The foundation had already been poured when Marc Walters and Rick Cassar realized exactly how big their new house in Palm Springs would be. "We never talked about the square footage. We just said, 'Oh, those are cool-looking drawings. Yeah, that looks great let's go for it!" says Walters, a retired community college instructor. "During the build, one of my biggest fears was that it wouldn't be inviting."
Fortunately, both their designer and architect had a strategy for reconciling their priorities: a three-bedroom house that was large enough to entertain all their friends and family yet was also exceptionally warm and welcoming. "Cozy was the term that kept coming up," says designer Sam Cardella, who has been based in Palm Springs since 1996. "That was the prerequisite for everything."
A cozy 7,200-square-foot house may sound like an oxymoron, but Palm Springs architecture has long been a standard-bearer for relaxed entertaining. Starting in the 1930s, architects such as Richard Neutra, Donald Wexler, and Albert Frey came to the desert and built soigné pavilions for chilling out in the rocky landscape. With its low-slung form, deep overhangs, and emphasis on outdoor space, this house is a clear descendant of desert modernism. But it also leans into dark colors and rugged finishes to help "give the house a soul," as Walters puts it.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Elle Decor US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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MORE, PLEASE
Eric Hughes joins forces with Standard Architecture to transform two neighboring homes into a sprawling family compound.
SIZED TO FIT
Designer Nannette Brown reimagines a new-build apartment with unexpected depth, character, and texture.
Play It Cool
In balmy Texas, Ashe Leandro brings urbane style and a chill vibe to a home in a historic district.
Mic Drop
For former talk radio star Tom Joyner, Studio Roda creates an oceanfront pleasure pad with out-of-sight views and disco-era glamour.
EYE IN THE SKY
How do you cozy up a Manhattan high-rise? Call designers Hendricks Churchill.
THE JOY OF KØKKEN
In Brooklyn, a writer transforms her kitchen into a space of warmth and connection, blending personal memories with Scandinavian design.
CURTAIN RAISER
ELLE DECOR partners with designers Christine and John Gachot to refresh an iconic lounge at a New York institution, the Metropolitan Opera House.
The Empire Strikes Back - A 19th-century gem in Cambridge, Massachusetts, gets a tour-de-force restoration thanks to Frances Merrill of Reath Design.
Is it possible to simultaneously go back in time and leap forward? This was the challenge a couple set for themselves upon purchasing a salmon-pink 1869 house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, not far from Longfellow House, the National Historic Site that served as George Washington's headquarters during the revolution. We loved all the beautiful old details of this house, the homeowner says.
Just Like That, But Cheaper. -One writer tried to replicate a classic ELLE DECOR interior in his apartment. Could he do it for $500?
It was all about the green curtains. In 2008, to my great surprise, I was offered a ninemonth fellowship based in New York City. I had lived there twice before, both times unsuccessfully, meaning I had failed to create any kind of significant social life, and so this was a chance not only to do research for my new novel, but also an opportunity to get things right. I swore I wouldn't let the city break me a third time.
And How! - Decorator Nick Olsen transforms a Sag Harbor home into a Hamptons retreat with an irreverent humor.
If you must go to the Hamptons, however-because it is devilishly good fun, after all-you may notice an apparently modest, low-slung cottage on Sag Harbor's Main Street and think, with a comfortable sort of feeling, Now that is how a house should look. Nestled amid the Botox bars, helipads, and club-staurants, it could almost set the sordid world aright both a rebuke and a solution to the chaos that surrounds it. A real home.
