Kirkwood Builders of Arizona is a custom home builder working in Sedona, the Village of Oak Creek, Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Cornville and Camp Verde. We build new homes start to finish, along with casitas, guest houses, garages, shops and outbuildings. The projects below are ours.

Residential work here is shaped by the land before it’s shaped by the plans. We work alongside your architect and designer to make the most of the views, get the best use out of the lot, and find the most cost-effective placement for the house.

That work happens before construction starts, and it’s where the money is either saved or spent. Bringing a builder in during design is how delays get avoided and budgets get held, rather than discovered on site.

Licensed by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, ROC #328394, and insured. To talk about a build, call (928) 215-0372.

Star Ranch

Custom home · Cross Creek Ranch, Sedona · Completed 2025 · Kirkwood as general contractor, start to finish

Star Ranch sits on a side hill, and that one fact set most of the decisions on the house.

A side-hill lot hands you a view flat ground does not, and a problem to go with it. Put the house in the wrong place on that slope and you either give away the view the lot was bought for, or you end up with a building that sits on the hill instead of in it.

The architect drew the house. We worked through the design alongside the architect and the owners — the stage where a builder’s input is worth the most and costs the least, because nothing has been committed yet.

What came out of it: the main living space faces the red rock, and the roofs step down with the grade rather than holding one line across it, so the house reads as a series of low forms following the hill instead of a single mass set on top of it.

The finishes carry the same idea — muted stucco and stacked stone that settle against the red soil rather than stand off it, low-slope standing seam roofs, and native juniper and pinyon left in place right up to the walls. Inside, the main room opens through a full wall of steel-framed glass, and a covered patio carries the view out to the buttes on the horizon.

It does not announce itself from the road below. That was the point.

Covered entry with stacked stone columns and black-framed glass doors
Powder room with a light oak vanity, shiplap wall and black fixtures
Entry hall looking out through black-framed glass doors to the patio and junipers
Built-in white shelving flanking a doorway, with a window to the side
Hallway running past a stacked stone wall toward the stairs
Great room under a timber beam, with a wall of glass and the kitchen beyond
Great room looking toward the kitchen, stacked stone columns and timber beams overhead
The main living space from the far end, glazed across its full width
Living area opening through glass doors to the patio and red rock beyond
Built-in cabinetry and shelving around a linear fireplace
Kitchen with a long island, pendant lights and stacked stone at the corner
Pantry fitted with timber open shelving above white cabinets
Kitchen run with a vent hood, tile backsplash and wall ovens
Kitchen from the far side, island and pendants with the refrigerator beyond
Paver courtyard between the house and a dry-stacked rock retaining wall
Laundry room with side-by-side machines, a sink and a window over the counter
Primary bathroom with a double vanity, lit mirror and a tiled walk-in shower
Bathroom with timber floating shelves and a window to the rocks outside
Walk-in closet fitted out with open shelving and drawer banks
Bedroom with a corner window and a sliding door onto the deck
Bedroom opening through a full-height slider to the red rock view
Bathroom with a tiled walk-in shower alongside the vanity and mirror
Bedroom with a sliding door onto the covered deck and trees beyond
Closet with hanging rails and drawer units in place
Guest bathroom with a shiplap wall, tiled shower and a high window
Bedroom with a corner window and slider onto the terrace, junipers beyond
Linen closet behind sliding doors, shelved out
Covered deck under a timber ceiling, with sliding doors back into the house
View from the covered deck across the junipers to the red rock horizon
Star Ranch seen from above, stepping down the hillside on its stone base
The house from the uphill side, its roofs stepping with the grade
The drive climbing to the house, which sits low against the slope
Star Ranch from above, low-slope metal roofs set among the junipers

Birds Nest

Custom home · Sedona Ranch, Sedona · Completed 2026 · Kirkwood as general contractor, start to finish

Birds Nest sits on top of a hill, which sounds like the easy version and is not.

A hilltop hands you the views. It also hands you a house that can stand against the sky from every direction. The work was keeping the building below the ridgeline — so it reads as part of the hill rather than an object set on top of it — without giving back the views that made the lot worth building on.

The answer was in the placement, and it came out of working it through with the whole team. The mass steps down the slope instead of stacking on the summit: from the approach the house reads low with the upper floor set back, while the downhill side opens across two full levels of glass. Flat roofs and a muted gray palette keep the profile quiet against the rock.

On a hillside, where a building sits decides how much has to be cut, filled, retained and reached — and those are decisions worth settling on paper rather than discovering with an excavator on site.

The result is red rock views from every room.

Courtyard between the wings, with a fire pit set in the gravel
Kitchen with a waterfall-edge island, dark cabinetry and a wall of appliances
Linear fireplace set into a stone surround running floor to ceiling
Entry with a backlit panel door beside full-height cabinetry
Corner of glass framing the red rock, with seating pulled up to the window
Bathroom with a tiled shower over the tub and a wall-hung vanity
Bedroom with a slider onto the balcony and red rock across the valley
Media room with a projection screen and tiered seating
The media room from the back, with a sectional on the lower tier
Powder room with a floating stone basin and a round mirror
Bedroom opening onto the balcony through a full-height slider
Bedroom with the glazed corner looking out to the rocks
Bathroom with a floating vanity, tall storage and a lit mirror
Study with a built-in desk run along a glazed corner facing the rocks
Library with timber shelving on both sides and a seating group by the window
Laundry room with machines set under a run of counter, sink and a window
Dressing room with a long counter, drawer banks and a hanging rail above
Walk-in wardrobe shelved and railed on both sides
Primary bathroom with vessel basins along a window facing the red rock
The same bathroom looking back, tub set under the window
Room glazed on two sides with a slider onto the terrace
Wet bar with a sink and under-counter fridge set into the cabinetry
Bathroom with a tiled walk-in shower alongside a floating vanity
Room with a bar run along one wall beside the roller door
Home gym fitted out against a glazed wall
Shower room with a wall-hung basin and a window above
Garage with a full run of cabinets and bench along the back wall
Terrace with cable railing, running along the glazed elevation
The upper roof and terrace, with red rock formations across the valley
The rear elevation above the pool, two levels opening to the terrace
The garage level and forecourt, with the terrace above
Birds Nest from below the hill, two levels of glass facing the view
The downhill elevation with the terrace and pool deck in front
The house from the side, stepping down the slope in stucco and stone
Aerial across the property with the red rock range behind
The approach elevation, where the house reads low with the upper floor set back
Birds Nest on its hilltop, roof terrace above and red rock beyond

Cross Creek Ranch House

Custom home · Cross Creek Ranch, Sedona · Kirkwood as general contractor, start to finish

Oak Creek runs just below this house, and it shaped most of it.

A creekside lot gives you something a view lot does not: sound. You hear the water before you see anything. So the house was built to stay open to it — a covered porch runs the length of the back, and the main rooms open onto it through glass, which keeps the creek in earshot from inside the house rather than only from the yard.

Stacked stone at the base and around the fireplace, heavy timber overhead, a low metal roof, and the mature trees left standing where they were. It reads like a creekside house in Northern Arizona because it was built like one.

The house from the lawn, stacked stone base and a timber entry porch under the ridge
Covered rear porch running the length of the house on heavy timber posts
Living room with a stacked stone fireplace and a wall of glass onto the porch
Chairs set out on the creek bank at dusk, with the house lit up the slope
Great room with a lit fire in the stacked stone fireplace under timber beams
The same room from the other side, opening through sliding doors to the deck
Primary bedroom with a sitting area and doors onto the covered porch
The house from across the valley, low and long under a red metal roof with red rock behind
Kitchen island looking through to the dining area and the windows beyond
Kitchen with a vent hood and tile backsplash, open to the room with the stone fireplace
Living room under an open timber ceiling, looking through to the dining area
Kitchen island with a farmhouse sink, stained cabinetry and open shelving below
Primary bathroom with a freestanding tub, double vanity and a tiled walk-in shower
Wet bar built into a rounded stone wall, with a sink, under-counter fridge and mesh-front cabinets

Cross Creek View House

Custom home · Cross Creek Ranch, Sedona · Kirkwood as general contractor, start to finish

Everything on this house points at the back porch.

It sits at the end of a cul-de-sac, which means no through traffic and a back yard that opens onto the view instead of onto a neighbor. The porch is covered, run on heavy timber beams, with an outdoor kitchen at one end and room at the other for everyone who turned up — a place to take the morning coffee and sit out the sunset, which is what it was built for.

Inside, the plan runs through the middle of the house to the far view, so you get it from the front door. Stacked stone, adobe-toned stucco and a terracotta metal roof outside; stone around the fireplace and dark timber beams across the ceilings inside.

The house from the drive, adobe-toned stucco and stone with a red metal roof
Stone arch framing the entry gate, with planting either side
Water feature spilling along a trough beside the entry walk
Paver walk running alongside the house toward the breezeway
The breezeway framing the far view straight through the middle of the house
Inside the breezeway, star pendants overhead and doors to either side
Great room with a stacked stone fireplace and dark timber beams overhead
Wine room behind glass, racked floor to ceiling
Prep kitchen with open shelving for glassware and a run of counter
Kitchen island with a vent hood above and pendant lights over the counter
Covered rear porch with lounge seating, looking out over the lawn at dusk
Outdoor kitchen at the end of the porch, with a dining table under the timber ceiling
Dining table on the covered porch beside the outdoor kitchen, sunset on the hills
Lounge seating along the porch, looking out across the lawn at sunset
Study with a library ladder against built-in shelving and a desk by the window
Cedar-lined sauna next to the shower
Dressing room with an island of drawers and hanging on both sides
Primary bedroom opening through to the bathroom beyond
Bedroom with arched glass doors opening onto the porch
Bedroom with a tall upholstered headboard and timber doors through to the bath
Utility room with a run of cabinets above the machines and a barn door
Utility room with a deep wash sink and a dog wash at the end
Guest bathroom with a glass shower, round mirror and a window above the vanity
The same bathroom from the other side, vanity and walk-in shower

Ikhaya Lethu

Custom home · Cross Creek Ranch, Sedona · Completed 2023 · Kirkwood as general contractor, start to finish

Ikhaya Lethu means “our home.”

The owners asked for the feel and textures of an African lodge. Not a theme — a memory. That is a harder thing to build than a style, because it has to be right in the hand and underfoot, not only in the photographs.

The house is organized around the way they wanted an evening to go. It starts outside, in a covered pavilion with a kitchen and fireplace built into it — rough stone walls, hewn timber overhead, a checkerboard stone floor, the pool along one side and red rock past it. A dugout canoe from Africa hangs over the dining table, hollow side down, with the lights set into it. That is where people eat and the stories get told.

Then it moves indoors, to the living room and bar, where the same materials carry on more quietly and the evening finishes.

Everything else follows from that. The plan runs low and long around the courtyard, which keeps the view in the rooms that matter and the house down in its own landscape.

It is a house built to remind the people in it of somewhere they have been.

Covered pavilion with the dining table set on the checkerboard stone floor, pool beyond
Built-in stone banquette running the corner of the pavilion, carved drums used as stools
Looking through the pavilion between stone piers to the table and the view
A dugout canoe from Africa hung over the dining table, with the lights set into its hull
The pavilion fireplace and outdoor kitchen, carved panel above the hearth
Outdoor kitchen with the grills built into the counter beside the fireplace
Outdoor kitchen with two islands, a stone chimney breast and grills set into the counter
The cooking end of the pavilion, opening through to the terrace
Powder room with a carved stone basin on a timber counter
Ikhaya Lethu from directly overhead, the plan wrapped around the pool
Entry looking through the front door to the checkerboard terrace beyond
Carved drum mounted as a wall light above a low stone shelf
Hallway hung with woven baskets, leading through to the kitchen
Dining and living space under hewn beams, woven discs on the wall
Aerial view of a modern custom home and pool built by Kirkwood Builders near Sedona, Arizona, with red rock country behind it
The house from the approach, long and low under a dark metal roof
Kitchen with stained cabinetry, stone counters and stools at the island
The property from a distance, sitting in the valley below the red rock
Great room under hewn timber beams, leather seating open to the kitchen beyond
The house from the air, low and dark against the desert with red rock behind
The same room from the kitchen end, clerestory windows above the beams
Kitchen with a long island, range and full-height cabinetry
Kitchen looking down the run of counter toward the pantry door
Tiled shower with a glass screen beside woven wall pieces
Double vanity below a long mirror, with woven shields and baskets along the wall
The same bathroom looking through to the shower
Bar with bottles racked to the ceiling, opening onto the terrace
Bedroom with a window onto the desert and carved masks on the wall
Carved timber panel hung above a bench beside the bedroom door
Hallway lined with woven baskets under a timber beam
Passage between the study and the bedrooms, hung with carved and woven pieces
Guest bathroom with a walk-in shower and a carved panel on the wall
The same bathroom from the vanity, mirror framed in timber
Study with a desk under the window and framed pieces above the credenza
Bedroom with carved figures mounted above the headboard
Stone vessel basin on a stepped counter below a lit mirror
Primary bathroom with a stone freestanding tub between the shower and vanity
Dressing room fitted floor to ceiling on both sides
The dressing room looking back toward the bathroom
Study with a built-in desk along the windows and a round table
The study from the doorway, meeting table in the middle
The study looking toward the storage wall and the door through
Bathroom with twin stone basins along the vanity and the tub beyond
Stone vessel basin set on the counter below a lit mirror
Front door in reclaimed timber, set between rough stone piers
Walk-in shower tiled with a band of stone and a bench along the end
Side lawn running between paving and gravel, with red rock beyond the wall
Pool terrace with a pizza oven, built-in seating and the checkerboard paving
Bathroom with a stone basin, carved pieces on the wall and the tub beyond
The entry front of the house, stone and stucco under a dark metal roof
The pool along the terrace, with red rock across the valley
Aerial from the rear, the roofs spread low across the site
The house from the air with the pool terrace and the red rock behind
Built-in seating around a fire table under the stone wall
Primary bathroom with the stone tub set against carved pieces on the wall
Living room around a stone fireplace with a lit fire and leather seating either side
Stone basin on a reclaimed timber counter against a textured tile wall
The bathroom from the doorway, tub and vanity along one wall
The living room from the side, clerestory windows above the fireplace
Sunken seating area beside the pizza oven, cut into the pool terrace
The garage side of the house from the forecourt, stone and stucco under dark metal
Kitchen island looking across to the fireplace and the clerestory above
The pool from the shallow end, running the length of the terrace
Guest cloakroom with a grab rail beside the WC
Bedroom with a timber headboard and a bench at the foot of the bed