Subtle Reinvention – Palm Springs Home by Stephanie Brown Inc

Conceptualised as an oasis within the desert, Palm Springs Home is a generous holiday house for its Canadian owners, which facilitates an immersion in place and becomes an escape from the colder winters up north. Stephanie Brown Inc reimagines the midcentury home through a respectful and openly connected approach that integrates a mostly monochromatic palette.

Originally built in the 1960s, the modernist residence’s history becomes the inspiration for its most recent chapter. Palm Springs Home retains the opportunistic spirit of its origins, with open spans and the introduction of far-stretching glazing facilitating open living. Spread across one singular level, the light-filled home becomes a place of escape and calm for its owners, integrating the warmth of the nearby desert and contrasting the landscape in Canada. Within the existing formal constraints of the house, a contemporary reworking ensures a readying for the next chapter, and a refinement of details, finishes and the various insertions throughout carry the original style into the future.

Palm Springs Home retains the opportunistic spirit of its origins, with open spans and the introduction of far-stretching glazing facilitating open living.

Stephanie Brown Inc ensures the landscape plays a key role in softening the architecture and integrating living elements among the built. The swimming pool to the rear was once the centre of entertaining and acted as a social connector – restoring it to its former glory was integral to the story of the home. The openness that marries inside with out was key to activating the site. Each introduced element is examined against its appropriateness to style and era to ensure it does not distract or take away from the landscape. Expressing a sense of place, the residence celebrates living outdoors and allows for free-flowing movement across thresholds.

Sitting within a tight-knit community in Indian Wells, California, the home instils a sense of calm through a retreat-like atmosphere. The selection of new elements and the way in which they interact with existing features ensures an inner warmth and comfort. The ability to transport owners to another time is created through the layering of midcentury furniture, artwork and lighting. Operable window and door panels then allow the interior to breathe.

Within the existing formal constraints of the house, a contemporary reworking ensures a readying for the next chapter, and a refinement of details, finishes and the various insertions throughout carry the original style into the future.

Building upon the original iteration of Palm Springs Home, the scale and scope of the new works ensure the home will continue to last for many years to come. In a contemporary take on the iconic midcentury style, Stephanie Brown Inc uses a more muted approach and expresses contrast subtly.