Ron “Ronnie” and Shantel “Shawnie” Sloy live life in the fast lane — as long as it’s glamorous. When the neighboring houses lean into straight lines, they opt for sweeping curves. When plans call for a single pool facing the golf course, they add a second upstairs off the primary suite. (Follow the floating staircase and glide across the glass catwalk.) And though the vibrant couple call Portland home, Ronnie’s persona wouldn’t be the same without his year-round, sun-kissed tan. His closet teems with color-coordinated golf attire and over 400 pairs of custom-designed golf shoes, rivaling his wife’s well-heeled wardrobe.
To say they are fun-loving individuals and the life of any party is both a given and an understatement to anyone who knows them. Their inner circle now includes architect Bill Hayer, builders from Hill Construction Co., and interior designers from firm Lucas — their “best-of-breed dream team,” as the couple calls them.
The Sloys chose the 225- member Madison Club for its privacy and exclusivity, a perfect fit for their lifestyle. A financial adviser featured in Money magazine, Bloomberg, the Financial Times of London, and on CNBC, Ronnie finds the golf, sunshine, and pool time in La Quinta a welcome counterbalance to managing billions for his firm’s clients. Their 13,585-square-foot custom home fulfilled this avid golfer’s 30-year dream of living on the fairway, and every detail rewards the wait.
Shantel and Ron Sloy transformed a gallery-white wall in the primary bedroom with “Raw Piece of Joy #3,” an acrylic painting by JR Harris.
“The home in the movie Iron Man inspired the concept,” Ronnie says. “Bill had the vision to create the only house at Madison with curved rooflines and curved windows,” distinguishing it like a blockbuster hit.
The lot, however, posed challenges. Its orientation seemed to offer only marginal views. Yet Hayer, principal of San Diego–based Hayer Architecture, saw a prime opportunity from his first site visit. Having designed more than a dozen Madison homes and many more across the Coachella Valley, he revels in pushing terrain beyond its perceived limits. This four-bedroom, seven-bath residence — crafted for views, privacy, and indoor-outdoor entertaining — outperforms its lot.
“To take advantage of the stunning golf course and mountain views, we angled the house once within the property,” Hayer says. “We created a sequence of movement as you enter from the street and proceed through the home. That got us out far enough on the lot to look past the house next door.”
Visitors approach a Superior Bay Napoleon-cut stone façade, where a massive bronze door pivots into the entry courtyard. Water cascades down a towering wall and bubbles up like natural hot springs from a row of fountains. Glass walls reveal glimpses of the interior as the walkway turns twice toward a pivoting glass front door. Here, a triumphant sightline appears where the swimming pool echoes the arcs of the home and curves of the fairway, almost appearing to be within the home. Inside, the plan aligns directly to
the views.
What seemed like modest land yields a grand panorama: “You’re looking right down the chute at the second hole and an oasis of palm trees with the mountains in the background,” Hayer says. “They got a lot of value from the lot because of what we were able to do with the orientation of the house.”
The sunken fire lounge, set between the pool and golf course, draws its generous proportions from the house and its lot, which also incorporates a putting green.
Flame-sprayed bronze cladding on the great room fireplace meets the warmth of bleached oak slats spanning an entire wall.
With the views established, the team turned inward. The Sloys envisioned curvilinear forms to convey fluidity and elegance, requiring top-tier structural integrity. Highlights include a 16-foot overhang shading the back terrace, a floating oak staircase, a glass bridge connecting upper bedrooms, and the elevated second pool.
“Curves are some of the most difficult elements to build, and this house is full of them,” says Matt Cole of San Diego–based Hill Construction Company, who worked with colleague Ryan Hill. “Those six-panel curved sliders in the great room had a 20-week lead time and had to be installed with absolute precision. The pool off the primary suite required a ‘shell within a shell’ to ensure waterproofing and longevity. Every detail demanded intense coordination. There was no room for error.”
The team, veterans of high-end estates, nailed the first impression. A soaring two-story wall of custom-bleached oak slats conceals a glass elevator and touch-latch doors to the garage and laundry room. A four-sided fireplace clad in flame-sprayed bronze anchors the great room. Clerestory windows curve above the six-panel glass sliders, filtering daylight deep into the home.
Integral to these architectural statements is Lucas, a sibling-led interior design firm based in the Pacific Northwest. Their hand is evident in the slatted oak wall, the sculptural stairwell, and layered finishes and lighting. Violet-indigo seating adds theatrical fun in the theater, while smoky blue rugs and chairs in the great room reprise in the primary bedroom’s upholstered headboard and bed frame. Their design also created gallery space for the couple’s art collection, spanning paintings, sculpture, and mixed media. The result is a residence where stone, wood, glass, and color converge to underscore both the bold architecture and the intimate moments reserved for art.
Beside the glass entry door from the courtyard, the floating oak staircase stands as a work of art, its impact amplified by another on the wall: “Mother Nature’s Gaze, 2023” by Menashe Mashiah from Elena Bulatova Fine Art in Rancho Mirage.
Outdoors, landscaping by Dirk Gaudet of Gaudet Design Group sets the stage for Ronnie’s now-famous golden glow. Shawnie recalls the night in 2015 when a TNT cameraman at a Portland Trailblazers game zoomed in on Ronnie’s bronzed look and dubbed him “Really Tan Portland Ken.” “Since that night, the nickname has taken on a life of its own,” she says. “He’s been on Inside the NBA several times with Shaq, Ernie, Kenny, and Chuck. You can imagine why our back lanai with the fire lounge and pool is one of his favorite spots.”
From the terrace, the vanishing-edge pool appears to spill into the golf course, its water level flush with the home’s stone floors. “We wanted the inside and outside to read as one continuous plane,” Hayer says. A drainage and pedestal system makes the transition seamless and striking.
The primary pool ranks among the largest residential pools in La Quinta, spanning more than 2,000 square feet and holding more than 83,000 gallons. Tiled in a crystal glass mosaic, it glimmers like a mirror. The secondary soaking pool on the upper level, complete with acrylic viewing panels overlooking the fairway, offers a refreshing desert sanctuary. “Jason Stoker of Stoker Pools made our swimming pools a piece of art and the perfect complement to our house,” Shawnie says.
Smoky blue hues from the great room extend to the primary bedroom’s four-channel tufted headboard.
Ronnie’s custom closet ensures he’s ready for any occasion, especially a round of golf.
Glass sliders from the primary bath open to an outdoor lounge with fireplace and television, and stairs that ascend to the “serenity pool” above the fairway.
Fulfilling Ronnie’s three-decade dream of a golf-adjacent home, the couple also realized their goal of a view-encompassing, architecturally significant design. “Working closely with the Sloys set the tone for the entire project,” Hayer says. “Their enthusiastic engagement contributed positively to its success.”
For the Sloys, their Madison Club escape is more than a sun-soaked getaway. It’s a setting as distinctive as they are — a place where Ronnie’s limitless energy and Shawnie’s warmth infuse every gathering. As Cole says of their yearslong working relationship, “They make you feel like family.” The house, with its curves, color, and charisma, does the same.
