Houzz Tour: Warm, Curvy Modernism in Palm Springs
http://www.decor-ideas.org 09/06/2014 23:13 Decor Ideas
Warm weather and great golf courses drew Laurie and Buzz Cooper to Palm Springs, California. The couple also loves midcentury design, so it was only natural that they fell in love with a home built in 1965 by Rick Harrison, an architect known for creating cool modernist homes that embraced the principles of the jet age.
The views, the golf course and the mod lines of the house drew the couple, but the home’s overall condition did not. It had not been touched for more than four decades, and had sat empty for weeks while it was on the market. The Coopers contacted Stanley Anderson with Moore Ruble Yudell after asking around the neighborhood — architects at the firm had remodeled a few of the homes in the area. “When we met we got along famously,” says Anderson. “We are like-minded about design.”
Flooring: terrazzo tile, Wassau; rug: Room & Board
“The house was pretty dark and grim,” says Anderson. “We reimagined it in a bright white with bright color accents.” The effect is of a permanent summer — fitting for a town that is bathed in sunshine more than 350 days each year.
All of the windows and sliding doors were replaced with new steel models. Given that one side of the open-plan living room, dining room and kitchen is 16 feet of sliding glass doors, the effect is of a glass wall. “The glass doors pocket into the wall, and it really blurs the lines between the inside and the outside,” says Anderson.
Sofas: Room Service; bar stools: Artifort
Since the clients love midcentury design, the firm’s interior designers chose pieces that were either designed during that era or sympathetic to it.
The bold colors were also client driven. “This couple isn’t afraid to use color,” says Anderson. “Laurie loves the chartreuse, and blue is Buzz’s favorite color. We chose an ultramarine blue, a nod to all the swimming pools in the area.”
Why We Love Midcentury Modern Design
“Laurie prefers a kitchen that is somewhat separated from the living areas, so we designed this wall that provides separation without closing the space off,” says Anderson. He notes that an extra-large skylight floods the cooking area with light.
The dining room, just off the kitchen, is centered around a large round light fixture. “We thought the fixture gave the effect of a starry night,” says the architect.
It’s just one of many spherical shapes. “In this house we chose rounded lines,” says Anderson. “We didn’t want hard edges on anything. It gives the modern design a warmth and softness.”
Dining chairs: Artifort; Platner Dining Table: Knoll
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The blue chairs beside the dining room and behind the living area create a more intimate space in which to gather. “It’s a seating area that’s close to the golf course,” says Anderson. “And the chairs swivel, so everyone can take in the view.”
Chairs: Artifort
The outdoor spaces, beginning with this entry courtyard, are designed to blend effortlessly with the main living space. “Hanging art outside is difficult,” says Anderson. “So we used this marble as the artwork.”
In the master bedroom, a wall-to-wall headboard mimics the long, low lines of the house.
Carpet: Flor
In the guest room, a similar padded headboard treatment is used for two twin beds. By day the room is an office, and the end-to-end beds act as daybeds. When guests come they can be used as beds. “It’s a smart use of space, and it allows people to really use an extra bedroom as an office,” says Anderson. “You can easily pull them away from the wall and push them together if you wanted to.”
Carpet: Flor
The property, now the winter residence for the Coopers, is a study in the warmer side of modernism. “It’s an interpretation of a Palm Springs style,” says Anderson. “You can have simple and clean live in harmony with pops of color.”
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