Designer Stephanie Brown picked up the phone to hear an excited voice—one of her clients had just purchased a home in the Palm Springs area. The Vancouver-based woman and her husband had been looking for a house that met their somewhat tricky criteria: firstly, it had to be mid-century—not necessarily a tall order in an area renowned for embracing that design ethos. Secondly, they wanted to be in the newer community of Indian Wells, about 20 miles east of Palm Springs proper, where the architectural vibe is more Falcon Crest than Albert Frey. Oh yeah, and hopefully it would be on a golf course. It was a tall order, but when a circa-1960, 2,200-square-foot bungalow came up on the Indian Wells Country Club, they jumped… into a dated, non-original hodgepodge of finishes and flooring.

Initially, they’d hoped that the reno could be a relatively simple flooring makeover, but the more the designer looked at the series of challenges the space posed (a natural three-bedroom that had morphed into a two-bedroom plus den, an old-fashioned U-shaped kitchen) it was clear that a comprehensive re-imagining was the path forward. “It was clear the home had more than flooring issues,” says the Vancouver-based principal of Stephanie Brown Inc. “The kitchen and bathrooms were incredibly outdated. It would only be a matter of time until our client would want to completely replace those, so due to the ‘economy of scale’ and construction logistics, it only made sense that the whole interior be renovated at once.”

The first step was a site visit. Amazingly, Brown had never been to Palm Springs, and she was immediately smitten with the vibrant design scene. She and her client toured around the area, getting a sense of the architecture and available materials. And while both parties loved the mid-century ethos, they were also equally clear that they wanted to avoid the kitsch that can be a too-frequent attendant of the genre. That meant no funky George Nelson atomic clocks, no chairs hanging from the ceiling and no huge pops of aggressive, electric colour.

“The goal was to embrace the lines and forms of mid-century design, while leaning into a neutral and calming colour palette,” says Brown. To that end, step one was the original focus of the project: replacing the dated flooring of drab ceramic cream tiles. For the main living area—now reimagined in a more open, contemporary floor plan—Brown chose large, neutral porcelain tiles to bring both serenity and easy durability to the higher traffic areas. In the primary bedroom, she opted for a very mid-century terrazzo to add some period-specific grounding; the guest bathrooms received a very clean and vintage-inspired mosaic tile.

With the flooring set, Brown could move into creating a rich, textural living area—the theme of “oasis” being front of mind. Melamine millwork in a warm walnut finish, a shade or two deeper than the expected teak, grounds both the kitchen and the bedrooms, bringing a tactile comfort while having the added benefit of being naturally heat resistant in the scorching summer months. And to bring some contrast into the picture—while still honouring its MCM roots—Brown chose brass for both the lighting and fixtures throughout.

When it came to furnishings, Brown continued with the balancing act between period-faithfulness and modern-day comfort. Era-perfect are the Marcel Breuer Cesca dining room chairs and Breuer’s iconic Wassily chairs in the living room—vintage, and chosen by the client as soon as they purchased the home. MCM sofas, however, are notoriously pure of line and short of comfort, so here Brown went for a welcoming sectional from Montauk Sofa with a neutral desert-hued natural linen to help it meld into the surroundings. And, luckily, sometimes the MCM and the modern intersected seamlessly, such as Brown’s use of fluting—both on trend and mid-century authentic. You’ll find the texture in the statement fireplace with fluted tiles, the legs of the Eternity Modern dining room table and as a fabric headboard in the guest bedroom.

Finally, the walls offered the team the perfect opportunity to draw their two worlds together. Both the homeowners and Brown love the expressive colour-field paintings of Sara Genn and had purchased several pieces from Gallery Jones for their Vancouver home. As luck would have it, the Vancouver-raised Genn had recently moved from New York to Palm Springs, so arrangements were made to have a few custom pieces commissioned to help crown the new residence. It’s a fitting finish to a house that represents the homeowners’ design wish list as filtered through a desert vernacular and a mid-century ethos.

Vancouver-based designer Stephanie Brown stands near the main entrance of this Palm Springs home.
The Pierre console table is from Kravet, and the white sculpture is from artist Dustin Gimbel, sourced from Palm Springs design shop The Backyard.

The wood-burning fireplace in the great room is original, but Brown updated the facade with fluted concrete tile and walnut millwork.
The exterior of the home was refreshed from its original white stucco.

The homeowners picked up the vintage Wassily chairs at a consignment store as soon as they purchased the home. The artwork is from Vancouver artist Sara Genn, who’s now based in Palm Springs.
The homeowners commissioned a piece from Vancouver artist Carla Tak for the kitchen (on millwork wall). A striking mirror from Ben and Aja Blanc, sourced from Provide, sits on the far wall.

Off to Bed
For the primary bedroom, Brown designed a built-in headboard with a lip on it that acts as a picture rail behind the bed.
The inset niche that now holds a desk was once a spot for a wood-burning fireplace—unlikely to be used in a Palm Springs bedroom.

The primary ensuite features both terazzo tile from Ann Sacks and a zelige tile from Clé Tile.
The guest bedroom was designed to be flexible with two twins beds: they’re a king when they’re pushed together, or they can be separated if younger kids are visiting.