Budget Breakdown: Three Friends Build a $940K Home Near Joshua Tree That Breaks With Boho Vibes

When artist and designer Brian Ware met fellow designers and fashion industry vets Louis Terline and Jeff Madalena two decades ago in New York City, they became fast friends. “We’ve been collaborating ever since, and in recent years, migrated west,” Brian says. Like many who moved to the Joshua Tree area once the pandemic took hold, the trio sought solace in the Mojave Desert, wanting to build a hideaway together. “We started looking for land here,” says Brian, who had already done a project of his own in the area, a house flip in Yucca Valley previously covered by Dwell. “After weeks of searching, we fell hard for a five-acre parcel at the base of Goat Mountain.”