Tag Archives: Palm Springs

Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern Texture

 

City Hall, Palm Springs, Photo Romi Cortier
City Hall, Palm Springs, Photo Romi Cortier
Residence, Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, Photo Romi Cortier
Residence, Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, Photo Romi Cortier
Carport, Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, Photo Romi Cortier
Carport, Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, Photo Romi Cortier
Residence, Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, Photo Romi Cortier
Residence, Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, Photo Romi Cortier

Palm Springs mid-century modern texture is one of the design hallmarks that makes this region so recognizable. As a Palm Springs homeowner for over a decade,   I’ve watched several neighborhoods re-emerge  and blossom into beacons of  desert modernism.   While the simplicity of the images above may seem like ‘no brainers’,  it couldn’t be further from the truth. In a minimalist environment, every detail counts. Think Chinese Brush Painting, the simplest strokes can have the most impact, therefore, every detail must be deliberate.  When competing with the low slung  or butterfly rooflines of Wexler, Alexander and Meiselman homes,  less is more. To much going on around the home, can detract from those amazing design lines.

Drought resistant landscaping,  known as Xeriscaping, is a perfect companion to the elegant mid century modern textures. Corrugated metal fences, like the one shown above, withstand the summer heat remarkably well. Inspired by Albert Frey’s use of corrugated  metal at city hall, many homeowners have begun adopting this material over the last decade. I’ve seen dilapidated wooden fences all around the city being replaced by this material… mine included. And the way corrugated metal reflects the sunlight on the colored dirt, plants and rocks can be beyond amazing. It’s like mood lighting that changes throughout the day.

Open carports with slatted wood, like the one shown above, are another great use of texture in the desert environment. The slats provide both privacy and shade, while also allowing breezes to pass through. Every little bit helps with the temperatures hit 110 and above (I know… it’s a dry heat).

And lastly, lets talk about those great circular metal partitions at Palm Springs City Hall.  Was Albert Frey reusing the design element from the circular cutout for that iconic entry that allowed the palm trees to pass through the roof? Or was Mr. Frey inspired by the exhaust vents of a jet engine from the nearby airport? The partitions aren’t flat circles, they’re about 8-10 inches deep. They certainly have an ‘Atomic’ quality to them which would be in keeping with that period.

Across the street from City Hall is the Palm Springs International Airport, which  was built by the United States Army Corps in 1939, and then declared surplus after the war in 1945. In 1946 it was sold to private buyers, which was then sold to the City of Palm Springs in 1961 and converted to the Palm Springs Municipal Airport.  I can’t find any details to support my theory on the web, but maybe I didn’t dig deep enough. Albert Frey was a ground breaking  architect who took inspiration from his environment, and is considered the founder of Desert Modernism. Maybe those circular partitions were a nod to the airport to the east, because in 1952, most mid-century homes hadn’t been built yet.

 

Pool time in Palm springs

Pink Striped Towel, Photo Romi Cortier
Pink Striped Towel, Photo Romi Cortier

 

Towel in Water, Photo Romi Cortier
Towel in Water, Photo Romi Cortier

 

Orange Striped Towel, Photo Romi Cortier
Orange Striped Towel, Photo Romi Cortier

 

Pool Float in Pool, Photo Romi Cortier
Pool Float in Pool, Photo Romi Cortier

 

Pink Ball in Water, Photo Romi Cortier
Pink Ball in Water, Photo Romi Cortier

Pool time in Palm Springs is my favorite time of year. If you’ve ever spent a summer in Palm Springs, then you know how hot it gets. I have a home there and nothing feels better then jumping in the pool when the temperature hits 115. Splash. Submerge. That big ahhh as my body temperature drops. Every thought squeezed from my mind. Relaxation at its finest.

I’ll never forget the moment I was floating in the water, looked at the towel hanging over the edge of the pool and thought, hey there’s a painting there.  I got out, snatched my camera, waded back in, and spent the next few hours photographing the towel, the ball, the pool toys, the shadows from the palm trees.  I was lost in the artists zone of making art.  Each weekend it became my obsession as  my collection of photos grew. I came to view my simple back yard as a total work of art. The stainless steel fence, the agave plants, the palm trees, the colored river rock, they all held a story that needed to be told. Was is it sun stroke, or was there really that much beauty in the simplest of details.

The Palm Spring nights take on an equal amount of beauty from the pool. Looking up at the stars and the moon, feeling the warm breeze, enjoying the nothingness of it all, yet feeling so content. Wondering how many eyes have looked at those same stars over the years, seeing what I’m seeing. It’s no surprise so many of us dash to the desert for the weekends. To decompress. To reconnect. To feel the pulse of nature and find our own pulse again. This is the less celebrated side of life in the desert, but for me, it’s what keeps me coming back.

A Fundraiser at the Kaufman House

Kaufman House, Upper Level, Photo Romi Cortier
Kaufman House, Upper Level, Photo Romi Cortier
Kaufman House, Upper Level, Photo Romi Cortier
Kaufman House, Upper Level, Photo Romi Cortier
Kaufman House, Upper Level, Photo Romi Cortier
Kaufman House, Upper Level, Photo Romi Cortier
Kaufman House, Courtyard, Photo Romi Cortier
Kaufman House, Courtyard, Photo Romi Cortier
Filmmaker Eric Bricker at the Kaufman House
Filmmaker Eric Bricker at the Kaufman House

In 2008 or 09,  there was a major Fundraiser at the Kaufman House in Palm Springs, to help raise funds for Eric Bricker’s  documentary film Visual Acoustics.  Apparently I was the last person in town to hear about it until about 24 hours before the event… and of course it was sold out. But that didn’t stop me.  A friend and I kept calling and hounding the people in charge, begging for a $100 ticket. Gaining access to the Kaufman House was extremely rare, and I knew this would be my one shot, and so worth the price of admission.

I left LA after work on saturday making the mad dash to the desert for the evening event, with dress clothes in tow. I got word en route that yes, they’d let us in. However, there were a few stipulations. No photographs in the home, nor from the end of the pool facing the mountains. That vantage point was sacred as Julius Shulman had shot his iconic image of the home from there in 1947. But that didn’t stop me from setting my little camera on the cocktail table and snapping a couple shots when no one was looking, thus the image at the top of the page.

I spent most of the evening on the upper level where I shot the images above. It was a tranquil summer night with a beautiful moon and no wind. It was the epitome of what desert modernism was about, indoor and outdoor spaces that effortlessly flow into one another. The home was built by Richard Neutra in 1946, and has remained a classic. In fact, it’s considered one of the most important houses of the 20th Century, along with Fallingwater, Robie House, Gropius House and the Gamble House.

Mr. Julius Shulman was in attendance, and despite being wheelchair bound, was having the time of his life. He was holding court in the new Marmol Radzner Pool House (built to enjoy the view his photo had made so famous) surrounded by beautiful women.  Eric Bricker’s documentary was putting the man behind the camera front and center, celebrating his life’s work… he was indeed a rockstar.

 

DIY Butterfly Mural for the Home

DIY Butterfly Mural, Drawing the Butterflies
DIY Butterfly Mural, Drawing the Butterflies
DIY Butterfly Mural, Painting the Butterflies
DIY Butterfly Mural, Painting the Butterflies
DIY Butterfly Mural, Painting the Butterflies
DIY Butterfly Mural, Painting the Butterflies
DIY Butterfly Mural, Creating the Drips
DIY Butterfly Mural, Creating the Drips
DIY Butterfly Mural, the completed Wall Mural
DIY Butterfly Mural, the completed Wall Mural

 

Here’s a DIY Butterfly Mural that you can create in  your home. I know it looks complicated, but when you break it down and do it step by step, it’s relatively easy. The finished product is really outstanding, and looks great in a minimally furnished environment.

I created this Mural for my home in Palm Springs to promote Modernism Week 2014. I used traditional house paint diluted with water, on top of a light weight pencil drawing. Sample colors from Home Depot were a great alternative to buying large quantities of paint.  Also, house paint has more durability and will allow for light cleaning with a damp sponge. In the video below I show you how to use an opaque projector which allows you to project nearly any image on a wall for tracing. The desert heat helped the paint to dry quickly, which allowed me to build up the layers of color. I completed the mural in about 6 hours, excluding the drawing time. The home was open to the public as a Pop Up Gallery and featured several of my original oil paintings. Included above is ‘Marilyn in Charcoal Gray’, Oil on Canvas,  (inspired by the photography of the late Bert Stern) and ‘Study for Pool Coping’, Oil on Canvas.

If this is your first time watching one of my videos, I hope you find it both inspirational, and encouraging. As I like to say: It’s only paint… you can always paint over it. Good Luck!