Vibrant Vibes in this Palm Springs Wexler Home's Kitchen

The mid century sensibility of this Palm Springs Wexler home kitchen was given a boost with splashes of color and careful restoration of its original features.

Palm Springs Wexler colorful kitchen backsplash — The homeowners wanted to maintain the kitchen’s original mid century design and layout while making it brighter and more functional. The kitchen now meets those goals and also serves as a showplace for some of their favorite vintage finds.

How did this Wexler home’s kitchen come to look so awesome?

Well, it started the way many stories do: It was (mid century) love at first sight! Robert and Jaymi Gottfried knew right away that this Wexler designed house was the home for them, though they understood just as quickly the work it would take to bring the 1965 low-gable home back to its mid century glory. “The minute we saw it, we knew we had to preserve all the wonderful original features that Don Wexler incorporated into this design and the Alexanders built so well,” they say.

Palm Springs Wexler vintage canister set — The kitchen was original but felt every bit of its 50-plus years when the Gottfrieds purchased the home. They refinished the original cabinetry, restored the original oven, installed new counters and flooring and added a custom Modwalls tile backsplash to give new life to the space. A cheery canister set from Vintage 55 Restorations makes a fun and functional addition to the space.

Palm Springs Wexler home stone half wall — The Bert England for Johnson bar cart was found in Tampa. It’s separated by a low stone wall from the living room and original fireplace. similar stonework can also be seen on the exterior of the home.

Since purchasing the home in late 2017, the couple has taken great care to do just that. Their home had had just one previous owner and was feeling its age, particularly in the kitchen. “It felt so dark,” they say. “The kitchen hadn’t ever been remodeled, with the exception of the flooring, but hadn’t been maintained either. The cabinets were peeling, the appliances were well worn, the flooring had brown grout, the walls were beige, and the counters and backsplash were beyond cleaning.”

Restore and Refresh

A kitchen refresh was a must. The Gottfrieds were clear about their aims—“to stay true to the original mid mod design but update the functionality and definitely brighten the overall space”—and they were fortunate to have a strong foundation to build from. Not only were the cabinets original and in decent shape, the Gaffers & Sattler oven was original as well. Careful refurbishment of both helped the couple stay true to the kitchen’s history.

Restoring the dark and peeling cabinets got the couple closer to their goal of brightening the space. Replacing the tile floor and brown grout with a glistening terrazzo tile brought even more lightness to the space.

Palm Springs Wexler home dining room — The original layout was one of the features that drew the Gottfrieds to purchase this home.

Though easily accessible from the dining room, the kitchen is tucked away, a bonus for the homeowners when entertaining. Vintage Bitossi pieces from Not Another Mod Snob sit atop a vintage Lane Tuxedo dining set from the Palm Springs Vintage Market. The matching vintage Lane Tuxedo hutch was found in Pennsylvania at Deja Mod Furniture.

Color Combinations

The custom Modwalls backsplash also had an incredible impact on the look and feel of the kitchen. Selecting the right color and shape for the tile was a time-consuming process and absolutely worth the effort. “We spent hours looking at tile online,” the Gottfrieds say. “At one point we thought we would do bright green quartz on the counter and backsplash, and then we found Modwalls. All their tile is so fun, and we really were drawn to the minnow shape. When we ordered samples, initially we thought we’d do just the light blue with green here and there. Our tile guy laid out all four colors in a random pattern, and the minute we saw it we knew that was it.”

Palm Springs Wexler home kitchen with original oven — Finding a mid century home with an original kitchen means also getting to use the original appliances. The Gaffers & Sattler oven was a standout feature for the homeowners, and they restored it as part of the kitchen refresh.

Palm Springs Wexler dining room hutch — The dining room hutch features many vintage pieces the homeowners have collected over the years, including antiques-market finds, family heirlooms and even an unopened can of “Fresh Pure Mountain Air” from the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, circa mid 1970s.

The orange, green and blue found in the backsplash is carried through the rest of the house, from artwork in the dining room to the living room rug to the home’s front door. Those shades were selected as an anecdote to the beige that had once overwhelmed the space. “Everything inside and out was beige in this house,” the homeowners say. “One of the first art pieces we bought in Palm Springs is in the dining room, with bright orange, green and turquoise. We knew we wanted the house to have that same happy vibe.”

Palm Springs Wexler home kitchen — The green found in the kitchen backsplash is picked up by the barstools positioned near the pass-through. Under the counter, the homeowners found the signature of the home’s developers, Alexander Construction Company.

To see more of this Wexler home beyond the kitchen, keep reading A Well-Preserved Wexler.

Can’t get enough of MCM Palm Springs architecture? Don’t miss Atomic Ranch at Modernism Week! Find tickets here to Atomic Ranch: Remodeled Marvels book event here and a house tour with AR and H3K here.

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