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The Joshua Tree House, Highway 62, Joshua Tree, CA (2024)

08/15/2024

Scenes from earlier this summer at 🌞 📸 .wade

07/24/2024

Summer moments at the hacienda. 🌵🌞🌝

07/05/2024

It’s summer, road-trip season, and the new moon—a few of our favorite things. It’s also the perfect time to venture off to new places, so we asked (a musician we’ve been listening to non-stop lately) to curate the perfect desert road-trip playlist. And well, he did it y’all—this is a fun one. His song ‘Rock & Roll’ is featured from his album ‘Posh, Poodle, Krystal and Toe’ (nicknames for his bandmates if you’re wondering). His honest and raw songwriting style surfaces sweet old memories through sound imagery while cruising wide open desert landscapes. Head to the link in our bio to listen. Enjoy! 🌚 🎶✨

06/20/2024

✨2-NIGHT STAY GIVEAWAY✨

The past near decade in Joshua Tree has held some of the most life changing moments for us—and with this next big shift in life (our second baby due in Sept!) we will be spending more time in Tucson near family. While we can’t keep ourselves away from Joshua Tree all together, we’ve decided to open up The Hacienda for you all to experience when we can’t be there.🧡

🏠 Enter to win a 2-night stay at the Hacienda in Joshua Tree, CA:

🌵 Like this post
🌵 Tag friends who you’d bring with you to explore Joshua Tree
🌵 Make sure you’re following

💫 Share this post in your stories to increase your chances of winning!

Disclaimer: Dates for the stay need to be booked within the next three months for a stay anytime from now through August 2025, or will be forfeited (holidays will apply as blackout dates).

Giveaway ends at 10am PST on June 27th, 2024. One lucky winner will be selected at random and notified via DM by (any account other than this exact handle is not us).

This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by Instagram. Must be 21 years or older to enter.

06/13/2024

This year is a big one both for us personally (growing our family and moving into our adobe later this year), and for The JTH with a few new fun additions coming soon! One of them has to do with this pool—we’ll be sharing more details soon via our newsletter! If you’re not already signed up you can find a link in our bio & stories to get on the list. 🧡

06/06/2024

This month has been one of those ones where everything has been breaking all at once (even when we prepare as much as possible, sometimes things just break). While we work through a seemingly never ending list of repairs, looking back on photos and sweet messages from our guests reminds us how fulfilling it is to host you all in these spaces (even through the days that aren’t so fun).

Some guest photos that have been melting our hearts lately:

🌵 The exterior entrance of our cholla room at JTH Tucson by .
🛁 The jungle bathtub in our Saguaro suite at JTH Tucson by .
🏠 The living room at The House by .
💫 The communal dining room at JTH Tucson by .
💦 The pool deck at the Cabin by .
🧘‍♂️ The view from our yoga room at JTH Tucson by .
✨ Morning light in the Cholla room at JTH Tucson captured on film by .
🫧 The hot springs style hot tub at JTH Tucson by .
🛋️ The Casita living room by .

06/04/2024

In honor of Saguaro bloom season, beginning to bloom when we’re in our 30’s (like the saguaro🌵🌼), and being grateful for you all—we just added this new digital print on our site for free. When you check-out all you will need to do is sign up for our newsletter; it’s a fun space where we write longer notes about each season here, share playlists and secret seasonal discount codes. (link in bio & in stories!)

05/26/2024

Waking up to new saguaro blooms every day is something we’ll never get over 🌵🌼

05/08/2024

Bloom Patrol 📣🌵🌸🌼 The prickly pears are blooming, and to us it’s one of the most special times of year. Each bloom only lasts for one day, making their transition from yellow in the morning to the perfect peachy pink at golden hour even more special. This goes on for weeks, and gets us excited for the prickly pear fruit (tunas) to come this summer. 🌞

05/06/2024

Somehow we’re already almost a week into May, which means pool season has arrived!🌞💦

Though mornings and evenings remain chilly, days are warming up (May average high is 85 in Joshua Tree, and 93 in Tucson). It’s the perfect time of year to wake up early for a hike amongst the cactus flowers and then spend the heat of the day relaxing poolside.

Each of our rental properties has an outdoor pool or tub:
💦 The House has a private cowboy pool
💦 The Casita has a private cowboy tub
💦 The Cabin has a private cowboy pool
💦 JTH Tucson has a communal canyon style pool for all guests to enjoy

(And yes, they all have A/C too!)

04/26/2024

When we were designing one of the things we were most excited about were the communal spaces. Some of our favorite travel memories are from intimate places with communal spaces where we connected with other travelers, but also had the option to retreat back to our own private space. ✨

With only 6 rooms, yet 5,000+ sq ft of indoor common space and 38 acres of desert landscape, there’s so much open space to explore—cook dinner in our shared chef’s kitchen, walk our onsite trails and labyrinth, watch a movie on the projector in our communal living room, do a little yoga or meditation in the yoga room, stargaze on our rooftop patio, or lounge by the canyon pool or hotsprings style hot-tub. 🌵💦

(image 1 by , image 2 by , image 5 by , image 7 by )

04/23/2024

We have some exciting news… our little family is growing in September!! We can’t wait to see Flora as a big sister. 🥹🧡

(We know these types of announcements can be hard to see. After trying for several years for our first we felt the same. Please know you are not alone if you are feeling this way. Sending love to those in all stages of parenthood).

04/22/2024

Living in a time where everything is designed for a fast paced life, we make a point to move slower. To stop and take in the sunrise, the native plants around us, the birds nesting by our house, and the moon setting over it all. To let the awe inspiring nature around us soak in, and reconnect with it. Happy Earth Day everyone—we hope you’re able to take a pause and (re)appreciate this incredible place we get to live. 🌍✨

04/08/2024

Today’s eclipse and new super moon make the release of our spring New Moon Playlist extra special. We invited one of our favorite musicians to curate the playlist of our daydreams for us. Her song ‘Cowgirl’ is hauntingly beautiful—maybe one to listen to while identifying spring wildflowers. The process of creating music helps Ora in “recalibrating an internal compass constantly thrown off by the magnetism of a deranged world”. It’s the perfect spring soundtrack to recalibrate us all—to slow down, smell the flowers, and enjoy the season. 🌚🌼 Link to the playlist in stories

04/03/2024

Right now we’re working on a few projects at once… not intentionally but sometimes things just stack up that way. 😅 We’re getting close to finishing up a bath house (with a sauna and cold plunge!) at , we’re finally getting our spartan trailer set up as a little office for our small team (it will probably also become an overnight spot for workshop teachers, retreat hosts, and friends!), and restoring our old adobe home that we hope to move into later this year. While each project sometimes feels like it’s moving so slowly, we know that each day’s progress will eventually add up to significant change. These in-between moments are sometimes the hardest to appreciate, but they’re also the moments where we learn the most. We’re right there with ya if you’re mid project and the mess feels like it’ll always be there.

03/29/2024

Would you believe that the Creosote suite at used to be a garage?! Unlike the rest of the inn which had original elements that we wanted to preserve, this large space was a blank slate making for a fun design challenge. Our goal was to blend this new space with the charming southwestern style architecture of the inn. We especially love the tiled brick floors, walled in private patio, jungle shower and built-ins in the kitchen and around the king bed. Named after one of our favorite desert plants, this might just be a favorite suite of ours too. 🌿✨ (image 6 by & image 9 by .rover)

03/28/2024

Isn’t it wild how some days growth can seem almost non-existent in the moment yet given a little more time, we look back and see it so clearly? We planted this trumpet vine about three years ago (swipe to see the growth) and not only is it so much bigger, it’s covered in gorgeous spring blooms right now. Nature is the best reminder not to rush (as tempting as it is sometimes)… everything will be accomplished in its own time. 🌿🌸

03/25/2024

A few sweet moments around this past week… a soak in the hot springs style hot tub, a picnic at our garden with our tiny little veggie sprouts, and tasting our private chef’s new menu. ✨

02/24/2024

Happy snow moon (even though it’s almost 80 degrees today, hah) 🌝🌵🦉Can you spot the owl in the third photo?

02/14/2024

Lately…
✨ celebrating 22 years of being a couple today
✨ more adobe progress (the front porch is almost completely repaired now!)
✨ a coyote visitor
✨ our old spartan trailer got a new white floor and freshly oiled walls (it’s going to be our team office soon!)
✨ this year in Tucson we’ve gotten more rain so far than any other year we’ve been here… which has also come with its fair share of rainbows
✨ we planted some lettuces in our garden on the new moon
✨ planning for our mini retreat at in May - half of the rooms already sold out yesterday!
✨ last month’s wolf moon rise in Joshua Tree

02/07/2024

It’s hard to believe that our off-grid 1958 homestead cabin has been open for guest stays for almost a year now! There were some challenges (ok, a lot of challenges) designing this small space that’s completely solar powered, but it feels so good to have brought this old homesteader back to life to share with you all. We recently added a hot tub right next to the cowboy tub, and it’s the best place to take in the cabin’s wide open desert views and epic moonrises (the best moonrises we’ve ever seen!). 🌝

02/05/2024

It’s been a while since we’ve said a proper hello, so hi everyone! We’re Sara & Rich Combs, designers, inn-keepers, and owners of The Joshua Tree House. We started dating as sophomores in highschool, and one of our first dates was helping Rich’s parents carry dry wall for the renovation of their early 1900’s home. (Sara was wondering how she got signed up for that 😆). Though there was a big gap in time, 10+ years later we were drawn back to renovation projects and did our first one as the two of us in 2015 in Joshua Tree, CA.

We fell in love with transforming old spaces and kept going… with two other properties in Joshua Tree and an inn in Tucson, AZ. We wrote a book on design and desert living together back in 2018, and these days you’ll find us inn-keeping, parenting full-time, getting ready to plant our first desert vegetable garden, working on some design collections, and restoring an old adobe home for us as a family (with our daughter Flora who we are obsessed with).

Most nights you’ll find Rich pouring a whiskey on the rocks, and maybe a glass of wine for me (Zin is my fave!). We prefer meeting up for a hike over going to a party any day. We both agree that tarantulas are one of the most misunderstood creatures, and disagree that yoga is fun (can you guess which one of us likes it? 😂) We also love experimenting with what the desert has to offer for food by making prickly pear juice, scooping barrel cactus fruit seeds onto our breakfast or making saguaro fruit snacks. We also love old cars—our 1969 Scout was our first baby, and we’re wrapping up a refresh on a 1955 Spartan trailer that will soon become our team office.

Whew, ok that’s a lot! Thank you all for being here (almost 9 years into The JTH now!), we’re so grateful for you—and still blown away that anyone is interested in our design projects! It is our biggest fulfillment to hear comments from a happy and renewed guest after a stay at one of our places. 🌵🧡 (ps - a few images of us over the years, including a real oldie from our early dating days at the end) 📷 first image by , second by , third by

01/18/2024

No words needed 🌅

12/07/2023

There aren’t many plants here without spines or thorns, so we use creosote (one of the few without them) for holiday wreaths and garlands—to us it’s one of the most underrated desert plants and is the most sentimental scent of the desert. It’s also citrus season out here right now. Dried citrus added to the creosote is a favorite combo and a fun way to use what we have! 🌿🍊✨

12/04/2023

One of the things that's been most helpful to us throughout our journey of designing spaces for ourselves and for others has been identifying our 'design mantras'. Having these mantras in mind is such a valuable way to cut out the noise and not fall for trends, while creating timeless spaces that feel warm and full of love. For those of you looking to curate this feeling in your own home, you may be interested in considering these mantras as well. We'll be highlighting our mantras here and showing you how we put them to use in our spaces with a weekly series of posts starting today! (You can find more details about our design mantras in our book, At Home in Joshua Tree.)

Design Mantra #1: Blur Indoor and Outdoor Space

Case Study: The Casita

From the moment you wake up in the bedroom at the Casita, you'll know you're a part of the Mojave desert. Large glass doors open to a dining patio, which overlooks a courtyard, beyond which is open desert as far as the eye can see. With shaded areas to dine or relax on benches, a hammock nestled in a cactus garden with views of boulder piles inviting you to explore just outside our gates; and with an outdoor tub you are given countless opportunities to experience the comfort that time in nature brings. When inside the casita, large windows draw your eye to your surroundings. We’ve also brought the outdoors in with cacti, dusty hues and sand colored floors throughout the house. (📸 )

11/17/2023

Our New Moon playlist is updated today and oooh it’s a good one! 🌚✨🎶 It’s guest curated by one of our favorites, and features his new album ‘Slow Lightning’—songs that are both soothing and powerful all at once. We hope you enjoy it wherever you find yourself this week and through the holiday season. And if you can, remember to step out under the stars after listening. As we took this photo earlier this week we were reminded that it’s one of those things you’ll never regret doing. (sharing the link to the playlist in stories)🌵💫

11/16/2023

✨GIVEAWAY✨GIVE A STAY, GET A STAY

We’re doing our biggest giveaway ever to say thank you for the incredible support you’ve given us over the years.🧡

Enter to win a 2-night stay for yourself, and one for your friend too (4 nights total!) 🏠🌵

And, because we know you’re all winners: the first 100 people to comment will receive a special 10% discount code via DM.

Here’s how to enter:

🌵 Like this post
🌵 Tag a friend who you’d like to gift a stay to in a comment below. (Tag as many folks as you’d like, each comment is an entry!)
🌵 Make sure you’re following both & (your tagged friend must follow as well to win)

💫 Optional: Share this post in your stories to increase your chances of winning!

Disclaimer: Dates for the stay need to be booked within the next three months for a stay anytime from now through August 2024, or will be forfeited (holidays will apply as blackout dates).

Giveaway ends at 10am PST on November 28, 2023. One lucky winner (and friend) will be selected at random and notified via DM by and (any account other than these exact handles is not us).

This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by Instagram. Must be 21 years or older to enter.

11/10/2023

Back in 2015 we bought our first house in the desert (in Joshua Tree, CA) as a personal creative retreat. As designers we were craving a project where we could work with our hands, and spend more time out in nature—bringing that historic 1949 home back to life brought us exactly that. Along the way we began renting this house when we weren’t there and fell in love with designing and renovating spaces with old souls and hospitality immersed in nature.

Designing retreats for others to find the time and space to reset became so fulfilling that we started looking for an inn to renovate so we could share these experiences at a larger scale. After years of searching we found back in 2018 and spent 2019 bringing it back to life (still the craziest year of our lives to date as we worked against a hard money loan and financial stresses to make this dream a reality).

We hope to host you for a stay with us someday soon (or to have you back if you’ve visited us before!) Flip through this post to see all of the spaces we get the honor of sharing with you all.

📍 Joshua Tree, California Private homes in the Mojave desert

- The House: (the original Joshua Tree House!) 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house located near downtown Joshua Tree and the west entrance to Joshua Tree National Park
- The Cabin: An original homestead cabin tiny home
- The Casita: A remote 2 bedroom, 2 bath home with endless desert views

📍 Tucson, Arizona
A small inn on 40 acres in the Sonoran desert

Suites:
- Saguaro Suite: this romantic and large multi-level suite offers a sunken jungle tub and two fireplaces
- Agave Suite: an upper level suite with a full kitchen and a private balcony with sunset views
- Creosote Suite: this large suite has a full kitchen and a jungle shower along with a private patio (it also has the option to add a floor mattress for small families)
- Ocotillo Suite: our family friendly, 2 bedroom suite with mountain views
Rooms:
- Yucca & Cholla: as a more affordable option to a suite, these rooms both have fireplaces and private patios with the same access to all of the inn’s communal areas as the suites

10/18/2023

We’ve been hugging our baby tighter this past week or so, horrified by what is currently happening to innocent children and families. Though small acts can feel lost in the magnitude of it all, we will be sending 100% of sales of our digital prints to this week to support their effort to keep all children protected and safe. (link to digital prints is in our bio 🌝)

09/21/2023

We just got back from a vacation of our own (it’s always such a refreshing reminder for us to remember what it’s like to be guests, not just hosts.) We went to Mallorca and spent our time there off of our phones, with family, and soaked up design inspiration. We came back feeling inspired for our adobe project and wanting to collect hand blown colored glassware to fill up wonky wood and plaster shelves. We of course also now have a jet lagged toddler so we’re not exactly feeling rested, but definitely inspired.