THINK YOU KNOW PALM SPRINGS MODERN? JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THIS HOUSE.

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THINK YOU KNOW PALM SPRINGS MODERN? JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THIS HOUSE.

Dark colors and rugged finishes “give the house a soul,” says the homeowner.
The foundation had already been poured when Marc Walters and Rick Cassar realized exactly how big their new house in Palm Springs would be. “We never talked about the square footage. We just said, ‘Oh, those are cool-looking drawings. Yeah, that looks great—let’s go for it!’ ” says Walters, a retired community college instructor. “During the build, one of my biggest fears was that it wouldn’t be inviting.”

A cozy 7,200-square-foot house may sound like an oxymoron, but Palm Springs architecture has long been a standard-bearer for relaxed entertaining. Starting in the 1930s, architects such as Richard Neutra, Donald Wexler, and Albert Frey came to the desert and built soigné pavilions for chilling out in the rocky landscape. With its low-slung form, deep overhangs, and emphasis on outdoor space, this house is a clear descendant of desert modernism.

Walters, who had previously built a home in Terrebonne, Oregon, and Cassar, who had been a professional home remodeler, brought many of their own ideas to the table. “We wanted it to be contemporary,” says Walters. “We love the peacefulness of a flat roof and how it creates a sculpture out of the house.”