Tour An Art-Filled Desert Modern Home

Dessert modern mid century home in Palm Springs — Dean and Daryle are passionate about the preservation of their beloved neighborhood. “Lakeside Drive and Pebble Beach Drive, the two streets with these homes, are two of the most beautiful streets in town. We love that while the homes share a common floor plan, each is unique with their own special elements.”

Hidden away between newer developments and a golf course sits a neighborhood of mid century houses with exquisite pedigree.

Famed architect Donald Wexler, along with the Alexander Company, created this quiet Palm Springs neighborhood of sprawling desert homes in 1965.

Colorful artwork in a neutral desert modern living room with mid century sofa and statement lamps — Proudly hung in the living room, the colorful artwork are custom portraits of Dean and Daryle commissioned through a charity auction.

Current owners Dean Williams and Daryle Morgan, an HR executive and a landscape architect, have lovingly cared for the home since 2008. Their passion for mid century design runs deep, and the couple credits Daryle’s love of the Arts & Crafts movement as its foundation. Dean and Daryle surround themselves with their love for mid century design—as evidenced by the fact that this is the second mid century vacation home they’ve owned in Palm Springs and that their primary residence in Berkeley also falls into their favorite design style.

Desert Modern interior with rock feature wall, white fireplace, and Eames lounger — In the future, the couple hopes to replace the windows, HVAC, plumbing, pool filter and heater, and potentially add solar panels to the roof—all in an effort to maintain the home’s integrity and improve its energy efficiency.

Serendipitous Find

While doing what the couple describes as a “casual search of MLS listings,” they spotted a photo of the fireplace and were hooked. “We had to see the house that was attached to that fireplace!” they say.

carpeted mid century modern living room with floor-to-ceiling windows — A color palette inspired by the desert and Daryle’s love of the Arts & Crafts movement has played a vital role in how the couple balances their home’s authenticity with personalization.

They were further drawn in by the home’s blurred line of indoor/outdoor living, its walls of glass and clean lines. A family room was added to the layout in the 1980s, bringing the three bedroom, three bathroom home’s square footage up to 2,224.

Neutral, beige and white desert modern living room in Palm Springs — Daryle’s love of ceramics has resulted in a complete set of Heath dinnerware—all from the company’s seconds sales at their original factory In Sausalito. Together, the couple has collected many of their vintage finds through garage and estate sales, the Alameda and Rose Bowl Flea markets and Hedge, a vintage furnishings shop in Cathedral City.

Upon moving into the golf course adjacent residence, the couple began making careful changes—being mindful not to alter the character of the building, but rather to subtly update it to suit their lifestyle.

Their first projects took place in the interior—opening a wall between the dining room and addition, and repainting and installing carpet throughout. Outside, they removed the lawn and shrubs, opting instead for more desert-friendly landscaping of gravel and succulents. They also painted the entire exterior and added period-appropriate wood louvers in front of the bedroom windows for sun protection and privacy.

Mid Century Modern macrame owl and chair — This large-scale macramé owl hangs in the master bedroom looking out at the backyard. While it may look like an amazing flea market find, the piece is only inspired by its vintage predecessors. Dean used rope from home depot to make the wall hanging by hand.

Original Beauty

Dean and Daryle kept all the original features they inherited with the home, including interior and exterior rock walls and the stunning white fireplace that first caught their eye. Grasscloth wallpaper in the entry was too damaged to be salvageable, but the couple traced down a replacement so as not to lose this unique feature.

A color palette inspired by the desert and Daryle’s love of the Arts & Crafts movement has played a vital role in how the couple balances their home’s authenticity with personalization.

Sometime in the late 1970s or early ’80s, previous homeowners redesigned the kitchen and baths. Rather than diving in with a full renovation, the couple has decided to make the spaces palatable until they can invest in a future remodel. A soft blue shade paired with brass hardware and peel-and-stick wallpaper, patterned with the appearance of glasscloth, has made the spaces feel cohesive with the couple’s style. When the time to renovate does come, Dean and Daryle are already prepared to respect the building’s integrity and continuity.

Mid Century Modern kitchen with blue cabinets and countertop in a desert modern Palm Springs home — As part-time residents, Dean and Daryle managed the restoration work from a distance, and at times worked with a project manager.

Designing Home

A color palette inspired by the desert landscape and Daryle’s love of the Arts & Crafts movement has played a vital role in how the couple balances their home’s authenticity with personalized décor.

The couple describes their residence and aesthetic as relaxed and approachable—an ideal outcome for a vacation getaway. They value a mix of old and new as it creates a “lived in” feel, where nothing is too precious to be used and appreciated.

Desert modern backyard in Palm Springs — The couple has big plans for their backyard. After discovering that they have the option to push their back fence out 20 feet to capture an easement, they started dreaming of an outdoor dining space, new landscaping and a spa.

Dean and Daryle have met the adult children of the Wexlers and Alexanders, and according to the couple, both families said their parents would love the house and be proud of how well it has been cared for a deeply meaningful and well-placed compliment.