Room of the Day: Party-Ready in Palm Springs

Trying to recapture the swinging Rat Pack aesthetic of 1960s Palm Springs is a popular objective for many designers working in Southern California’s desert oasis town. Keeping these retrospective-inspired remodels more chic than cliché can be a tricky task, but it’s one perfectly suited for Los Angeles design team Jaime Rummerfield and Ron Woodson. With a bevy of celebrity clients under their belts (including House of Versace, Courtney Love and Christina Aguilera) the design team has the perfect recipe for mixing old-school hip with new-school cool.

Room at a Glance
Location: Palm Springs, California
Size: About 500 square feet (46.4 square meters)
Designers: Woodson & Rummerfield’s House of Design

For the past two years, houses owned by designer Christopher Kennedy have served as Modernism Week’s Palm Springs show houses. In 2014 Kennedy’s house in the Canyon Country Club Estates neighborhood of Palm Springs, designed by famed midcentury architect Stan Sackley in 1969, drew some of the region’s top-notch designers eager to showcase their talents.

Woodson and Rummerfield’s living room design was not intended to be a time capsule. “We were going for that ’60s-Hollywood-glam feel, but the pieces we selected are not period specific,” Jaime Rummerfield says.


The vintage Karl Springer barrel-backed chairs reupholstered in blue velvet were all the inspiration needed for a Palm Springs artist to create the abstract oil painting that graces the fireplace. “I showed him a picture of the chairs, and he was off and running,” Rummerfield says. “Abstract paintings work well for so many different looks; I just wanted to make sure we had the right colors.”

A vintage glass coffee table, a luxurious Moroccan white shag rug and a stunning Baccarat chandelier are some of the other standouts in the room.

Drapes: Duquetterie and Haze by Jim Thompson, Kneedler Fauchere; blue chairs: Karl Springer, Dawn Stein; rug: Moroccan shag, Woven Accents; chandelier: Baccarat; sconce: Britannia

What you need to know about installing a chandelier


The original design sketch drawn by Rummerfield had many of the elements that appear in the final design, including the large Baccarat chandelier. One noticeable difference is that in the final seating arrangement, the sectional was traded for more seating options.


The decision to do without a sectional opened up the space and made it more accommodating for hosting cocktail parties. “People come to Palm Springs to relax and entertain friends,” says Rummerfield. “That mentality dictated the design and layout of the room.”

A sleek Christian Liaigre sofa and a pair of ottomans covered in the same oyster-hued fabric anchor the living room.

Sofa and ottomans: Christian Liaigre, Thomas Lavin

How to get your furniture arrangement right


The living room’s mood board was big on celebrity and glam, with Elizabeth Taylor taking center stage.


No Rat Pack–inspired party is complete without a bar. The living room’s alcove bar includes a tall vintage blue lamp that complements the Karl Springer chairs, a gold Sputnik ceiling fixture and a pair of Lucite bar stools that complete the retro-chic scene.

More:
What to know before buying bar stools
See more fabulous Palm Springs homes

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