Design Diary: Palm Springs Modernism Week
Late last month the design set found a chic way to blot out the chill of February by journeying to California for Palm Springs Modernism Week. The week-plus extravaganza of mid-century modern architecture, style and technicolor excitement was the place to enjoy a 1960s poolside cocktail hour. PAGODA RED’S good friend and PR maven Christine Phillips, who represents A-list design clients like Barclay Butera, Julia Buckingham and Anthony Baratta, was on hand for the festivities (jewel tones and celeb shades in tow). She indulged us with her photo diary of Modernism Week…here is her tour of fun in the sun.
Coming from the dreary cold and damp Midwest, it was Fabiola to wake up to this.
Christine Phillips here; your roving PAGODA RED correspondent recapping glamorous, amorous Modernism Week here in sunny Palm Springs! A little visual and editorial tour for your perusal….1-2-3 here we go! Welcome to the spectacular sunshine, palm trees and green green grass of iconic Palm Springs. Got the groovy tunes on—Tom Jones, Petula Clark and Julie London are getting me in the swing. Now, what to wear???
The not-so-mellow yellow doors signals that this the place, Villa Golightly.
Barclay Butera listens to the man himself, Christopher Kennedy, as they tour the space with a lovely group of volunteers who will help us showcase Villa Golightly over the next few days.
First stop: The Christopher Kennedy Show House. This year’s glam pad happens to be the home of the lovely Kelly Golightly and her husband, Klaus Moser. All 6,500 square feet of this incredible space will be transformed into the Christopher Kennedy Compound, also known as Villa Golightly, featuring the work of talented people like West Coast designer Barclay Butera.
Lucky us, Barclay is a fave client and we got the very first front room in the joint—the living room. It was a special treat, as we just announced our licensing partnership with Lexington Home Brands and they provided the furnishings for Barclay to twirl up the digs!
This is Ray Langhammer, Barclay’s creative director. This little whiz-bang genius decided to spray paint the logs for our fireplace gold—fabulous, natch!
Show House Shopping: You know how that goes! 37 trips to True Value later…we ransacked the joint for everything from extension cords to light bulbs to log kits. You can only imagine how fun it was to go to the hardware store with all the plumbers and electricians and Ray in this getup. We got excellent service, needless to say!
So it’s back to the show house and more hijinks!
Might as well bring in a monkey for the commercials for the “going bananas” themed porch. #itsazooaroundhere
Pool Time at Villa Golightly
So we are buzz , buzz, buzzing around the house and the entire place is alive with designers, installers, painters, carpet layers…in other words Show House Bedlam. Needed to answer some emails, so I copped a minute by the pool…heaven! Channeling my best Slim Aarons attitude…
Night Moves: It’s date night and dinner out with Barclay and his team!
Gotta love a boss who takes you to Tropicale, a step back in time when “Supper Clubs” were all the rage. Still as chic and delightful, the music was divine and the food was delish! A definite must-see in Palm Springs; do not leave town without knocking back one of their mango martinis…yikes! Off to dream land, which we’ll need before another busy day at the Compound.
Barclay’s finished living room; photo taken by Traditional Home magazine.
Day Two: After all that design magic readying the space, we are ready for the big reveal. Barclay is the quintessential all-American designer with a Cali-twist, and it’s exciting to see his rendition of mid-century modern with a few posh gold touches. All that’s left to do is a costume change for the special opening night party.
Here I am with the boys for The Red Carpet Gala!
We clean up pretty good, and no one even did wardrobe consulting before the event—not sure how we all channeled our pink-black-white combinations; sometimes I guess you just know after all those years together…
Dinner at Sinatra’s. Um, yes, you read that right.
Still not sure if it was a dream, but I had the ultimate pleasure of being a guest at Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms home, where stories of the legend’s life still flourish. Our incredible partners at Lexington Home Brands had the home for a few days and graciously arranged dinner one night. Did you know that Barclay owned that home for a few years? Kind of surreal just walking down the halls… and having cocktails by the piano-shaped pool. #flymetothemoon
The highlight of doing an event like this is running into and reconnecting with friends.
Day Three: Well I suppose the entire trip is not really about me, so I should show off the house! Stand-out rooms from Trellis Home Design (upper left) and Christopher Kennedy’s dining room (upper right) were perfect compliments to Barclay’s neutral-chic living room in gold and white (lower row).
Barclay and the lovely ladies from Traditional Home: It’s Tradition!
What a thrill to see Ann Maine and Jenny Bradley from Traditional Home for our first guests at the press breakfast. Proud to say we’ve been pals for years—there’s not a classier bunch in the biz.
This season I am mad for my gal Miuccia Prada and her chunky heeled nod to the 60s and 70s daisy floral madness.
Time to pack up the Pradas. Um, er, ok….for those of you that know me, you already know I have quite an issue with shoes. It’s not good—an addiction I think? Was especially thrilled that one pair matched the wallpaper in the mid-century-madness paradise of Grace Home’s spectacular room! And who doesn’t love white patent leather with daisies? Goldie Hawn during Laugh In anyone?
And that’s a wrap! Modernism has come to an end for me…sigh. Time to say good bye to Frank and Slim and all my Palm Springs pals and head back home. It’s been a trip of a lifetime and a whirlwind time packed with mid-century mayhem and madness. Au revoir, Palm Springs ,until we meet again! #thatslife
