Déjà Vu Vintage Finery will celebrate its grand opening by hosting a fashion show on February 16, 2012 to kick off The Palm Springs Modernism Week. The theme is “Jet Set Style-Mid Century Fashion,” with looks inspired by early historic Palm Springs hotspots such as the Racquet Club, The Chi Chi Club and other haunts of Palm Springs illustrious star-studded past. The evening features a silent auction of vintage clothing, purses, and accessories .  A pop-up store at The Ace Hotel will make many of our fabulous designer fashions available throughout the weekend. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation.

The event will take place at The Ace Hotel & Swim Club at 701 East Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs 2/16/2011 at 7:00PM.
Tickets are $20.00 and available for purchase on the website www.dejavuroom.com or by calling Déjà Vu Vintage Finery 760.699.5365

Mid-century Modern Fans:  Here’s a new event being offered this year at the annual Palm Springs Modernism Week celebration, coming up in February:

The Marriage of Commerce and Creativity:
Modernism in Banking
Palm Springs Historical Society Walking Tour

February 16.

This walking tour departs at 10 a.m. from the Union Bank Palm Springs at 500 S. Indian Canyon Drive Palm Springs, and lasts approximately 1 hour. Covers the area south of Baristo Rd bordered by Indian Canyon Drive and S. Palm Canyon Drive and examines the history of the development and design of the area, including banks designed by E. Stewart Williams and Gruen & Associates.

Enjoy refreshments provided by Espresso Cielo and free admission to the McCallum Adobe and Cornelia White House.

For tickets, go to www.ModernismWeek.com

After selling Real Estate for over a decade now in Palm Springs, every once in a while I’m delighted to see new funky never-before-seen listings like this….  As most know, Palm Springs is known for the Rat Pack night club era, and its plethora of mid-century and modern architecture, but the rare treats are properties such as this gem, known as the “Versailles of the Desert.”  Located in the posh Movie Colony neighborhood near downtown Palm Springs, this crazy kitschy home was just listed for $1,100,000

Here’s the agent description:

“An authentic Rat Pack home featured in Palm Springs Life magazine as the Versailles in the Desert. This is one of the largest homes on one of the choicest corner lots in the Movie Colony. First time on the market in 35 years, this property now needs a major upgrade to bring it to its new heights of excellence. The main house features 3 bedrooms, a huge walk in closet, 3 baths, large living room and salon, screening/TV room, formal dining room, sitting room with bar, small chapel, dinette overlooking the pool and kitchen. Additional structures (some unpermitted) include a carport; guest house consisting of a foyer, living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen; a large enclosed gazebo; and a storage shed. Magnificent mountain views surround this enchanted property with its pool/spa, covered patio, rose garden, fountain, and a multitude of palms, fruit trees and other plants.”

The homes four bedrooms, and some over the top baths, as you can see from the pics.    Over 4,000 Square feet on a lot that’s over 17,000 SF.

Check out the mini-Hearst Castle inspired pool  Do you love it?

All this can be yours.  Are you glamorous enough to own this?  (I can’t wait for the Broker’s Open house myself!)  Oh, and did you see it has its own Chapel here too??  Wonder what other stories those walls can tell…

For more info, call me at 760-459-1396.

or visit my site www.MidCenturyModernPS.com

Listing is courtesy of the Desert Area MLS, listed by Tarbell.

Palm Springs is the mecca for mid-century architecture, featuring unique designs from the 1950′s and 1960s.  One of the first Palm Springs condominimum resort projects, built in 1960, was the Park Imperial South.

Just listed, is one of the best examples of a unit at Park Imperial South with most of the original detail intact, updated and modified with modern comforts.  Listed at $339,000, here’s the agent’s description:

“If you have ever heard the statement Modernism lives” while in Palm Springs, one of the first developments that would come to mind is Park Imperial South. This Mid-Century gem stands out with its folded-plate rooflines and amazing Mid-Century architecture by celebrated architect, Barry A Berkus AIA. He created this stunning accomplished community in 1960 where the design still thrives and remains untouched. This unit has been enhanced by its current owners, featuring newly renovated flooring, kitchen countertops, stainless appliances and fresh paint all while keeping the Mid-Century look and feel and charm of the development. If you are seeking the sixties look and feel the vibe is here. If you are looking for that perfect weekend get-a-way or fulltime residence with tranquility and easy access to downtown, look no further. This amazing unit has it all.”

 Architect Barry Berkus, was quoted, saying “Park Imperial South marked a pivotal point for me,” said Berkus. “It opened up a way of looking at living space that still informs my designs. It inspired a preference for light, flexible room definitions and a fluid connection with the outdoors–seeing home not as a container, but as a backdrop for particular tastes and lifestyles.”

Berkus said he took Modernism to heart as an intern in 1956 for one of Palm Springs’ prominent architects, the late William F. Cody. “I learned a lot working for Bill, and was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to apprentice with him, to convert classroom study into a new level of design knowledge.”

After forming his own practice, Berkus returned to Palm Springs to design Park Imperial South for

Living Room with folded plate roof

 Trudy Richards, a Southern California homebuilding company that specialized in desert resort homes. His career has since included virtually every type of new home design, and his body of work accounts for myriad homes and communities throughout the U.S. and abroad.

For more information on this property, please contact Paul @ 760-285-8559

Click here for more information on Park Imperial South.

Listing information provided by Desert Area MLS

Coachella Valley Water District is gearing up for its annual Landscape Workshop for Home Gardeners. The workshop will feature presentations by experts on converting lawn to desert landscaping, plant selection, efficient irrigation practices There are three different times that the workshop will be offered- November 18 at 8 am or at 1PM; or November 19 at 8am. The $20 registration fee includes a landscaping book, a 3-inch potted plant, and refreshments. For more information, visit www.cvwd.org

Midcentury Modern aficionados get ready! The untouched living room of design legends Ray and Charles Eames wil soon be available for public viewing at the Los Angeles County Museum as part of an upcoming exhibition- California Design, 1930-1965: “Living in a Modern Way.” The exhibition will showcase California’s role in shaping home and interior design in the US. The show will open October 1, and will be available through April. While the living room contents are on display, a complete renovation of the home will take place under the direction of the Eames family, the first renovation since the home’s construction in 1949. More information can be found at LACMA’s website: http://lacma.wordpress.com/

To celebrate the Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement’s (do.co,mo.mo) National Tour Day on October 8 and 9, 2011, PALM SPRINGS MODERNISM WEEK is pleased to offer its most popular event, the Modernism Double Decker Bus Architectural Tour, a fun, open-air, double decker bus tour of Palm Springs’ notable mid-century modern architecture.

The tour is conducted by a guide who is knowledgeable about the local renowned modernist architects and their striking architecture, as well as Palm Springs’ fascinating 90-year history as a glamorous destination and celebrity outpost. The three-hour bus tour focuses on the exteriors of dozens of residential homes and commercial mid-century modern buildings throughout Palm Springs. Participants will learn the history of Palm Springs’ architecture and the celebrated architects that put modernism on the map. As ground zero for mid-century modern architecture, and with the world’s largest concentration of mid-century modern architecture, participants will see why Palm Springs draws modernism aficionados from around the world.

As a bonus, participants will receive free admission to the architecturally-significant Palm Springs Art Museum, designed by the late modernist architect E. Stewart Williams, a 10% discount from the Museum’s gift shop, a complimentary booklet on Class 1 Historic Sites of Palm Springs produced by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, and a tour map of modern architecture in Palm Springs from the Palm Springs Modern Committee.
$75

For more tickets, go to: http://www.ticketderby.com/vendor/modernism-week-id-1809

Paul Kaplan Modern Real Estate Agent, Kris Rain, recently attended the first-annual Agnes Pelton Birthday Tea–on August 22, 2011–was hosted by Peter Palladino and Simeon Den, the new owners of Pelton’s former home in Cathedral City. Though Pelton died in 1961, her presence at the gathering was as strong as if she had just gone out for ice cubes.

The event marks a hometown revival for the artist. For years the city paid little notice that one of the West’s most visionary artists spent her working days here. Recently there’s a growing awareness that Pelton is as important to Cathedral City as Georgia O’Keeffe to Abiquiu.

A transcendental artist who also painted classic desert landscapes, Pelton has often been compared to O’Keeffe—though some critics say she is better than the New Mexico master. For more on Pelton, see: http://www.californiadesertart.com/?p=226

The revival started with an accidental purchase. Photographers Peter Palladino and Simeon Den were looking for a second home in Cathedral City last year (they live part-time in the downtown LA arts district) when they found the duplex at 68-680 “F” street. The home was originally on “E” street before the entrance was switched to the rear of the home.

It wasn’t until after they’d cemented the deal that real estate agent Kris Rain told them they’d just purchased the former home of a great artist. Rain, too, had been unaware it was Pelton’s home when she sold the house. That’s how far Pelton had fallen out of local consciousness.

When Pelton completed her house in 1939, Cathedral City was a tiny outpost. The artist bummed rides from her neighbors (she didn’t drive) and was involved in small town life. She lived in the house for 20 years, incorporating the views of Mt. San Jacinto and stars over the mountains into her most famous works.

Among the guests at the birthday tea was Kris Rain, the real estate agent who sold the house, and her companion, the artist Snake Jagger. Pelton scholar Nancy Strow Sheley drove all the way from Long Beach. Cathedral City resident Michael Petit tentatively showed around his new desert landscape painting. Artist Nancy O’Donnell took guests–such as fellow artist Joné Dupré– to see her work in her apartment next door. (The Pelton house was turned into a duplex at some point; and Nancy rents part of it). To read full post, go to Calfornia Desert Art http://www.californiadesertart.com/?p=1018