(Tucson, Arizona)

I built this Om Lounge at the home we rented in Tucson, Arizona from 2018-2021 before we moved to Texas. The beautiful African Sumac tree with a 45’ wide canopy really inspired both the shape and the idea. I wanted a space for my large family and myself to just “lounge” around in. Since it was a rental home I didn’t want to spend any money. So I challenged myself to build this feature without paying for materials. I found a desert wash near the Catalina Mountain foothills with all of this granite rock that just needed to be carried out.

So, I carried about 520 stones up and out of the wash.

I made about 13 trips out there and collected 40 stones at a time during the 2-hour “workout”. Each stone ranged in weight from 45 to 180 pounds. I set about 470 stones to build this Om Lounge. I also spent about 16 hours pruning the tree 2 different times because I love climbing trees and selectively pruning them to bring out their own architectural potential. Where the tree roots were exposed I left those areas open and planted Dichondra. I also designed a very basic, but beautiful low-voltage tree light system.

(Watch the VIDEO in the 2nd gallery block.)