As the demand for real estate increasingly grows and the supply dwindles, some may think that it wouldn’t be necessary to stage a one bedroom condominium.

Vic Yepello didn’t feel that way and tapped me to lightly stage this condo in Downtown Palm Springs that is set to go onto the market.

I was charged with creating an inviting contemporary space without unloading a shipment of large furniture.  I focused on using lightly-scaled and  interesting multi-functional pieces that could easily be moved about the condo without much effort.

Large scale art pieces not only add a punch of color.  I used one piece to stand in as a placeholder for a TV.    Potential buyers are able to visualize how a large flat-screen television would look in the room.  Just a little staging trick.

Whether you are thinking of selling or buying a home, contact us.  We have design and staging services to fit your needs.

Eleanor was ready for her close up.  I couldn’t resist.  Now she has been properly color codified.  Imagine a room painted in “Eleanor”.

It will be the coziest room in your home.

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a fan of IKEA kitchens.

After all I’ve installed 6 of them over the years and have been pleased every time – with only one exception – horizontal flip-up doors.  The hinges weren’t strong enough.  They have since been replaced with new Ferrari-designed hinges.  Problem solved.

Their new kitchen campaign is worth a view.

Enjoy their durability.

2012 seems to be the Year of the Fig  here in Palm Springs.  Our ficus carica, can you say common fig tree, is bursting with the fruits of her branches.

Ours are green figs, not the dark swarthy, mission figs, brought to San Diego, California in 1768 by Francisican missionaries and made popular by Alice Waters when she took to stuffing them with goats cheese, poaching them in port or daringly slicing them raw and then topping a melange of field greens with them drizzled with a balsamic viniagrette.

Our figs are summer chartreuse on the outside and creamy white laced with golden cognac on the inside.

I believe there will be that most Narnian of sweets in our near future:  fig,rosewater-walnut Turkish Delight.

Though not officially on the PS ModCom High Desert tour, I found this cube house by the students of Samuel Mockbee’s Auburn University Rural Studio very interesting.  Also please note it is clad in rusting metal!  There must be something in the air up here!

After a few quick snapshots, I continued on my way to the Mohave Sands Motel for a much needed adult beverage.

Built in 1949, owner Blake Simpson completely renovated the motel and reopened it in 2010.  It appears Blake is adept with a welder!  New door and window frames are custom-fabricated in steel.

Crisp metal detailing appears everywhere – from the caps of stucco walls to landscape edge detailing that keeps the desert at bay.  The repurposed grating also works well as a shower screen in the private outdoor bathing courtyard.

If it’s a soak you’re after, a recycled tub a great way to relax while vintage vinyl is spinning an Hawaiian serenade.

Sun kissed with color, I stood my docent duties at the Furst Studio in Joshua Tree.  There’s something about the high desert that demands metal collection – massive amounts of it left to the elements.

What awaited me under the curving arches of a collection of customized Quonset huts,  was astounding.

A spin around the studio harkened back to my grandfather’s shop/garage.  It was teeming with bits and bobs of rusting iron – well frankly any and all types of metal stuff.

But what was fascinating, was the organization.  It was all catagorized!  Neatly stacked pipes, orderly lines of rebar.  Piles of this and stacks of that.  It was truly amazing to see – anal retentive hoarding!

All that metal is awaiting inclusion in some construction or art piece, like this PEACE art piece constructed of spent bullet casings – one for each soldier killed in the Iraq War.

If you’ve ever wondered where all the old Tonka toy trucks have gone to, I think I have the answer!

And of course, there were obligatory travel trailers, restored and used as extra guest rooms.

After trudging through the sand from Kate’s Lazy Desert, next stop was Looney Dunes.  Aptly named as I soon discovered.  The owners, Phillip Maberry & Scott Walker, are artists.  Their creations are sculptures that appear to be colorful pool floats!

Moored in the desert sand dunes and caught in cactus gardens it is impossible not to smile at their juxtaposition. 

You may remember their previous home, immortalized by the B-52′s in their video for the band’s hit song, Love Shack.

Yup, it’s true.  And if you look closely that’s an afro-ed RuPaul in the white halter top dancing in the living room!

Nestled among the sculptural rocks of Yucca Valley’s Rock Reach Ranch, was the second house I visited on PS Mod Com’s High Desert Tour 2012.  Another stunning view framed by another über cool home from Blue Sky Homes.

Hovering over a small arroyo, this 2 bedroom home, embodies all the hallmarks of Blue Sky Homes – a gentle footprint in the landscape, stylish, while being nearly wholly recyclable.

We continued up to Landers.  Kate Pierson from the B-52′s has moved her Lazy Meadow from upstate New York to the high desert and rechristened it, Kate’s Lazy Desert.  A glistening mirage of polished Airstream trailers circle the sandy high ground like latter day Conestoga wagons – but with a modern twist, this ring sports a splash pool!

From Pioneertown to Yucca Valley to Landers on to Joshua Tree – here’s a collection of what I saw while docenting for PS Mod Com’s High Desert Tour 2012 in Southern California’s eastern Mojave Desert.

First stop was La Haut Desert Aerie.  Nestled in desert landscape is a hand-hewn home with a collection of hand-painted ceilings – some in the North African Berber style and hand-stamped walls reminiscent of Moroccan zillij.  The floors are a brilliant kaleidoscope of colorful tiles.

My newest graphic design project is a set of greeting cards for the Desert Star.  The hotel was designed by local Palm Springs architect Howard Lapham in 1954.

My intent was to give card’s recipient the sense of arrival that he or she would have upon entering the property, that feeling of anticipation of a long-awaited vacation.

The front of the card showcases the exterior street view of the Desert Star.

Then when opened, the hotel’s inviting courtyard is revealed.