Atomic Ranch Spring 2024

editor's letter THERE ARE ONLY A FEW PLACES I can think of where real life lives up to the idealized version we envision—and Palm Springs is one of them. It’s got the warm weather everyone craves and the mid-century art and architecture we modernists lust after. There are the pristine pools, the Instagrammable doors, the vivacious nightlife and diverse day life. You can go hiking in the beautiful San Jacinto mountains in the morning, savor a scrumptious lunch and drive the dreamy Mid Century Modern neighborhoods in the afternoon, and toast to it all with a delicious dinner and cocktail at sunset. Each year, for the past seven years, Atomic Ranch has been a proud sponsor of the biannual Modernism Week events, but the spring event is the mother of…

WHILE PALM SPRINGShas almost always had a reputation as being a destination for the jet set, it wasn’t always appreciated or identified as a trove of modern architectural design. “I started hanging out in Palm Springs in 1994, when location scouts, magazine editors and the design-obsessed were all being drawn to the desert by the same modernist siren call,” Adele Cygelman says. “At that point, the only architecture coverage was Joseph Rosa’s book on Albert Frey. Because I was an editor at Architectural Digestat the time, I was introduced to Albert and we ran an article on him, but that was pretty much it until the floodgates opened in 1998 with the publication of major articles about Palm Springs in The New Yorker and Vanity Fair.” “As I began spending…

curb appeal Situated just east of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, this 1958 home has only had three owners, and the second one owned it just long enough to paint the dark-red exterior black, build an addition, upgrade some finishes and resell it to the current owner. “In 2020, the home was purchased from flippers by a Bloomington native who had long lived in New York City, but wanted a landing spot back in her hometown,” says Susan Yeley, creative director and owner of the residential design studio Susan Yeley Homes. "She remembered [the home] well from her childhood, when it belonged to her mother's best friend." Hiring Susan and her team to design and manage the renovation and fill the home with furniture and art, the new owner and…

This is our sixth year as proud sponsors and activity producers at Palm Springs Modernism Week events, and we’d love to meet you! Take a look at our event lineup below to see where you can find us and say hello! Friday, February 16, 3 p.m. Stunning in Sunmor: An Atomic Ranch + H3K Talk & Tour How do you take a marvelous mid-century home from good to great? Step inside this 1958 Palmer & Krisel built by the prolific Alexander Company and take a rare peek behind its courtyard walls to see a newly redesigned gem by H3K Design. This Sunmor stunner features vibrant indoor/outdoor style from the expansive courtyard to the quintessential Palm Springs patio and pool. Glean your ideas from the sensitively expanded floor plan and expertly…

Palm Springs, California, was once the watering hole of Hollywood’s A-list stars. But in 2012, when Brent Swift, a seasoned real estate professional and owner of design and build firm, Swift Co., was exploring the famed Racquet Club Cottages West—condos that had once been a hotel where celebs like Marilyn Monroe lounged by the pool or swatted at tennis balls—he never imagined that he would be helping restore that history. DESERT ESCAPE Brent had taken on a tour of the Racquet Club Cottages West grounds to learn more about madcap modern architect, William F. Cody, a.k.a “Wild Bill,” who had designed other noteworthy spots like the Del Marco Hotel, L’Horizon Resort and the Perlberg residence. “People used to call Cody ‘Wild Bill’ because he designed really cool stuff out in…

There’s one piece of advice that design-build duo Kevin Kemper and Howard Hawkes of H3K Home+Design always give to their clients: Live in the house for a little while before making any changes. “If there’s the opportunity to live in the space and use it, it’s really valuable,” they say. “How are they using it in the summer? How in the winter?” When it came to their own home, a 1957 Charles Du Bois in Palm Springs, circumstances led them to take their own advice to a new level: 12 years of waiting to make renovations happen. “Would we recommend waiting 12 years? Probably not… that might be a little excessive,” they say with a smile. But returning this beautiful Hawaiiana Charles Du Bois to its mid-century glory was worth…