Form, Function and Style

A vintage home tour led this couple to the Wexler and Harrison home that perfectly encapsulates everything they adore about Mid Century Modern design.

A couple patiently furnished their Wexler and Harrison home for vibrant results. See the inspirational outcome that perfectly encapsulates everything they adore about Mid Century Modern design.

They fell in love at Modernism Week. New Yorkers Philip Heckman and Rex Bonomelli were in Palm Springs for the 2015 edition of the annual ode to mid century design and style when on a home tour they discovered El Rancho Vista Estates, a neighborhood designed by Wexler and Harrison and developed by Roy Fey in the early ’ 60s. A home in the development was for sale and would soon be theirs.

PRINCIPLES TO DESIGN BY

“We were drawn to the potential of this home, which was for sale, because of the huge, empty backyard with mountain views,” Philip, an Emmynominated costume designer for television and stage production, says. “It was essentially a blank canvas with the exception of the original kidneyshaped swimming pool with original coping. Also, the Capri model was our favorite layout after seeing the other models during the tour.”

The three- bedroom, two- bath home features an open layout and plenty of outdoor spaces where Philip and Rex, a graphic designer whose portfolio includes pieces for Broadway productions and bestselling books, could flex their design skills, showcase their growing collection of vintage pieces and celebrate the things they love most about the mid century aesthetic.

“As a costume designer, I have always been inspired by the futuristic, Space Age 1960s fashions of Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne and André Courrèges,” Philip says. “The combination of form, function and style is the perfect mix to describe these designers and also what I love most about mid century design and décor. Form, function and style perfectly describe our Donald Wexler home and are the three concepts I keep in mind when choosing pieces for the house.”

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

The couple, who use the home to get a break from the snowy New York winters, followed the wise advice to take their time in selecting pieces for the space and not try to furnish the whole thing at once, advice they pass on to other mid century homeowners.

“We ate meals at a folding table for a long time until we found our Tulip table and chairs,” Rex says. “Our Broyhill Brasilia bedroom set was collected piece by piece from different states on eBay. Our walls were mostly bare for years because we really wanted to wait to find the right artwork. It wasn’t until we stumbled on a Charles Levier painting in a vintage store two years ago that we knew what we wanted on the walls.”

A CREATIVE PALETTE

That same care and patience was taken in selecting the fabrics that would establish the home’s color palette. And with two designers in the family ( plus pup Jimmy), they easily found creative and inventive solutions to issues as they arose. For instance, the 1960s fabric they wanted to use for their outdoor furnishings posed a problem.

“The print was a mod geometric design in yellow, orange and green,” Philip says. “These colors started to become the anchor for our accent colors inside the home, and ultimately that fabric inspired the restoration of our Homecrest patio furniture. We had a gut feeling that the vintage fabric would not withstand the summer sun, so Rex recreated the print in Illustrator. We then had the new- andimproved mod geometric design printed on an appropriate outdoor fabric.”

That yellow, orange and green in the vintage fabric, and a complementary blue, are now found throughout the home, from the paint on the front door to the furnishings on the guest patio to the Cathrineholm enamelware in the kitchen and living room. All the aspects flow together beautifully to create a vibrant mid century showplace that’s also inviting and livable.

“This home is the perfect amount of space for us,” Rex says. “It’s manageable to maintain when only one of us is here, but we have a lot more room to spread out in than we do in our New York apartment. We also love having a bit of mid century history for ourselves.”

TOP: THE VIBRANT BLUE ENTRYWAY PROVIDES A HINT OF DESIGN ELEMENTS TO BE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE HOME, INCLUDING THE METAL IN THE BERTOIA CHAIRS AND NELSON SIDE TABLE, THE LASER- LEMON PILLOW FABRIC AND THE CHARLES LEVIER ARTWORK.

TO ADD AN ELEMENT OF DRAMA TO THEIR HOME, THE HOMEOWNERS DECIDED TO KEEP THE EXTERIOR CLASSIC AND CONSERVATIVE SO THE REVEAL OF THE INTERIOR AND BACKYARD SPACES WOULD GIVE VISITORS A “WOW” MOMENT.

THE HOMEOWNERS TOOK THEIR TIME TO FIND THE IDEAL DINING TABLE FOR THEIR HOME, A RECOMMENDATION THEY MAKE TO OWNERS OF OTHER MID CENTURY HOMES. “DON’T RUSH. WE ATE MEALS AT A FOLDING TABLE FOR A LONG TIME UNTIL WE FOUND OUR TULIP TABLE AND CHAIRS,” REX SAYS. THE VINTAGE LAMP WAS A FLEA- MARKET FIND.

TOP: THE PREVIOUS HOMEOWNERS MADE SOME UPDATES TO THE HOME THAT STAYED TRUE TO THE ORIGINAL MID CENTURY DESIGN BUT MAXIMIZED SPACE, LIKE REMOVING A LARGE PANTRY THAT ONCE SEPARATED THE KITCHEN AND LIVING ROOM. REX SAYS HE WOULD LIKE TO ENLARGE THE KITCHEN IN THE FUTURE.

ABOVE: THE LIVING ROOM OFFERS EASY VIEWS OF THE HOME’S OUTDOOR SPACES. IT’S DECORATED WITH SOME STANDOUT PIECES THE HOMEOWNERS HAVE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES OVER THE YEARS, INCLUDING A CADO WALL UNIT THAT ROCK HUDSON HAD IN HIS BERMUDA DUNES HOME AND A VINTAGE BAR CART WITH NEW LEGS THAT CAME FROM A PROP RENTAL COMPANY.

ABOVE: THE GUEST ROOM WAS CREATED TO FEEL LIKE A “MID CENTURY BOUTIQUE HOTEL ROOM,” ACCORDING TO PHILIP. THE 1950s PLASTART POLYNESIAN TABLE LAMPS WERE THE DESIGN STARTING POINT. THE HOMEOWNERS BOUGHT THEM SHORTLY AFTER THEY BOUGHT THE PALM SPRINGS HOUSE. OPPOSITE TOP LEFT: JUST AS IN OTHER SPACES IN THE HOME, THE HOMEOWNERS TOOK THEIR TIME IN COLLECTING THE RIGHT PIECES FOR THE MASTER BEDROOM. THE BROYHILL BRASILIA SET WAS AMASSED PIECE BY PIECE FROM DIFFERENT EBAY SELLERS LOCATED IN DIFFERENT STATES. OPPOSITE RIGHT: A FEW MOD TROPICAL COLORS ARE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE TO TIE TOGETHER THE DÉCOR INSIDE AND OUT. THE CREAMY ORANGE USED FOR THE GUEST BATHROOM WALLS IS ALSO FEATURED ON THE FURNISHINGS IN THE KITCHEN, BACKYARD AND PATIO. OPPOSITE BOTTOM: ONCE THIS HOME WAS THEIRS, THE HOMEOWNERS SET ABOUT FINDING THE PERFECT VINTAGE PIECES TO FILL THEIR NEW SPACE. THE SVEND MADSEN DESK AND ERIK KIRKEGAARD CHAIR WERE TWO OF THE FIRST THINGS THEY BOUGHT FOR THE HOUSE.

THE HOMEOWNERS DESCRIBE THE BACKYARD AS BEING “ESSENTIALLY A BLANK CANVAS,” WHEN THEY MOVED IN, FEATURING ONLY THE KIDNEYSHAPED POOL. THE SPACE WAS REDESIGNED TO SHOWCASE THE 1960s HOMECREST FURNISHINGS THE HOMEOWNERS HAVE COLLECTED PIECE BY PIECE AND FEATURES LEVELS THAT MIMIC THE SUNKEN LIVING ROOMS THAT WERE A POPULAR FEATURE IN MANY MID CENTURY HOMES.

SECLUDED FROM THE STREET BY A BLOCK WALL, THE FRONT PATIO AREA IS CONNECTED TO THE DINING AREA BY A LARGE SLIDER AND FEATURES THE SAME ORANGE COLOR PALETTE FOUND IN THE DINING AREA AND BACKYARD.