A Palm Springs Butterfly home gets splashes of blue and other sea-inspired motifs to transform it into a water-inspired oasis in the desert.
Pairing Mid Mod styles with contemporary needs takes finesse. But Michelle Boudreau, interior designer and environment curator, rose to the challenge set by the owners of this beautiful Palm Springs abode. They wanted Michelle to merge MCM design with modern approaches to living. But perhaps more than anything, they wanted her to redesign the property with fresh styles and color palettes in mind. Hence, blue hues and a whimsical motif of circles flow through the house, splashing on walls and through hallways, and finding their way into every nook and cranny.
Modern Meets Contemporary in a Palm Springs Butterfly home
Built in 1958, the house sits in the historic neighborhood of Vista Las Palmas in Palm Springs. Renowned architect William Krisel designed the house and made sure to top it off with the signature Butterfly roofline. Many years later, the current owners of the house approached Michelle for help with the full remodel. They admired her experience and passion for reviving Mid Century Modern homes. As a designer, she is known for carefully blending MCM style with contemporary ways of living or décor preferences. “The owners also really liked the way I work with color and pattern in an elevated way,” Michelle explains. “We hit it off right away!”
The primary goals for the renovation were to emphasize the existing structure, as it had beautiful bones, and to redesign the interiors for modern living. “I approached the redesign to feel like it fit naturally into the environment of the house, but created custom details that were unique to this home,” Michelle says. She added important elements like a custom built-in sofa and made sure it had multiple blue fabrics in a clean geometric shape to fit the owners’ preferred aesthetics.
This Palm Springs Butterfly Home Becomes a Blue Oasis
Michelle wanted to capture the owners’ colorful personalities and interests. “They are passionate about sailing and traveling in the beauty of the oceans and seas,” she says. Thus, the house now uses variations of water colors to flow throughout the home, ranging from vibrant turquoise to rich navy blues. While many Mid Mod homes lean warm with orange and yellow, Michelle wanted the home to feel refreshingly cool, but that doesn’t mean warm tones are avoided altogether. To allude to the sandy beaches and shorelines of their adventures, Michelle also added touches of coral colors and blush tones throughout. The pinkish shades render another throughline to the rooms, enriching the home with a sense of warmth and softness, especially when juxtaposed with the cool blue colors.
“The mixtures of shape and patterns create dimension and individuality to the home and invite you to explore the interesting differences of each room,” she says. The resulting look is a blue oasis in the California desert, and the soft colors of the blues, blush and touches of white create a sense of calm.
Coming Full Circle
Michelle wanted the home to feel smooth, so she leaned head and shoulders into circles for the shape’s perfect simplicity and to add another subtle allusion to the owners’ travels. “The circle shapes were inspired by sea portholes and the shape that was used often in the original era,” Michelle says. “I translated the shape in new and unpredictable ways.” For example, the revived bubble chairs in the living room create a space for enjoying the desert landscape and swinging in style, “but they also provide a sitting environment that is like a warm hug,” she says.
Like seafarers on their own unique ocean voyage, guests to the home can wind their way through the house, stopping to note every example of Michelle’s reimagining of MCM style. In the guest room, cobalt-blue energizes the walls around a scalloped bed and play against the circle tiles. Everywhere, thoughtful curated décor and details mix with modernity and contemporary living. “Really, it’s a vacation home that embraces the Palm Springs lifestyle,” Michelle says.
Create a Color Story
Michelle shares her advice for perfectly blending color with textures, patterns and shapes.
Michelle, a master at knowing when to reign in and pare down, transformed a riot of shape and color into a subtle fusion through her careful design expertise that pays homage to Mid Mod fashions. Here are her top tips.
- Warm it Up With Wood. Even though Michelle’s designs rely heavily on a cooler color palette, she brings in wood to warm it up and make the spaces feel homey. “Walnut wood is carried through to warm up the crisp white ceilings and walls,” she says. The wood’s textures and dimension also offset the blue colors.
- Illuminate the Colors. For Michelle, custom lighting creates artful sculptures in every room. “In the kitchen and dining areas, the unique and artful pendants create a sculptural moment while providing extra light in the dining area,” she says.
- Opt for Unique Pairings. “Mixtures of shapes and patterns create dimension and individuality to the home,” Michelle says. This is why she suggests choosing a pattern or shape to run throughout the house. “These will invite guests to explore the interesting differences of each room.”
Looking to see more MCM homes in Palm Springs? Don’t miss Atomic Ranch at Palm Springs Modernism Week. In the meantime, here areKey Palm Springs ArchitectureTermsand a roundup of some of our favorite Palm Springs homes. And of course, don’t forget to follow us onInstagram,FacebookandPinterestfor more Atomic Ranch articles and ideas!
Related Topics
- blue and coral palette
- butterfly roof
- house tour
- Krisel home
- Palm Springs home
