A Palm Springs Butterfly Home Gets a Fresh, Blue Refresh

A Palm Springs Butterfly home gets splashes of blue and other sea-inspired motifs to transform it into a water-inspired oasis in the desert.

Pairing Mid Mod styles with contemporary needs takes finesse. But Michelle Boudreau, interior designer and environment curator, rose to the challenge set by the owners of this beautiful Palm Springs abode. They wanted Michelle to merge MCM design with modern approaches to living. But perhaps more than anything, they wanted her to redesign the property with fresh styles and color palettes in mind. Hence, blue hues and a whimsical motif of circles flow through the house, splashing on walls and through hallways, and finding their way into every nook and cranny.

Palm Springs Krisel home with Butterfly roof living room — The living room’s hanging light fixtures feel like moons in a constellation of stars shooting across the ceiling. Hanging at different heights, the lights offer a playful note, especially when paired with the coral pink of the sitting chairs nearby.

Modern Meets Contemporary in a Palm Springs Butterfly home

Built in 1958, the house sits in the historic neighborhood of Vista Las Palmas in Palm Springs. Renowned architect William Krisel designed the house and made sure to top it off with the signature Butterfly roofline. Many years later, the current owners of the house approached Michelle for help with the full remodel. They admired her experience and passion for reviving Mid Century Modern homes. As a designer, she is known for carefully blending MCM style with contemporary ways of living or décor preferences. “The owners also really liked the way I work with color and pattern in an elevated way,” Michelle explains. “We hit it off right away!”

The primary goals for the renovation were to emphasize the existing structure, as it had beautiful bones, and to redesign the interiors for modern living. “I approached the redesign to feel like it fit naturally into the environment of the house, but created custom details that were unique to this home,” Michelle says. She added important elements like a custom built-in sofa and made sure it had multiple blue fabrics in a clean geometric shape to fit the owners’ preferred aesthetics.

entryway with group of three planters and decorate vases — The entryway uses the design “rule of three” to create a sense of fullness with the three decorative objects on the table and three houseplants in the corner.

This Palm Springs Butterfly Home Becomes a Blue Oasis

Michelle wanted to capture the owners’ colorful personalities and interests. “They are passionate about sailing and traveling in the beauty of the oceans and seas,” she says. Thus, the house now uses variations of water colors to flow throughout the home, ranging from vibrant turquoise to rich navy blues. While many Mid Mod homes lean warm with orange and yellow, Michelle wanted the home to feel refreshingly cool, but that doesn’t mean warm tones are avoided altogether. To allude to the sandy beaches and shorelines of their adventures, Michelle also added touches of coral colors and blush tones throughout. The pinkish shades render another throughline to the rooms, enriching the home with a sense of warmth and softness, especially when juxtaposed with the cool blue colors.

“The mixtures of shape and patterns create dimension and individuality to the home and invite you to explore the interesting differences of each room,” she says. The resulting look is a blue oasis in the California desert, and the soft colors of the blues, blush and touches of white create a sense of calm.

Palm Springs living room with coral, blue and white furniture — Michelle incorporated a coral-pink accent color throughout as a playful foil to the blue motif. This contrast also keeps the theme modern and fresh rather than too heavy-handed.

Bubble chairs in Palm Springs living room — According to Michelle, the revived Bubble chairs create a space for enjoying the desert landscape. “The custom curved furnishings provide a sitting environment that is like a warm hug.”

wood paneling and floating glass shelves above bar in Palm Springs home — The glass shelf Michelle chose for this hanging shelving unit not only provides easy access to the owner’s spirits of choice but creates the illusion of floating glass bottles. The wood paneling on the walls moves the eye upward to notice the curious floating bottles along with the floating spheres of the grandiose light fixture above the table. Back at the bar, the leather-covered stools include a thin metal base, which allows sight lines to the brass facing on the bar, creating yet another trick of sight.

Coming Full Circle

Michelle wanted the home to feel smooth, so she leaned head and shoulders into circles for the shape’s perfect simplicity and to add another subtle allusion to the owners’ travels. “The circle shapes were inspired by sea portholes and the shape that was used often in the original era,” Michelle says. “I translated the shape in new and unpredictable ways.” For example, the revived bubble chairs in the living room create a space for enjoying the desert landscape and swinging in style, “but they also provide a sitting environment that is like a warm hug,” she says.

Like seafarers on their own unique ocean voyage, guests to the home can wind their way through the house, stopping to note every example of Michelle’s reimagining of MCM style. In the guest room, cobalt-blue energizes the walls around a scalloped bed and play against the circle tiles. Everywhere, thoughtful curated décor and details mix with modernity and contemporary living. “Really, it’s a vacation home that embraces the Palm Springs lifestyle,” Michelle says.

Palm Springs kitchen with blue and wood cabinetry and appliances — The designer created a warmer and more functional kitchen that had a lot of personality. “We chose to go with blue base cabinets and top cabinets made of walnut for a mix of richness and warmth,” she says. “You’ll find hints of brass throughout, honoring the metal that originally graced many mid-century homes, including on the oversized island pendants that are the jewels of this room.”

Palm Springs kitchen with blue cabinetry and island — The owners love to hang out and converse with family and friends while preparing meals, but their previous kitchen didn’t have enough countertop space and lacked storage. “They dreamed of a bar area where they could make and serve cocktails while they entertained,” Michelle says. The kitchen was opened up with slated screen dividers to the living room with its 40-foot windows to enjoy the view of the mountains.

blue velvet sectional sofa and wooden slat half wall in Palm Springs den — A custom-created built-in sofa comes with tri tones of velvet for cozy comfort feels for guests watching TV in the evenings or listening to vintage vinyl records. The cactus wallpaper gives the room a touch of texture as well.

blue cactus patterned wallpaper in cut-out shelving area of Palm Springs home — In the den, unique cacti-inspired wallpaper created by Michelle frames the nook near the TV. The tile is a surprising blue and white, made more unexpected when juxtaposed with the live cactus sitting on the coffee table.

blue and coral upholstered chairs in Palm Springs home — Soothing blues, warm woods, brass touches and bright whites work harmoniously in this space to fill it without overwhelming the viewer. The mid-century wall millwork adds dimension and pattern to the space with its walnut wood and brass inlay between each slat.

dimensional tiles in multiple shade of blue in Palm Springs home — The soft colors of the blues behind the bed meet with the blush and white tones to create a sense of calm in the bedroom. Dimensional tiles, ranging from a rich deep blue to a light aqua color, protrude from the walls and gesture dramatically to the MCM era.

drawing inspired wallpaper and blue accents in Palm Springs bedroom — A bespoke wallpaper of iconic mid-century architecture wraps the walls with an inviting Investigation for guests.

black and white bedroom with cobalt blue headboard — A cobalt-blue color energizes the room, which features a Special scalloped bed. Color-matched circle tiles invite guests into the bathroom.

blue accent wall behind bed in Palm Springs home — The primary bedroom’s bathroom has a counter wrapped in walnut wood to warm up the profusion of colder colors in the primary bedroom. The starburst tile offers a burst of aqua color and a touch of visual light when paired with the glow of the brass fixtures fittings.

bathroom with blue starbursts on white tile — In this bathroom, a triangle shape offers a bit of difference compared with the circles that dominate the mirror’s shape and cabinet handles.

Create a Color Story

Michelle shares her advice for perfectly blending color with textures, patterns and shapes.

Michelle, a master at knowing when to reign in and pare down, transformed a riot of shape and color into a subtle fusion through her careful design expertise that pays homage to Mid Mod fashions. Here are her top tips.

Warm it Up With Wood. Even though Michelle’s designs rely heavily on a cooler color palette, she brings in wood to warm it up and make the spaces feel homey. “Walnut wood is carried through to warm up the crisp white ceilings and walls,” she says. The wood’s textures and dimension also offset the blue colors.
Illuminate the Colors. For Michelle, custom lighting creates artful sculptures in every room. “In the kitchen and dining areas, the unique and artful pendants create a sculptural moment while providing extra light in the dining area,” she says.
Opt for Unique Pairings. “Mixtures of shapes and patterns create dimension and individuality to the home,” Michelle says. This is why she suggests choosing a pattern or shape to run throughout the house. “These will invite guests to explore the interesting differences of each room.”

Looking to see more MCM homes in Palm Springs? Don’t miss Atomic Ranch at Palm Springs Modernism Week. In the meantime, here are Key Palm Springs Architecture Terms and a roundup of some of our favorite Palm Springs homes. And of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more Atomic Ranch articles and ideas!