EXTERIOR FRONT AFTER The result of the nearly $1 million restoration is a chic Zen-like retreat wreathed by staggering mountain views.
10 Images

An Albert Frey desert home design lives again

In Palm Springs, one of the first design projects of noted architect Albert Frey has a new look after a recent renovation.

EXTERIOR FRONT AFTER The result of the nearly $1 million restoration is a chic Zen-like retreat wreathed by staggering mountain views.

EXTERIOR AFTER: The result of the nearly $1-million restoration is a chic zen-like retreat wreathed by staggering mountain views. (Ruben Vargas Jr. / RVJ Photography)

EXTERIOR FRONT BEFORE A series of renovation-giddy owners disfigured the home with thick stucco, arched windows and doors, and enough Hollywood Regency decor to out-glam Joan Crawford. During the nearly $1 million renovation, the 1935 home was first stripped of its various froufrou, with jackhammers employed to blast off three-inch thick stucco the color of “Pepto-Bismol,” said owner Marina Rossi.

EXTERIOR BEFORE: A series of renovation-giddy owners disfigured the home with thick stucco, arched windows and doors, and enough Hollywood Regency decor to out-glam Joan Crawford. During the nearly $1-million renovation, the 1935 home was stripped of its various froufrou, with jackhammers employed to blast off 3-inch-thick stucco the color of “Pepto-Bismol,” said owner Marina Rossi.
 (Marina Rossi)

DINING ROOM AFTER The homeowners devised a “Frey test” with a central question that informed each design decision: what would Albert do? –– in rerference to architect Albert Frey.

DINING ROOM AFTER: The homeowners devised a “Frey test” with a central question that informed each design decision: What would architect Albert Frey do? (Ruben Vargas Jr. / RVJ Photography )

DINING ROOM BEFORE The homeowners devised a “Frey test” with a central question that informed each design decision: what would Albert do? –– in rerference to architect Albert Frey.

DINING ROOM BEFORE: The homeowners read scores of books and accounts about Swiss-born architect Albert Frey to help inform their design decisions. (Marina Rossi)

DEN AFTER Spanish tiles were pried from concrete floors covering the 1935 home; the surface was reconditioned and coated with a gloss epoxy sealer to lend a sleek watery look.

DEN AFTER: Spanish tiles were pried from concrete floors covering the 1935 home; the surface was reconditioned and coated with a gloss epoxy sealer to lend a sleek, watery look. (Ruben Vargas Jr. / RVJ Photography)

DEN BEFORE Spanish tiles were pried from concrete floors covering the 1935 home; the surface was reconditioned and coated with a gloss epoxy sealer to lend a sleek watery look.

DEN BEFORE: The new owners had in mind a Moroccan-style rehab for the property but changed their minds when it was confirmed that the home was designed by architect Albert Frey. (Marina Rossi)

KITCHEN AFTER A brick wall separating the kitchen and dining rooms was kept for its coveted texture and painted to mimic a wall in architect Le Corbusier’s Paris atelier.

KITCHEN AFTER: A brick wall separating the kitchen and dining rooms was painted to mimic a wall in architect Le Corbusier’s Paris atelier. (Ruben Vargas Jr. / RVJ Photography)

KITCHEN BEFORE A brick wall separating the kitchen and dining rooms was kept for its coveted texture and painted to mimic a wall in architect Le Corbusier’s Paris atelier.

KITCHEN BEFORE: A brick wall separating the kitchen and dining rooms was kept for its coveted texture. (Marina Rossi)

EXTERIOR RIGHT AFTER Architectural plans for the house that included ample overhangs –– a staple of classic midcentury design –– were nixed in order to hew to Frey’s intent: spartan boxes dropped onto a desertscape.

EXTERIOR AFTER: Architectural plans for the house that included ample overhangs — a staple of classic midcentury design — were nixed in order to hew to Frey’s intent: spartan boxes dropped onto a desertscape.  (Ruben Vargas Jr. / RVJ Photography)

EXTERIOR RIGHT BEFORE Architectural plans for the house that included ample overhangs –– a staple of classic midcentury design –– were nixed in order to hew to Frey’s intent: spartan boxes dropped onto a desertscape.

EXTERIOR BEFORE: Albert Frey’s 1935 creation consists of three rectangular boxes sans overhangs, seemingly baking in the desert, yet cooled by cement floors and corrugated metal that helps deflect heat. (Marina Rossi)

1/10