Why the Rich and Famous Continue to Flock to Palm Springs

Celebrity StyleWhy the Rich and Famous Continue to Flock to Palm SpringsAnd why the desert town still has the same allure after all these years

By Rachel Davies

March 30, 2022

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A photo by Slim Aarons taken at the Kaufmann Desert house in Palm Springs, designed by architect Richard Neutra.Photo: Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Palm Springs architecture has long made the town a favored destination of midcentury-modern design lovers, and the biggest names of that era (say, Walt Disney or Frank Sinatra) enjoyed the desert oasis plenty. A-lister home design standards have changed quite a bit since those days—you wouldn’t expect to find a Richard Neutra home equipped with smart home technology—and yet the appeal of the San Jacinto Mountain–surrounding region remains strong for big names and design lovers alike.

Take Leonardo DiCaprio, for instance. The Academy Award–winning actor supports a number of noble causes, and the preservation of Palm Springs’ distinct place in the history of modern architecture happens to be among them. In 2014, the actor purchased a gorgeous home designed by Donald Wexler, one of the key figures in Palm Springs’ midcentury architectural scene, right as superstars began flocking to the desert locale that’s just two hours from Los Angeles by car.

Frank Sinatra’s Palm Springs home, which appeared in the December 1998 issue of AD.

Photo: Mary E. Nichols

The home was built in 1964 for Dinah Shore, a Big Band era singer, and has been gorgeously preserved and furnished to honor that legacy. Now, under DiCaprio’s watch, the six-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bathroom home operates as a hotel where visitors can leisurely soak in the design of the era for $3,750 a night. Rock clad walls, wood-paneled ceilings, and a Nelson Saucer Bubble Pendant light fixture in the dining room are among the many details that quietly maintain the midcentury atmosphere within the one-story home. To ensure a comfortable stay, the kitchen and other key elements have been updated to meet modern standards, though these elements are understated by design to avoid clashing with the rest of the home.

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DiCaprio’s Dinah Shore home is located in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood, a favorite of many celebrities of the midcentury period—from Marilyn Monroe to Elvis Presley. Indeed, each neighborhood in Palm Springs tells a distinct story. La Quinta, an area in Greater Palm Springs which predominately features Hacienda- or Spanish-style homes that lack the same architectural allure as older builds in the area, is particularly en vogue with the reality television royalty of today, who seem to be injecting some architectural style into the neighborhood. Kourtney Kardashian and Kris Jenner own ultra-modern mansions in La Quinta, and Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian recently bought plots of land there. Kim in particular has big plans for her parcel—she shared in her recent Vogue cover story that Tadao Ando is designing a house for it.

Ando has designed memorable buildings across the globe (including a Malibu home that now belongs to Kanye West), and though his signature style is not quite desert modern, his emphasis on seamlessly integrating his homes in their natural surroundings is perfectly suited for the area and will become a valuable addition to the rich architectural legacy of Palm Springs. Other famous La Quinta residents include Lori Loughlin and Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber.

The Palm Springs home of decorator for celebrities Martyn Lawrence Bullard, whose clients include Kylie Jenner, Tommy Hilfiger, Cher, and more A-listers.

Photo: Douglas Friedman

It comes as no surprise that celebrity favorite interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard has a space of his own in the area that is Palm Springs style done right. Bullard—whose client list includes Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Cher, to name a few—lives in a 1963 home designed by midcentury Hollywood set designer and architect James McNaughton that Hugh Hefner once owned. As AD glimpsed during a tour in 2017, the designer appropriately played into the home’s ’60s energy with plenty of wallpaper and bright colors.

The Kaufmann desert house by Richard Neutra.

Photo: Jason Auch / Getty Images

Even famous artists who may not own property in Palm Springs still honor its history in their work. In April of last year, Jay-Z and Hype Williams shot the campaign for the musician’s new cannabis line at Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms estate (built by architect E. Stewart Williams in 1946) and Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann Desert House (built in 1947). Jay-Z and Williams cleverly riffed on the iconic images photographer Slim Aaron made at the latter house in the 1970s, using the reference to communicate the stylish and relaxed mood of the cannabis line.

Regardless of the style one tends to favor, and whether you’re visiting or buying, it is thanks to gorgeous living spaces prioritizing an indoor-outdoor lifestyle that Palm Springs remains so enjoyable year after year.

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