I had been craving going to Palm Springs Modernism Week for a long time, and decided that 2020 was the year to make it happen. Encouraged by our friends at Boise Mid-Century Homes, we decided to make the trek out. It was definitely worth the investment and the time. As agents that specialize in Mid-Century Modern homes and architecture, it only made sense.

There aren’t really words to explain what Modernism Week is like until you actually experience it for yourself. Pre-coronavirus, Modernism Week 2020 hit records in terms of number of attendees, economic impact to the Palm Springs area, and number of events occurring. To say that it was a smashing hit would be an understatement.

Modernism Week can also feel pretty aggressive if you don’t really know what you’re getting into. Truth be told, a lot of whats going on is a giant question mark. The event spans two weekends and an entire mid-week. There are so many things to see and do and experience, how does one even make sense of the whole week and come up with a game plan for scheduling? What is the best way to do Modernism Week?

This being my first year, the whole thing was experimental. It was truly a whirlwind, but I think for the first time out, we did a pretty decent job. I’ll share in this article what I think we did well and what I think we could have done better in terms of planning our trip out.

I should preface this article by explaining that my motivations for going to Palm Springs in the first place were purely business related. For the past year, I had been talking digitally with a handful of different Mid-Century Modern real estate agents in other markets around the country, but had never met them in person. So motivation one was to network with them, grow those relationships, and hope to build a small referral network around the country. I will say that we have already achieved that, and our network is expanding all the time. My theory is that in future years, this referral network of Mid-Century agents around the country will continue to expand.

The Real Estate Crew at Modernism Week 2020 - from Boise, Denver, Sacramento, Chicago, Portland, Palm Springs, and Michigan

My second motivation was driven by the desire to create great content. As an agent who has a strong social presence and gets most of her clientele from an internationally reaching Instagram presence, it was imperative to not only explore new spaces and become educated myself on the happenings of this Mid-Century Mecca, but also to share my insight and knowledge with other people around the country and the world. (I dare not use the dreaded word “influencer” - because the concept is so terrible to me, but in a sense when we were out there, that’s somewhat of what it felt like as different groups of people reached out to us to make connections.)

Both of these things definitely happened, but I suppose I also downplayed how much of it also felt like a vacation at the same time. So I perceive this trip as a bit of a mixture of work and play. But when you are in such a cool place with such phenomenal architecture and great people, how can it not feel like fun?

The William Holden Estate - Palm Springs Modernism Week 2020

In terms of planning, I would say that it’s pretty imperative to book hotels / accommodations earlier than later. I knew this going into Modernism Week, and was peeping places to stay as early as November or December, but didn’t actually end up booking until late January, which was ultimately a mistake. In November and December there were actually some sweet Mid-Century Modern homes available still as Airbnbs, which by the end of 2019 were almost booked up completely. Palm Springs is very much a second home vacation / tourism town, so many homes are available to rent and this is more of the local way to go, in order to feel like you are a part of whichever neighborhood you are in. The Boise Mid-Century homes team rented a home in the Racquet Club Estates neighborhood (homes all designed by William Krissel). Our friend Deane of Windermere Real Estate lives in Palm Springs and also owns a home in this neighborhood. I really liked it there.

Hotels and resorts are very much a part of the experience in Palm Springs. Taking a page from Los Angeles hotels, each is typically very uniquely decorated and has its own unique style and flavor. Almost all of them have pools (thank god) and great restaurants within them as well. Arrive is a nice one, with a restaurant called the Wexler, a coffee shop, and a grocery store essentially a part of the same compound. The Saguaro is a popular one, known for its colorful decor inside and outside of the building. The Parker in Palm Springs is a really high end place to stay as well, and definitely worth a visit even if you don’t stay there. The Rowan is also a very high end and beautiful hotel located centrally by downtown Palm Springs and is walking distance to many of the shops. My favorite resort of all was The Ace Hotel, which has a restaurant and a killer outdoor pool. My original plan was to be out working so much that we wouldn’t really have a lot of time to relax, but my travel buddy Gaby Moriera of Mid Mod Sacramento insisted that we also take some time to chill out. To say I didn’t spend some quality time by this pool would be a lie ;)

We decided to spend time at Modernism Week during the first Thursday through the first Monday of the event, and to be honest, I think that was a perfect amount of time to be there. I personally preferred the first weekend over the second weekend. The tricky part about this though, was that it also fell on President’s Day Weekend, which meant not only were people there for the Modernism Week event, but LA vacationers had also come out for the weekend to relax, which meant that there were a ton of people there at one time. That Friday also fell on Valentine’s Day, so a handful of restaurants were busy during that time as well. The first Thursday was extremely quiet, and by the weekend, almost every restaurant had at least an hour wait and the entire place was completely packed.

I originally was unsure if it made the most sense to fly into LA and then drive into Palm Springs, but ultimately chose to fly direct into PS, and was glad I had made that choice ultimately. It was worth it. And the plane flying into the city was so local and little!

The William Holden Estate at Modernism Week 2020

In terms of scheduling, all of that had been left up to me earlier in 2019. I actually reserved tickets to events right as they opened in November, so we already had a plan in place when we got to Palm Springs. I’m glad we did that, in hindsight. It was nice to have some structure and know where we needed to be an where, and when. I added some extra events in over time as they were announced, like the Atomic Ranch Desert Eichler talk with Troy Kudlac of KUD Properties, so Gaby and I ultimately would split up and divide and conquer events as they appeared on our list. A lot of the events that I call more “Hollywood Glamour” or revolved around a house owned by some famous Hollywood celebrity, tended to sell out relatively quickly. In order to determine which events to go to and when, I kind of guessed what might be worthwhile based on what I knew about specific architects in the area. And I also did a bit of internet research. Some of the highlight events from the 2019 Modernism Week were also occurring again in 2020, like the Axiom Desert House for example.. so it was easy to select the important events based on what I knew from previous years. Our schedule worked out great, and our whole squad of agents seemed to mimic our choice in events, even though we sometimes went to preview the same properties on different days.

The only challenge I will say with scheduling is that it can be very unclear, even based on the instructions, as to which events you need to check in for in advance, right on time, or if there is a flexible time schedule. The Guggenheim House for example, was very easy to roll in late to. I did learn my lesson however, for the Albert Frey House II. I had scheduled an early time slot for a Saturday, that we ultimately missed because we underestimated how long it would take us to get going in the morning. I didn’t realize that it was a private tour of 15 people each, that required a shuttle to access because it is so far up on the hill. So I had to wait through two additional waitlist times until I finally was able to get into a tour at an alternative time. So if you plan events, make sure you give yourself enough time to get from Point A to Point B, and try to be on time or at least find out in advance which events require you to be right on time or if you can roll in late.

There is no question in my mind after Modernism Week that Palm Springs has the best architecture in the country, and possibly even the world. At night during the event, key historic buildings are lit up and the names of the architects and the years the structure was built are projected on to the side of the buildings. It’s truly beautiful! I learned during the Albert Frey II House tour that Palm Springs really wasn’t much of a city until after WWII, and the entire city was built from the ground up during the Mid-Century, so there were ample financial opportunities for budding architects to come in and build the entire place new from the ground up. Many of them, like Frey (who is originally from Switzerland), were successful architects who had learned from the best out in Los Angeles, before eventually arriving and settling down in Palm Springs.

Palm Springs is an interesting town right now. It is your typical mix of retired folk, complete with an abundance of tennis courts and golf courses, as to be expected. (Many of these can be seen by plane as you land at the Palm Springs Airport). Typically known as a second home / winter vacation down (the summer is excruciatingly hot and can get up to 125 degrees), many people are actually starting to make this their location of primary residence. You can see the influence of Los Angeles culture, where trendy shops and coffee spots are popping up left and right. Rancho Mirage, for example, is a pocket where a lot of Millennials are starting to buy their first homes because that area is still relatively affordable in comparison to the rest of Palm Springs. Home prices in Indian Canyon Estates for example can be up in the millions, but typically the average home price in Palm Springs doesn’t seem to be out of reach for the average person, in comparison to other metropolises around the country.

Breeze-block-Indian-Canyon-Estates-Modernism-Week-2020.jpeg

Here is a short list of the events that we went do during the few short days that we were in Palm Springs:

The Albert Frey House - The “Forgotten Frey”
The Albert Frey House II
The Walker Guest House
The Axiom Desert House
The Lautner Compound
The Guggenheim House
The William Holden Estate
The Palm Springs Door Tour presented by Dunn Edwards (this ended up to be very “influencer”-y which was to be expected, but it was also great running into Instagram friends I had made over the last year)
Atomic Ranch : The Desert Eichler presented by KUD Properties
Palm Springs vintage thrift market

Basically every event was amazing and educational.. but if I had to pick one that was my absolute favorite I would say that it was visiting the Lautner Compound. This property is actually an outdoor wedding venue now, and when we arrived at the property I was a bit perplexed and wasn’t super excited about it. But when we turned the corner and went into the four private residences built by Lautner where guests can rent and stay when they book an event at this compound, I was blown away. The architecture and design of each of these extremely well restored units was incredible, not to mention the natural light and use of space for an area of such small square footage. I am a HUGE John Lautner design fan.. so this was probably the cherry on top of the trip. And it was also the location where we accidentally ran into TJ and Vance of Boise Mid-Century Homes for the first time ever!

Indian Canyon Estates - Palm Springs Door Tour sponsored by Dunn-Edwards

Restaurants in Palm Springs are just OK. The owner of milehimodern, Peter Blank, swears by the restaurant Tropicana. We never went there because my travel buddy Gaby said it was awful and very old school Palm Springs kitschy. 😂 But you could always try it out and see what your think! Outside of that, there was a thai food place in the downtown area that we really liked. And we also accidentally ended up at a sit down pizza joint on Valentines Day, thinking that we were going to be able to grab something quick to eat. It ultimately ended up in an incredibly awkward and hilarious experience while a singer serenaded everyone in the restaurant and couples around us were celebrating their love. I don’t feel that Palm Springs is really considered much of a “foodie” town unfortunately, but perhaps that may change someday. There are also a handful of typical chain restaurants around. When we spent time with our agent friends Deane and Chris, they brought us out to a speakeasy called Seymour’s which is located on the side of a steak restaurant that had outdoor patio fire pits and ended up being a really cool experience. Koffi was a local coffee shop chain that seemed to be popping off in the mornings, and has great baked goods and you guessed it… coffee.

A- frame Desert Eichler Model built by KUD Properties

There were a few events that we missed that I wish we could have done but I think might be a good option for next year. There was a night tour of all of the homes and properties lit up by night, and I would like to consider doing that in the future. I wish we had seen the Swiss Miss A-frame homes in Vista Las Palmas, and I also wish we had done the Canyon View Estates tour. I also wouldn’t have minded going on the Signature Home Tour, because a handful of those properties were extremely cool, but they are sprinkled across multiple neighborhoods and it requires some driving. But I suppose that’s what next year is for! I understand why Modernism Week is a full week - if you wanted to hit every single event and exquisite home, and not burn out, it truly would take you that long.

I will also say that the vintage available at the Palm Springs vintage thrift market was out of this world good. I didn’t end up buying anything but when I purchase my next Mid-Century Modern home, I likely will go back. There was talk of a massive vintage market that comes the second weekend of Modernism Week that we missed, but I’m sure it was amazing. PS has the best vintage (as does Los Angeles) in the country in my opinion, because that’s the source of where most of the stuff was built and created! Definitely worth driving a car out for this someday and packing it up with furniture and great MCM goodies to take home.

It was great to meet the staff of Atomic Ranch as well as Troy Kudlac of KUD Properties in person at their event this year. I had never seen Troy’s iteration of modern day, brand new spec Eichler homes in person.. and it was good to get a feel for what they looked and felt like in person. KUD Properties is the only builder in the country who has access to the original Eichler floor plans and has updated them for modern day living. Most of the models feature KERF cabinetry, and also have atriums similar to the original Eichler homes. I personally liked the A-frame model the best of the three available for sale.

Gaby was the one who attended the Axiom Desert House tour instead of myself, so I can’t speak to the property as much as she can. But this was a private guided tour with a limited amount of spots. This home is a new build as well, done in classic Mid-Century style. Obviously very contemporary leaning, the home was designed by architects Joel & Meleena Terkel of Terkel Design and is 2080 square feet in size. The home utilizes a lot of sustainable materials and is very environmentally conscious.

The Walker Guest House was a tiny home located by the Palm Springs Art Museum and is a copy of the original home that exists out in Florida. The environment surrounding the original space is much more private, jungly, and lush than the desert landscape of Palm Springs. The entire structure hovers off the ground the the walls and windows are comprised of large square boards that cover large screens and operate on a pulley system, much like a ship. When you want to close up the structure and have walls, you can control the pulleys to have all of the board flaps closed, and when you want the breeze to drift through the screens, you can open them all up and it’s almost similar to living in a glass house (except there is no glass in this design). The structure is relatively small and has been modified to accommodate handicapped guests, but it was still a great experience and the home was designed well nevertheless.

The Albert Frey House II was a really special treat. The first Albert Frey House was actually the first property I went to visit, and I was actually glad that I did them in order. The II House I felt was a bit more interesting than the Forgotten Frey simply because of the environment it was designed around. The entire home is anchored into a giant boulder on the side of a hill and the property is the second highest home in Palm Springs, second to the Bob Hope House designed by John Lautner. While modest and built with old materials, the home features a pool and absolutely killer views of downtown Palm Springs. Albert Frey lived here for some time and was a somewhat promiscuous guy. He has a Swiss cowbell at the bottom of the stairs that acts as a doorbell, that people could ring so that Albert could put clothes on to greet him (he seemed to be somewhat of a nudist). All of Albert’s designs feature Mid-Century clocks and a globe, which can be seen below. This home was really well designed and he added an addition to it for one of his female friends when she moved in with him. The entire property is designed with passive solar heating and the windows can be opened in the summer to let the breeze in, which is why it doesn’t need air conditioning. Can you imagine waking up to that view every morning?

Fantastic minimal landscaping at a home in Racquet Club Estates

The Guggenheim House in Indian Canyon Estates was mostly a great experience because of the interior design inside. The entire home was impeccably curated with both new and vintage materials, and heavily appealed to a design crowd.

Overall, Modernism Week was a wild experience. I’m so grateful to have gotten to experience Palm Springs in this way with such great people, and I know that it definitely won’t be my last time out there!

Modernism Week 2020 - Palm Springs, California

Mid-Century Modern Dream Homes at Compass Colorado