TALENT POOL

, there was no way this house would be anything but fabulous.

Since Hollywood discovered the charms of the desert resort town of Palm Springs in the 1950s, its popularity has ebbed and flowed – until recent years when, thanks to a new appreciation of its treasure trove of mid-century modern houses, the town has become a serious destination for design enthusiasts. The most sought-after houses built in the 1950s and 60s all follow the same pattern – called Alexander houses, after the contractor-builder George Alexander – and feature huge plate-glass windows, which open wide to outdoor patios, and an essential swimming pool. It gets hot in Palm Springs, with its clear desert air, which is the point of the easy two-hour drive from Los Angeles, and all year round the warm, sunny, dry weather guarantees sun, swimming and, of course, lots of pool parties.

This is an early Alexander house from 1952, in the luxurious Las Palmas area, discovered during a trip to the nearby Coachella music festival by human rights attorney Miriam Rothbart, and her husband Stan, a developer. It had been altered over the years, but had all the main elements for a successful Palm Springs vacation house – indoor/outdoor flow, a swimming pool and dropdead views of the blue-grey San Jacinto Mountains which tower over the town.

The couple had been searching for a project they could do together with longtime friends, decorator Martyn Lawrence Bullard and his partner producer Michael Green. This was Michael’s first project working as a supervising contractor, and he found it an easy transition from TV and stage production, which requires a similar attention to detail. Martyn explains, “The house had good mid-century bones, but the original features were hard to see through the

PALM SPRINGS

unsympathetic additions, so I stripped the house back to its shell, and reconfigured the rooms and expanded the kitchen.” The next move was to add a little Palm Springs drama, with a brand new cocktail bar, floor-to-ceiling glass doors, indoor/outdoor master bath, and two big master bedroom suites. “The highlight of the design changes was cladding the chimney both indoors and outdoors in book-matched Statuario marble,” says Martyn, “and at the same time extending the chimney height to make it look more dramatic.”

Today, as soon as you walk through the gate the party spirit prevails, as the main entry to the house is through broad glass “nano-doors” which fold back to completely open up the house for flow-through entertaining, while all the wooden floors have been replaced with the more traditional Palm Springsstyle gleaming terrazzo. The gardens were also updated and, while the property had quite a few majestic old palm trees, everything else had to be reworked, including raising the swimming pool up to the level of the house, and adding a swim-up bar, jacuzzi, fire pit, and outdoor kitchen.

Martyn, whose decorating is synonymous with Hollywood glamour, then turned to the interiors. “Most of the furniture is from the 1960s, although the black and white photography on the walls is from the 1970s, and shows off my clients’ passion for rock’n’roll.” He adds, “I used this monochromatic photo palette as colour inspiration for the house, while adding bursts of my favourite bright colours in each of the rooms.” As a result, the main living spaces are a calm oasis of black, whites, greys and chrome creating a relaxed weekend mood, but with bright green leather dining chairs by the iconic mid-century American furniture-maker Paul Evans, whose signature patchwork strips of mirror add shine and polish to the clean modern space.

Then, in a bold move in both the dining room and master bedroom, Martyn papered the ceiling with his own silver wallpaper. “Silver foil paper creates an infinity effect, and raising the lowered ceilings to an illusionary height adds a ‘glam’ factor – a real Palm Springs moment.” He adds, “The cabinetry throughout the house, including the kitchen, bathrooms and interior doors are lacquered in high-gloss paint with reclaimed mid-century hardware, much of which was bought in Europe to give the house an international Modernist feel.”

The open-plan living spaces are cool and clean, with the black and white gallery wall of photos making a strong statement hanging above the main sofa grouping, which includes a sectional sofa from Swiss furniture designer de Sede. This leads through to a media space where a comfortable seating group is angled towards a wall-mounted television. Here, Martyn used a pair of oversized de Sede ‘Terrazzo’ leather armchairs from the 1970s, while a lucite console table appears to float below the screen.

Winter days might be warm in Palm Springs, but desert nights are often chilly, so Martyn created a cosy corner in front of the marble fireplace, using vintage upholstered chairs from Vladimir Kagan with sheepskin pillows, and covered them liberally with cashmere throws. They surround a lucite and chrome table by Charles Hollis Jones.

The three bedrooms are equally as dramatic as the rest of the house, all designed with a surfeit of mirror, glass and white marble. The two master bedrooms both have glamorous four-poster beds, draped with luxurious fauxfur throws. The main bedroom suite has a ring-side view of the soaring San Jacinto Mountains to the west, and includes a large chrome and leather sofa matched with a 1970s Karl Springer coffee table. The new bathrooms and powder rooms, with their bold use of black and white marble, add to the house’s hedonistic spa-like atmosphere, with the master bath opening onto a private outdoor tub and zen garden.

Then came the fabric choices – not so difficult as Martyn has a full range at his disposal. “Most of my fabrics are inspired by the 60s and 70s, and felt really at home in this house,” says the decorator, although he is not afraid to add a rug from Ikea. “It’s not about the price tag, it’s how you put it all together.”

It took Michael a full year of commuting from Los Angeles to supervise these painstaking and glossy renovations. Was it worth it? “The essential given is a good crew!” he laughs with obvious relief. #

For more go to martynlawrencebullard.com.