballesteros Bustn B Ranch Photo Yoshihiro Makino Yellowtrace 18

Some things, of course, were inspired by things closer home, such as the black wood sculpture in the entryway, made by local artist Dan John Anderson, and the carved stone coffee table in the living room, which emulates the rock formations that loom in the distance. Likewise, the built-in banco seating in the living room, both fireplaces, and the kitchen hood, wall and cabinet framing were all locally crafted from a natural lime-based plaster called Tadelakt.

With organic bath, body and cleaning products, 100% cotton sheets, a western red cedar sauna, a salt water pool, a copper outdoor shower, and a gym, chances are, anyone who visits will leave happier (and healthier) than they arrived. “We wanted to connect guests with nature and create a relaxing experience,” says Edgar. “All these wellness amenities will help people truly unplug and reconnect with themselves.” And so too with nature, you would imagine. Indeed, the home has a pace of its own, one that’s slow and calm, yes, but also one that waits for everyone. It’s collected and calming, and filled with objects that feel inherited but aren’t quite. It’s everything at once, and then some.