Modernist Palm Springs Tour-de-Force by Jim Jennings Up for Grabs

Designed by modernist architect Jim Jennings and completed in 2015, a striking, low-slung residence in Palm Springs inverts some of the desert community’s tried and true modernist principles. Many homes in the resort community are designed with as much glass as possible, to soak up winter sun and enjoy views of the rugged mountains and desert landscape.

This house, however, in the coveted Araby Cove neighborhood in south Palm Springs, where wind is less a factor than in the northern part of the town, has no windows in front, except for a continuous ribbon of high-set glazing. While this allows for maximum privacy from the street and a distinct sense of coziness inside, the back of the house is more expectedly sheathed in sliding walls of glass that make the most of the surrounding landscape and allow for indoor/outdoor living at its finest!

San-Francisco-based Jennings is known for his ability to mix influences going back as far as the Bauhaus, to the International Style, up to midcentury modern, while giving them a 21st century twist. In the traditional post-and-beam house, glass expanses blur the boundary between exterior and interior. In contrast, this retreat is about the walled enclosure marking the building as volume and mass. Design is pared back to the ultimate simplicity, allowing the emerald lawns, mature olive trees, and 180-degree mountain views their full visual due.

On almost half an acre, the 2,851-square-foot house contains three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Refinement is evident in every corner of the house, which is of course furnished with design classics such as a green Eames lounge, a mustard Djinn chair, and a Bertoia diamond chair.

Out back, the pool and spa take center stage, but there is also a relaxation spot with a firepit, perfect for aprés-pool lounging. High perimeter walls add to the sense of privacy. The guest residence is ready for friends dropping in for a weekend or for staff.

The bespoke property is available at $3.5 million via Patrick Jordan and Stewart Smith at Bennion Deville Homes. Architectural bragging rights are, of course, included in the price.