Elevating Rustic Home Design with James Judge

James Judge, a Phoenix-based "designer, realtor, flipper, deal fanatic and all-around house-a-holic," has a knack for amazing home transformations. He breathes new life into tired, outdated spaces by using the home's existing features to maximize the innate design aesthetic he believes it was always meant to have.

Rustic Home Renovation

Recently we partnered with James, also known on Instagram as @thehousejudge, to renovate a rustic home, Ridge Trail Ranch in Pine, Arizona. The property was originally hillside horse stables but was later converted into a residence overlooking the mountains. However, over the years, the property fell into extreme disrepair requiring full restoration.

"The goal," said James, "was to maintain the original rustic influence while elevating it by bringing in thoughtful design elements that we don't usually see with this style of home."

Rustic Elegance with Brookside Wall Lanterns

Because copper is the state metal of Arizona, James knew from the beginning that it was an element he wanted to incorporate and would be an essential finish to help achieve a style of rustic elegance. The Brookside lanterns he chose for the exterior achieved these goals.

"The style of the fixture has a rustic influence, but the copper finish feels so elevated," noted James. "Since the home is located on a hillside with fantastic views, we designed beautiful outdoor living spaces, which also meant a lot of exterior light fixtures. Therefore, it was important to have a stunning fixture that complimented the rest of the design."

The Brookside lantern is constructed from solid copper that ages to a natural patina finish. The lantern offers rural sophistication to the home's exterior with vintage undertones reminiscent of early 20th-century train depots.

The project was not without its challenges, though. Not only because of the hillside location, but James and his team encountered snowstorms, forest fires, and washed-out roads from rain. "On top of that, the home itself was hard to work on because we couldn't access two sides of the house before we built the deck. So, the solution was to do things out of order, which was successful but always challenging to keep organized," said James.

Creating a Unified Rustic Design with the Right Lighting

Overall, the results were beautiful. James believes that when remodeling a home, it's important to blend spaces, so everything flows, and the design feels complete.  

"Lighting is one of the best opportunities to bring style into a home and help create a unified design," said James. "I designed the home's exterior to incorporate various siding changes and color transitions, but the lighting remained the same to give it a cohesive look."