GRAPHĒ: A Writer’s Prefab Retreat Sits Lightly Upon the Land in Joshua Tree

Thoughtfully inserted into a desert landscape, a low-impact, two-bedroom prefab home by Cover embraces the outdoors in minimalist style.

It was love at first sight for Los Angeles–based writer Leslie Longworth when a friend introduced her to a five-acre lot for sale in Pioneertown, a tiny historic community in Southern California. Surrounded by mountains and otherworldly views of Joshua Tree National Park—and with only a dirt road for access—the remote property was the perfect place for a writer’s retreat.

Located three miles down a dirt road, the remote property is surrounded by cactus, juniper, mesquite, scrub oak, Joshua trees, and dramatic piles of boulders.

Mac Hayward

Intent on preserving the pristine environment as much as possible, Leslie turned away from traditional site building and started researching prefabricated housing as a low-impact alternative. She came across the Los Angeles prefab startup Cover, and although the company had yet to complete their first build at the time, "everything clicked" from the moment she spoke to founder Alexis Rivas.

Spurred by her enthusiasm and vision, the startup made a special exception for Leslie—it usually focuses solely on accessory structures in Los Angeles—and designed and built a two-bedroom, two-bath house in the desert two-and-a-half hours away from the city.

The minimalist facade is composed of floor-to-ceiling windows and light gray fiber cement panels secured with a proprietary blind mounting system.

Mac Hayward

"Once Alexis agreed to come to the desert, I felt confident the land would captivate him…and it did," says Leslie. "The Mojave has a magnetism unlike anywhere I’ve ever been, and our land—which we feel wildly blessed to be the stewards of—has its own powerful vibration and magic. I think he said yes in the first five minutes of being there."

The happy partnership also gave Cover the opportunity to prove the capabilities of their fully integrated panelized building system in a standalone primary house—as well as their system’s performance in a harsh desert landscape.