Peter Moruzzi, architectural historian and author of pictorial history books such as Palm Springs Paradise: Vintage Photographs from America’s Desert Playground, and Lauren LeBaron, director of accounting in the healthcare industry, bought their desert home in 1998. The three bedroom, three bathroom, 2,600-square-foot home began as a second home, but became their full-time residence in 2017.
Custom built in 1956 by Sam Pascal, this Palms Springs gem is nestled amongst a tract of 1948-52 Paul W. Trousdale homes.
The Perfect Find
Peter and Lauren were first captured by their home’s originality and spaciousness. With its intact kitchen, bathrooms, flagstone fireplace, steel casement windows and steel sliding glass doors, it spoke to their preservation-loving hearts. Unique features like the wet bar off the living room, the dining room’s indoor barbeque and its location on what the couple describes as “a bucolic street with spectacular views of the San Jacinto mountains” immediately won them over. “It took months of searching, and visits to dozens of houses, to find one that was original and mostly unmodified,” Peter says.
Given its original condition, Peter and Lauren have been lovingly repairing the home since its purchase. Erring toward restoration, the couple has focused on keeping the house as close to its original design as possible. As a former rental, renovations to the home were essentially nonexistent, giving Peter and Lauren, who are its third owners, the retro pad of their dreams.