Strolling through the turquoise door of Maison Bleue Moderne in the Vista Las Palmas neighborhood of Palm Springs, you’re greeted by a photo of vacant lounging chairs by a pool, which sets the scene of the home.
The four-bedroom, four-bath, 2,400-square-foot Alexander Company home designed by William Krisel and produced in 1958 is one of the featured homes for Modernism Week. Situated below the San Gorgonio Mountains, this house has mid-century modern signatures such as combining indoor and outdoor living, a gabled roof and clerestory window.
The home was revised by Michelle Boudreau Design in Palm Springs and presents the new owners’ distinctive tone and affection for travel and sailing. The blue textiles applied to bedroom headboards, chair cushions, backsplashes and tile in many parts of the home are in appreciation of the oceans.
Tones of turquoise on the front door and other components throughout the home seem relevant for the desert considering the gem turns up in the deserts of Arizona, Nevada, California and New Mexico.
The open-concept kitchen and dining room area include wooden-slates as a screen that are again incorporated below the countertops and the bar. The stylish furniture of the living room and dining room spaces builds a relaxing and welcoming mood. But one of the subtle features is the Erik Lindstrom artisan rug below the living room furniture.
Gliding doors in the master bedroom make for an impeccable conversion to the expansive patio with different seating areas, an outdoor bar and grill, an enormous pool and above ground hot tub.
It’s the ideal vacation getaway home for any city dweller seeking relaxation or to throw a posh retro pool party with a small group of buddies. But no matter how you want to take advantage of it, Maison Bleue Moderne screams Palm Springs-chic.
More than 2,500 “Alexanders” were built in Palm Springs by the Alexander Construction Co. The firm embraced a modern style of homebuilding that included simple designs and an open floor plan that were affordable for middle-class families.
All four Alexanders died when their chartered plane crashed into an Indio mountainside in 1965. In the decade they were active, the family built several iconic homes and hotels, including the Ocotillo Lodge in South Palm Springs in 1956. The first Alexander development was the Twin Palms Estates in 1957, followed by Racquet Club Road Estates, plus more than 300 homes in the Vista Las Palmas.
Krisel designed more than 30,000 homes in Southern California. His work in Palm Springs includes the “House of Tomorrow,” where Elvis honeymooned; Ocotillo Lodge; Las Palmas Estates in Vista Las Palmas; Canyon View Estates; and hundreds of homes on the Twin Palms neighborhood, according to the Palm Springs Modern Committee. He also designed the Sandpiper condo complex in Palm Desert.
Previous reporting by City News Service and Desert Sun reporter Skip Descant was used for this report.
Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.