Modernism Week with a Las Vegas Interior Designer
Modernism Week in Palm Springs is a tailored celebration of design, history, furnishings and expertise in the style. As an interior designer, I’ve long wanted to attend—and this year, I finally immersed myself in the world of Mid-Century Modern architecture.
Held twice a year—Modernism Week celebrates the Mid-Century Modern architecture that defines Palm Springs. From home interior design tours and lectures to museum exhibits and parties, it honors the 20th-century design style movement that changed everything.
From the 1930s to the 1970s, Palm Springs attracted celebrities, offered design freedom, and enjoyed perfect weather—making it a hotspot for investing in bold, new architecture.
The homes I toured at Modernism Week were built in the 1960s, showcasing how Mid-Century Modern design embraced WWII-era materials like corrugated steel, concrete, expansive glass, and innovative furnishings.
You can see all these elements in the homes carefully curated during Modernism Week!
If you're still with me and curious about attending, here’s what I packed into my short stay (and a short trip from Las Vegas) —and what’s on my list for next time!
I hit the road at 5:00 a.m. Friday for the four-hour drive from Las Vegas to Palm Springs, just in time for my 10:00 a.m. tour of the vision that is Frey House II.
Light traffic and a quick stop in Barstow got me to the museum parking lot by 9:30 a.m., just in time to catch the 10:00 shuttle to the hillside home.
With self-guided tours, 30 minutes per home is usually enough—but if you catch a volunteer sharing their expertise and details on the carefully curated home, you might need 45. These homes aren’t large—Frey House II, for example, is under 1,000 square feet.
The Frey House II tour is a must—breathtaking views, thoughtful design, and impressive engineering left me in awe. It's a lifestyle of tailored design - art and style in every corner.
The Architecture Museum in Palm Springs may offer tours year-round—worth checking out!
Next, I visited the newly completed Shag House, where the artist brought his vibrant art to life.
It was a blast to see—and you could tell he had fun with the renovation. His own design studio art tailored the design to reflect his portfolio - the furniture and color really worked well with the space.
Most homes on the Modernism Week schedule are just 10-15 minutes apart - you can really own the lifestyle by having some leisure time between tours. Life is wonderful in Palm Springs!
The Lautner Compound sits in Desert Hot Springs, just across a dusty bowl of windmills from Palm Springs.
The drive took about 25-30 minutes, factoring in the "water crossing" that slowed traffic to safely pass over a shallow river. I can only image the process the construction and design team had to endure for the project management.
At the compound, I toured the original property of individual unities that were just incredible. The material selections carried throughout the space and the vision aligned with the design - overall the furniture and decor really create a wholistic design vision.
It was clear Lautner was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright—fun to recognize the connection. Their design and process must have been very similar to create a new home that was tailored to his clients and the surrounding area, but still felt like his own vision.
The current owners have built onto the property and you can stay in the original homes or rent the entire compound out for events. The project must have been an undertaking with the amount of space they have - plus the construction and product sourcing must have been an interesting budget to create.
The last tour of the day was the House of Tomorrow - known for Elvis and Pricilla’s honeymoon spot.
The architecture of this home was so unique, and the rounded polygon structure created a very unique floor plan for the space they had available.
The kitchen and bath design was beautiful - the interior designer in me swooned. I reflected on having clients with these historic homes - to create spaces within these structures would be design services this Las Vegas interior designer would love to add to her recent projects list!
I loved seeing how the new homeowners thought back to the original owners, but have done a beautiful job updating the interiors in a timeless nod to the 1960 design.
A few takeaways for anyone looking to attend based on my first day…
Some tours you can start early, so I was able to wrap up my tours quickly. I accounted for an hour for each tour, but most of them took half the time.
Things book out early, and sell out fast! After I finished my tours early, I checked the website to see if I could do something else - all sold out or done for the day.
The tours wrap up mid-afternoon, I believe the last visits I saw were around 2 or 3. Next time I’ll squeeze in another home!
Day two was essentially a Vintage Clothing Event with a ballroom full of vintage clothing, jewelry, and accessories with a neighborhood tour featuring 8 homes.
Also, seeing the clothing in relation to the homes I’d been touring was super fun! Oh, and the fabrics - perfect for the mid-mod lifestyle and design.
Following the event, I headed to the El Rancho Vista neighborhood for my tour.
This was another self-guided tour through 8 homes in one neighborhood, so many beautiful spaces!
I was able to see the different floor plan types, see how each current homeowner had done the interior design, meet the homeowners and see the beautiful cars parked in the driveways.
Each home took about 10-15 minutes to see - they were around 1,400 square feet.
The walk from house to house was so wonderful - the weather was perfect! Similar to Las Vegas, but a touch cooler.
I got a kick of out seeing the classic cars. It still makes me laugh that they were essentially on loan for the tours - it just all fit and felt right! I'd love the project of matching the style of the car with the architecture.
My second day takeaways…
There were some lectures and films I wanted to watch but they conflicted with my schedule. By the time I was done with my tours, everything else for the day was sold out.
I would have done another neighborhood tour if one was available!
I ended up heading back to Las Vegas following the El Rancho Vista tours. I’d been traveling a lot and just wanted my bed - the only thing left on my schedule was a tiki drink and a yard sale the following morning. Home sounded nice!
Interior Design Trends
During my visit, I noticed several emerging interior design trends that were prominently featured in the homes and exhibitions. From bold color palettes to sustainable materials, the influence of modernist principles was evident in every detail. Las Vegas has a similar style in pockets of the city, so applying some interior design details seen in Palm Springs will be a breeze.
Next time…
I’ll account for less time on the interior design tours - thinking about 30 minutes for tours, with 30 minutes of drive time to the next event - I can squeeze in more! Las Vegas isn't that far, so likely I'll visit during their October event - pending my interior design schedule.