Palm Springs and Modernism Week

I am having major FOMO this week. More about that later. So, let me start from the beginning. About seven years ago, I took my first trip to Palm Springs. Jerry T (my husband) had a contract in El Centro, California. So, during one of his trips there, I decided to tag along. We thought it would be fun to stay in Palm Springs (well, actually I thought it would be fun). Palm Springs was a place that my native Californian mom would occasionally talk about. That, along with Palm Springs Weekend (a popular movie from the 60’s), the Rat Pack, the modern architecture, and Coachella made me want to visit this place. I had also heard of all the fabulous mid-century homes there and for that reason we (I again) decided to stay in a vacation rental home.

Mountain view at one of our vacation rentals

Palm Springs is a city with an enormous amount of vacation rental homes. Most of them are contemporary and modern and many of these houses have a unique mid-century flair. That trip began my obsession with this city. Palm Springs has a certain “vibe” that you just can’t explain. The mountain views, the weather, and the relaxed atmosphere make it my favorite vacation spot. It’s a fairly small town; the airport being less than three or four miles from everything. It’s also a walkable town. A lot of the neighborhoods that we have stayed in are within walking distance to downtown, and I love that.

Downtown Palm Springs

The Downtown area is a three or four mile strip of shopping, galleries and restaurants. Every Thursday night, they shut down a portion of Palm Canyon Drive, the main street, and have a street fair. We go every time we’re there. It’s so fun!

Palm Springs Downtown Village Fest

Since that first trip, we have returned every year, sometimes twice a year. We usually go on my birthday, and I look forward to it all year long! We’ve also taken our kids there. They love it too, especially the casino in the center of town. During all of my trips there, I would hear about a popular local event called Modernism Week. Modernism Week is a celebration of Palm Springs’ modern/mid-century architecture and design. During the week, there are many home and neighborhood tours and other special events.

I wanted to go so bad but I knew this would not be Jerry T’s thing. Tickets for these events go on sale in November, before the February event, so you have to plan ahead. Fast forward four years. I was in bed with a bad cold in October of 2015 and thought this might be a good time to approach Jerry T about going. In between coughing and sneezing I asked him if he wanted to go to Modernism Week in Palm Springs next year. In his mind, he heard a year from now, but I knew it was only four months away. He said yes, probably just out of sympathy for his ailing wife 😉. I was SOOOO excited. I was finally going to Moderism Week!

The minute the tickets went on sale in November, I was on the Modernism Week website to book my events. They sell out quickly so booking them early is essential. We were only going to stay five days so I wanted to book one or two events a day. Any event that said Home Tour, I booked. I mean, what could possibly be more fun that going in to these beautiful mid-century homes and seeing how they are decorated and furnished?

We arrived a day before our tours started. The weather that week was perfect (70’s and 80’s). Jerry T really seemed to be tolerating all the events and even enjoying some of them. There’s a lot of interesting history in Palm Springs and that seemed to hold his interest. Two events during the five days really stand out. One was touring the Christopher Kennedy Show House. Christopher Kennedy is a celebrity interior designer who resides in Palm Springs. In his show house, twelve different designers took one room in the house and decorated their specific room in their own unique style. This house was unbelievable! I just wanted to stand in each room, take in every detail and stare at everything for a very long time. These pictures don’t do it justice. The designers really captured the Palm Springs “vibe” in his house and that’s what I loved about it.

 

The second highlight was touring the Palm Springs homes of several famous interior designers. One of those homes belonged to Martyn Lawrence Bullard. You may remember him from a designer reality show a few years back. He is also the designer for several of the Kardashians and has designed several collections for Schumacher, Ann Sacks, and the Rug Company. His Palm Springs home has been featured in the Architectural Digest and Vanity Fair Magazines. A couple of days before we toured his home, I actually saw him at breakfast at a cute little downtown French restaurant called Farm. I discretely snapped a picture of him (he’s incredibly handsome) and sent it to Abby who had just had her daughter Baylor a month earlier, and was experiencing her own case of FOMO.

I was so excited for this event. We would get to see Martyn’s and several other houses and end up at a hillside home for a self guided tour and a poolside cocktail party. I have to say that out of all of these gorgeous and amazing homes, Martyn’s was my favorite. It was unbelievably stunning. He was actually there and I stood in line forever to meet him but we eventually had to leave to board a bus for the cocktail party. I desperately wanted a picture with him and also wanted to ask him if he enjoyed his breakfast at Farm a few days earlier!!

Martyn’s House

 

I won’t be there this year and this is why I will be having extreme FOMO for the next few days. If you ever get the chance to visit Palm Springs, especially during Modernism Week, by all means GO, STAY IN A VACATION RENTAL HOME and ENJOY!

Love,

The “Mama”