This time last year was both glorious and a bit unsure.  It was February, 2020 back when Covid was still fresh and new and mainly referred to as Coronavirus.  We had yet to see any countries go into lockdown.  Neil and I embarked on our little Valentine's week romantic trip for two to view Modernism Week in Palm Springs, not yet knowing that a month later we would all be in the midst of a global pandemic.  We were still (pretty much) feeling footloose and fancy-free to travel and enjoy life at this time, unafraid of the normal little everyday habits we were used to doing like shaking hands with a random stranger.  We might catch a cold, but we all knew the risk and anyway, no biggie, right?
We had heard about Modernism Week a couple years prior and dreamed about going ever since.  Mid century modernism is our favorite design style and being able to go and witness first hand the iconic homes of the era and maybe even attend a cocktail party in Frank Sinatra's house got us really excited.  If you haven't heard of Modernism Week in Palm Springs, then you should definitely check out the website  www.modernismweek.com  .  Basically, the show, which is hosted annually around the second week in February, typically centers on tours of historic mid century homes, as well as informative lectures, bus tours, and amazing parties.  This year they are offering an online experience with the actual in person experience now moved to April.  Hopefully, they are actually able to still host in April!  
Here are just a few pics from our trip...

We stayed at the V Palm Springs, which was a great spot.  A little bit trendy and close-ish to downtown, but still reasonably priced.

This is the Guggenheim House, which was the first house we toured, and frankly could have been the only house we toured because it was so satisfying to my decor-obsessed little heart.

Slim Aarons photography is of course everywhere in PS. Also, how dreamy is this chandelier?



The next house we toured was the historic Albert Frey house, which is positioned solitarily up in the hills above town.  Frey, the architect, was the sole owner and the property is now owned by the Palm Springs Art Museum.



It was very functional in design and sort of resembled the interior of a boat. 
A boat with a giant rock in the side.


This is the iconic Kaufmann Desert House, which is most notably known for being the location of the famous Slim Aarons photo, "Poolside".  Sadly, we only were able to experience it from the top of a double decker tour bus, which was still a delight all on its own.  Many people who we met that attended the event before insisted that we had to take the bus tour and, having heeded their advice, we now can emphatically agree that it was and is a must for first timers to the show.  There is a lot of territory to cover to see all of the mid century homes in Palm Springs and taking the bus was a good way to get a lot of it in.

And do you know whose house this is?  None other than Frank Sinatra himself!  They actually have cocktail parties here during Modernism Week that you can attend.  Unfortunately, you have to be quick on the draw to get tickets because, as you can imagine, it's a pretty popular event.  We weren't lucky enough to score for this party, but again, the bus was our guaranteed way to view the exterior of the property.

This is the Elvis Honeymoon House where he and Priscilla stayed in 1967. 

This is another picture taken from the top of the bus.  So much amazing architecture to gaze at everywhere in PS.
Okay, this is the part where I introduce you to one of the most amazing houses we toured, in my opinion.  You may recognize the house pictured below as it was also "made over" in the Netflix series called "Stay Here", in which host Genevieve Gorder makes over vacation rental homes.  I saw it on the show before I ever knew it was going to be showcased at Modernism Week and was so taken with it on Netflix that I watched it multiple times.  You can imagine my surprise when I found out I would get to tour it in person. This house was almost all totally maintained with its original decor and furnishings from the 70s when it was built.  And it was all in pristine condition, too, even down to the lush hot pink carpet in the bathroom!  Genevieve definitely appreciated the original decor and kept almost all of it just the way it was, but mainly focused the renovations on the kitchen and exterior spaces.  I think it's been sold to new owners now, so unfortunately I don't believe it's available for short term rentals anymore.  Can you just imagine attending a cool vintage cocktail party there, though?
  








Okay, so another Palm Springs spot that I had wanted to go to for a few years was The Parker Palm Springs Hotel.  It was designed by Jonathan Adler and I had seen pictures of it before, which I obviously died over.  The cost per night for this hotel is a little beyond our means so we decided to spend less money (although still a lot!) for a fancy dinner at Mr. Parker's restaurant instead.  And it was so worth it!  It was at night so unfortunately not the best for photography.  Doesn't mean I didn't try, though!



This lounge-y vibe is what I seek to emulate in my own home.  Definitely mid century modern boho style in full effect here.
I don't think I really planned on it, but it was pretty cool that the King's Highway Diner at The Ace Hotel was right nextdoor to our hotel.  We swung over for dinner on our last night in PS.  So glad I didn't miss it.

Macrame dreams!


I have about a thousand more pics of this trip that I would love to show you, but you might think it was overboard, so I'll just tell you some of the other things that we got to do.
- Went to the most amazing party/gala we've ever been to on Opening Night of the show called Space Modyssey at the Flight Museum.  There were storm troopers, people on stilts, a David Bowie cover band, and nonstop drinks and food.  Everyone was decked out in their best 1960's vintage looks, too.  It was seriously epic and we'd probably go back to Modernism Week just to attend another party like this again.
- Had a fancy dinner at Eight4Nine for Valentine's Day;
- Spent two evenings in the cocktail lounge at Mr. Lyon's Steak House;
- Hung out in the swanky lounge of the famous Melvyn's Restaurant at the Ingleside Inn;
- Toured many more gorgeous houses that were a part of the show;
- Went to the Modernism Week Design Expo and shopped a ton of vintage home decor.
It won't be this year, but we look forward to many more trips back to Palm Springs, as well as Modernism Week, for years to come.
Maybe we'll see you there next time!