Photographs by Tiffany Mueller
modsquad
A new home based on the “Flat Roof” plan by notable midcentury modern developer Joseph Eichler embraces the outdoors, where, on a chilly evening, Heather and Brad Fox—and kids Graham, 11, and Wes, 9—gather around a gas-fueled firepit. “The skies in Palm Springs are often like cotton candy when the sun sets,” Brad says. “It’s pink and blue and peach and lavender—colors that just happen. It’s a different world.”
Guests often mistake Heather and Brad Fox’s new Palm Springs vacation home and Airbnb/Vrbo rental for a renovation. “Most people can’t believe it’s new construction and not from the ’50s,” says Heather, who, with husband Brad, heads up Edina design firm Foxwell Studio, along with Foxwell Shop, Fox Homes, and Fox Realty.
But the guess isn’t all that far from the truth, say the stars of the 2019–20 HGTV show Should I Stay or Go? “We started looking for houses that needed a bit of remodeling, but we really, really, really wanted to find something that was architecturally significant and midcentury modern,” Heather says. Although the couple never found exactly that, they happened upon the next best thing: an undeveloped lot, originally part of a larger property, in Palm Springs’ prime Tahquitz River Estates neighborhood, amid dozens of midcentury homes and within easy walking distance of downtown.
“We’ve always been attracted to midcentury modern—a one-level rambler, as we call them in Minnesota, or a ranch, as they say in California.”
–Heather Fox, homeowner and designer
The rare opportunity to build on an established block required a special plan, which Heather and Brad found by way of iconic midcentury modern California developer Joseph Eichler. Eichler made architect-designed homes accessible to everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion—a principle that made him a pioneer in his day.
As part of that plan package, the couple partnered with a Palm Desert developer, Kud Properties, which had worked to license the home plans from the Eichler family. “The great thing was that we were able to work directly with the family about making small adjustments,” Heather says, among which were a more open primary suite and converting a den to a fifth bedroom. “We wanted to make sure the house felt very much like an Eichler, but we were also taking a plan originally designed in the 1950s and making it work 70-some years later.”
“With this approach, we knew the way the house was built and knew everything that was in it. It mitigated the risk of owning a house that was 1,500 miles away from us.”
–Heather Fox, homeowner and designer
That plan, with most rooms opening to patios or an atrium, already made the most of indoor-outdoor connections. So did its post-and-beam design. “Because the design places weight-bearing points on the home’s posts and beams, there’s no need for window headers, which allows full walls of glass,” Brad says.
Even with its embrace of all things Palm Springs, the home naturally lent itself to favorite finds from Minnesota, including Mercury Mosaics tile, Dutton Brown lighting, and Room and Board and Loll furnishings. Even the Hygge and West wallpaper in the bedrooms boasts a Minnesota tie (co-founder Aimee Lagos calls Minneapolis home).
“We loved the idea of building our retirement home in our 30s and using it as a vacation rental. The rental income will help us have it paid off by the time we retire, so we can come here as often as we’d like.”
–Brad Fox, homeowner
But perhaps the most telling connection was to the couple’s 2020 purchase and subsequent renovation of their home in Edina, which was originally built in the 1950s. “Funny enough, [the two houses] are reminiscent of each other in a lot of ways, with lots of good common spaces and just the right bedroom space for our kids and us,” Heather says. “Even some of the colors, wallpapers, and fun designs remind us of Palm Springs.” Their choices make total sense, she says. “Palm Springs is our happy place.”
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Eichler Family
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PalmSprings
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finding their groove
Finding Their Groove
Post-and-beam architecture with floor-to-ceiling windows, pine ceilings, and a precision block fireplace wall instantly convey the home’s midcentury modern style. So do the globe pendants. “That’s such a midcentury thing,” Heather says. “I love the way they look and the softer light they give off.”
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no worries
No Worries
Although most of the home’s furnishings are from Room and Board, the bookcase in the living room is from Vancouver-based Article. Flor carpet tiles combine to create rugs here and throughout the home. “If anything spills on the tiles or they get dirty, you can take them up and hose them off because they’re waterproof,” Heather says.
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poolside glam
Poolside Glam
The home’s setting, including a saltwater pool and hot tub, benefits from the beauty of adjacent properties’ mature landscaping. The home’s settled-in midcentury style earned it a coveted spot in the city’s semiannual Modernism Week in 2019.
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thoughtful touch
Thoughtful Touch
Minneapolis artist Ashley Mary painted the family room mural. The feature is characteristic of the Foxes’ upbeat design style, first developed through redos in the Twin Cities. “We never liked to call them flips,” Heather says. “We called them cheerful renovations.”
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kitchens
Although Eichler’s kitchens were considered open for the era, Heather and Brad removed upper cabinets for an even airier quality. But they opted for dark walnut on cabinets that remained. “Even though walnut is on the darker side, there’s so much light coming in the house, we knew it would work.”
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spice it up
Spice It Up
Tile work by Minneapolis’s Mercury Mosaics adds punch to kitchen walls. “Those bright little pops of color were what we were really seeing with the house—yellow and that teal,” Heather says. Walnut cabinetry with plywood edge banding, which feels true to the midcentury aesthetic, was built by Seattle-based Kerf Design.
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fun function
Fun Function
Because the kitchen design did away with upper cabinets, the Foxes store food, glassware, and serving pieces in the built-in dining room hutch. “It’s very much used and not just for looks,” Heather says.
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breezy retreat
Breezy Retreat
Sliding doors give the primary bedroom an access point to the outdoors. It’s a feature shared by all five bedrooms. “Although none of the [bedroom] sliders go directly to the pool, they go to a side patio, which leads back to the pool,” Heather says. “And it’s a great way to let the fresh air in.”
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bright idea
Bright Idea
Natural light streams into the primary bath through a clerestory window in the shower, which tops a Mercury Mosaics–tiled wall. “It may have felt like a lot to have the whole shower tiled with that, so we decided to make it more like an accent piece just on the back wall,” Heather says.
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colorful character
Colorful Character
The home’s five bedrooms, including the four shown, comfortably accommodate the Foxes and extended family. Different Hygge and West wallpaper patterns distinguish each space. “We wanted it so that people could come in and say, ‘I’m going to stay in the pineapple room,’ or, ‘I’m going to stay in the dog room,’” Heather says. The nightstand in one of the bedrooms is a wall-mounted unit from Room and Board.
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pineappleroom
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dogroom
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palmroom
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trademark feature
Trademark Feature
The front door opens to an inner courtyard with access to several rooms. Open overhead, the space—called an atrium on floorplans—is a hallmark of Eichler designs. The sign reading “Eichler Palms,” what Heather and Brad affectionately call their home on rental sites Airbnb and Vrbo, creatively credits the developer.
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cooling off
Cooling Off
The Fox family—including Graham, Brad, and Wes—brings on the fun as soon as they complete the less-than-10-minute drive from the Palm Springs airport. Although the pool is refreshing as is most of the year, it’s heated for winter use.
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Sunflower
Heather and Brad chose a yellow called Sunflower, one of Eichler’s original front door colors, for the front door and beam above the garage. “I’m a huge lover of yellow, especially when it’s a good mustard yellow,” Heather says. The hue is from Dunn-Edwards’s Eichler-inspired line of paints.
Interior design: Heather Fox, Foxwell Studio, 4400 France Ave., Edina, 612-999-8443, thefoxwell.com
Builder: Kud Properties, 74124 Hwy. 111, Palm Desert, CA, 760-273-5150, kudproperties.com
