This Palm Springs Oasis Is a Design Paradise

The allure of California homes is often the luxurious amount of space that they offer. But from the beginning there would be a lot of work to do to make that happen. "The house’s original layout had to be considerably manipulated," homeowner and designer Matthew Lanphier remembers of the Palm Springs home he was contemplating purchasing. "The living and dining area were much too small, so we had to lose a bedroom of the main house." The new living room is expansive, with and entire window wall to make it feel even bigger and take in all of that California sun. As a cool design note, Lamphier played with geometrics in the tiled floor, rug, fireplace mantle and window covers.

For the longest time, Los Angeles-based interior designer Matthew Lanphier has had a dream. It started in 2005, just a year after starting his eponymous design firm. He was visiting Palm Springs when inspiration struck. In his mind he saw a home in California’s signature mid-century style that he could shape into the perfect desert getaway for himself and his family. The only problem was that there weren't any homes in that style available, and there wouldn’t be - not for ten more years. And so the dream would wait until 2015, when the designer came across the house that would be his. It wasn't the home of his dreams, but it was the one that he’d been waiting for. Completely renovated and dubbed "Fleetwood of the Desert," Lanphier’s desert escape is a reality, but the design is so good it might seem like a mirage.

One of the major construction jobs of this project was making sense of a layout that seemed to have become more complicated over time. That made carving out enough bedrooms a challenge. The second bedroom, originally intended to be maid’s quarters, "was a labyrinth," Lanphier confesses. "One had to walk through a bathroom to get to the garage, and then through the laundry room, through a closed door, just to get from the car to the kitchen." Imposing order on this chaos meant creating new spaces. This bedroom improves on the original bedlam with a simple design in cool pastel colors. The designer’s love of shape is on display with a variety of art and accessories in a variety of sizes.

The second guest bedroom is set apart by its desert-themed color palette. Sandy browns on the bedding, pillow and side table are set against the dazzling sky-blue of the artwork. It’s a subtle, yet beautiful way to reference the outdoor environment, while reshaping the harsh climate for comfort.