Another well-known Alexander is the House of Tomorrow (also known as the "Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway")

Come with Brian for a trip to Palm Springs and along the way learn his sources, his design tips, and his top picks of design resources and some of his favorite places to shop and explore in the desert.
hilton head vacation home rentals Hello, Brian Dittmar here to welcome you to Palm Springs. I recently completed a vacation house in Palm Springs for clients from Northern California. I had worked on their house in the Rockridge area of Oakland several years before and I jumped at the chance to work with these clients again on their getaway home in this relaxing desert destination known for sun, resort living and all things mid-century modern.
Welcome to the "Atomic Tiki" house, as I named it one of the last residences built by the Alexander Construction Company in the Golf Club Estates section of South Palm Springs. The house was built in 1965 and has an unusual Polynesian-style roofline with a mid-century interior.
The 1960s were the peak of the Polynesian pop culture craze in the US and many of the Alexanders last houses reflected that influence. Most notably, the roofline of this residence known as a Dickey Roof after the architect Charles W. Dickey (1871-1942) who created this unique Hawaiian Style design inspired by King Kamehameha V's grass beach house in Waikiki. It is a double pitch roof, with the top portion of the roof at a steeper angle than the lower portion of the roof. The simplicity of its design evocative of effortless island living is synonymous with Hawaiian architecture. The couple, who are adventure-travellers and love deep sea diving in far-off locations in the South Pacific and Central America, found this ranch house after an extensive search. They admired the unusual combination of mid-century design with some Tiki-inspired exterior hilton head vacation home rentals accents.
The house was a diamond in the rough. It had not been updated much over the years and was in need of a design hilton head vacation home rentals transformation to make it look fresh and current. My design hilton head vacation home rentals brief was to make carefully considered, artful and subtle changes that would refresh the interiors while keeping the residence s original vibe through a mix of mid-century furnishings hilton head vacation home rentals and pieces with subtle Polynesian references.
Inspiration came in the form of a Tiki head. More specifically, Post and Beam Totems hilton head vacation home rentals by Los Angeles-based artist hilton head vacation home rentals Nat Reed ( www.natreed.com ) who renders iconic mid-century photography in brightly colored silkscreens, often replacing the human heads with Tiki heads. This piece (shown above) was inspired by the great Los Angeles photographer of modernism, Julius Shulman, and hangs in the entry area where it sets a playful yet polished tone for the rest of the house.
Living Room: Custom chairs and tufted sofa by Brian Dittmar Design are covered in contract-grade fabrics by Kravet (ideal hilton head vacation home rentals as this is also a vacation rental property). The accent wall is covered in Omexco s boomerang print grasscloth. The tension lamp (found hilton head vacation home rentals on ebay) and the chunky bamboo glass coffee table (found at Misty's Consignments, www.mistysconsignments.com ) are both vintage; the white molded fiberglass chaise is a reproduction Charles and Ray Eames La Chaise .
Dining Room: The walnut pedestal dining table is from AllModern.com surrounded by Verner Panton molded plastic chairs in white. The chandelier is the "Coral" pendant by David Turbridge. Metal wall hanging is vintage Curtis Jeré found at Misty s Consignments ( www.mistysconsignments.com ).
Kitchen: The kitchen's former maple IKEA cabinets were given a new look with new IKEA high-gloss white and frosted glass doors (uppers) hilton head vacation home rentals and high gloss charcoal gray doors (base). New white quartz countertops are by Caesarstone and replaced very dated pink and black granite; white penny-round tile on the backsplash and shimmering high-gloss white porcelain floor tile (installed throughout the house) are both from Bedrosians. The stools are vintage and were found at The Estate Sale, Palm Springs hilton head vacation home rentals ( www.theestatesaleco.com ). The butcher block island is from IKEA.
Master Bedroom: The ivory tufted leather headboard and mirrored nightstands, hilton head vacation home rentals from West Elm, sit in front of a wall covered in Romo wallpaper. hilton head vacation home rentals Glass lamps with orange streaks are by Arteriors. An Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair in orange leather is in the corner. Ivory linen ripplefold curtains are custom by Brian Dittmar Design. A heathered charcoal gray shag rug and the orange squiggle bedding are both from CB2. The mid-century dresser is by West Elm with a sunburst mirror and crackle glazed lamp from Arteriors.
hilton head vacation home rentals Bedroom hilton head vacation home rentals 2: The ivory upholstered bed, by IKEA, is flanked by mirrored hilton head vacation home rentals metal tables hilton head vacation home rentals from West Elm and canary yellow ceramic lamps by Arteriors. Gray and white geometric bedding and a slate blue dresser are from CB2. On the dresser, the perforated polished nickel lamp is from Arteriors and the framed photo of Rock Hudson and the mirror are vintage and were found at The Estate Sale, Palm Springs ( www.theestatesaleco.com ).
Bedroom 3: In front of the custom painted striped accent wall by Brian Dittmar Design sits a Moroccan-inspired fretwork headboard by West Elm with bedding from Crate Barrrel. The acrylic base lamps are vintage as is the large framed photo of Elizabeth Taylor. Gray flannel bench is from West Elm.
The Palm Springs Modernism movement hilton head vacation home rentals began originally with custom-residences and hotel designs by the likes of architects Rudolph Schindler, Albert Frey and Richard Neutra. The Alexander Construction Company hilton head vacation home rentals was founded by George Alexander and his son Robert. Thirty-four years after Schindler s first modern home was built in Palm Springs, The Ocotillo Lodge (1956), located in South Palm Springs, was the first collaboration between the Alexanders and architect William Krisel and his partner Dan Palmer a pairing that over the next few years would redefine the architectural and demographic landscape hilton head vacation home rentals of Palm Springs hilton head vacation home rentals residential real estate.
Throughout the 1950 s and early 1960 s, The Alexander hilton head vacation home rentals Construction Company was important in the Southern hilton head vacation home rentals California post-war housing boom especially in Palm Springs. The first Alexander houses were designed for efficiency of production, but in 1957, Palmer and Krisel offered a new concept: to build stylish hilton head vacation home rentals modern-style tract homes with clean, elegant lines that were affordable and even more efficient to produce. The houses now known simply as "Alexanders" were designed to integrate indoor and outdoor living. They sat on large lots with patios and pools, and had high ceilings, post-and-beam construction and wide expanses of glass. They came in four classic modernist roof styles: butterfly, long gable, folded plate and barrel vault. And they were well priced, ranging from less than $20,000 for a 1,200-square-foot house in the Racquet Club subdivision to $39,000 for a 2,200-square-foot in the flashier Vista Las Palmas neighborhood, originally hilton head vacation home rentals the haven of the Hollywood crowd.
Lead architect William Krisel, who now lives in Los Angeles and is in his eighties, has become a folk hero of mid-century modern home enthusiasts. Krisel's complete archive is now at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. George Alexander and his wife Mildred and their son Robert Alexander, with his wife Helene, were killed on November 14, 1965 on an ill-fated flight from Palm Springs to Burbank. The company ceased operation following the deaths of the principles.
Another well-known Alexander is the House of Tomorrow (also known as the "Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway") built by Robert Alexander for his wife in the early 1960s. The house and the Alexanders achieved some level of national celebrity when an eight-page article featuring the house and the family appeared in Look magazine in September 1962. In May of 1967, Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent their honeymoon in the house.
Palm Canyon hilton head vacation home rentals Galleria Just south of the heart of the Uptown hilton head vacation home rentals Design District, this vibrant gallery of Twentieth-Century Design features home furnishings and accessories with eight points of view each located within small showrooms off the central courtyard, including Palm Canyon Galleria, Bon Vivant, Kelly, hilton head vacation home rentals Hudson, Griffin, Mr. Cox, and Donald Lloyd Smith Gallery 49. This is a treasure-trove of interesting finds last time I stopped in, I added to my growing hilton head vacation home rentals Foo Dog statue collection. 457 N. Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262 760-323-4576 www.palmspringsgalleria.com Christopher Anthony Ltd. This popular shop on Palm Canyon Drive features an extensive hilton head vacation home rentals collection of interior décor from mid-century through the 1970s and 80s. You can find a wide variety of originals by some of my favorite designers such as Paul McCobb, Charles and Ray Eames, Billy Haines, Milo Baughman and Curtis Jeré. 800 N. Palm Canyon hilton head vacation home rentals Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262 760-322-0600 www.christopheranthonyltd.com Boulevard I always enjoy stopping in Boulevard to view their unique selection of pristine hilton head vacation home rentals vintage hilton head vacation home rentals and new furniture, art, lighting hilton head vacation home rentals and accessories it s a small yet very tasteful collection. 800 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Ste. A Palm Springs, CA 92262 760-832-9011 www.boulevardps.com Room Service Room Service offers clean, minimal furnishings and accessories with a mid-century modern, Hollywood Regency slant where you could easily create your own version hilton head vacation home rentals of Kelly Wearstler s Viceroy Hotel or Jonathan Adler s Parker Hotel (both are Palm Springs institutions). 1068 N. Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262 760-322-8719 www.roomservicestore.com
Trina Turk Since 2002, Trina Turk s original California Chic boutique offers a cheerful, chic selection of women s contemporary ready-to-wear, swimwear, bags, jewelry, and Mr. Turk menswear. An array of brightly colored decorative accessories, boldly patterned pillows, prints, tabletop items, towels, and books can be found next door at the glam home shop. You can t help but feel like you are escaping to a desert paradise when you browse through this shop. 891 N. Palm Canyon hilton head vacation home rentals Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262 760-416-2856 www.trinaturk.com just fabulous Where Palm Springs shops for gifts, books, home décor, and more. A popular destination known for celebri