I’m excited to share the mood board and overall design plan for our 1950s Palm Springs home today. Because this is a vacation house for us, I’m planning to take more risks and try things I might be hesitant to do in our primary home.
Our Mood Board
While almost every wall in our 1930s Los Angeles home is white, I want the opposite here. I don’t intend to have white walls in this house — instead we’ll embrace rich, saturated color.
The home is hacienda-style and, like many Palm Springs houses, has windows and doors primarily on one side. That makes the interior a bit darker, and rather than fight that, I want to lean into it. Deeper, moodier tones will help create warmth and a cozy, intentional feel in rooms with limited natural light.
Below is the mood board that captures the direction we’re taking.
Turquoise bedroom, sunny yellow kitchens and jewel-toned rooms inspired by global and hacienda-style interiors. Talavera tile, chinoiserie florals, expressive exteriors and layered rugs add texture and color throughout.
Our Color Palette
Finding images that matched the house’s character was harder than expected, which is a good sign: the look I want is bold but layered. Rather than keep a room monochromatic, I plan to choose one dominant color per room and layer multiple jewel tones, so each space reads as its own distinct, lively environment.
The Floors
Currently the floors are porcelain made to look like terracotta; they photograph well but read as faux in person and aren’t in great condition. We decided to replace them with real, natural terracotta before moving furniture in. It’s a splurge, but one that will dramatically improve the feel and authenticity of the house.
The new terracotta will run through every room except two bathrooms, creating continuity and warmth underfoot.
Wood & Textures
I plan to incorporate a variety of wall treatments — wallpaper, roman clay, and lime wash — to add depth and interesting surfaces. Wood will play a major role: the ceilings are wood and I’d like to refinish them to reveal a more natural tone rather than the current whitewash.
We’ll add butcher block counters, wood cabinet fronts, custom wood bunk beds, and wood furniture throughout. Dark woods, hand-carved details, and vintage pieces feel right for a hacienda-style home, so I’ll look for secondhand finds that complement the house’s character.
Cane and rattan elements will bring lighter textures, while richly hued rugs and large textiles will warm the floors and cover expansive walls. These layers will keep the rooms feeling cozy and collected.
Inspiration for This Home
I’ve been pulling inspiration from colorful design books and global interiors. Some of the books that have influenced the direction include Jungalow: Decorate Wild, Casa Mexico, Beata Heuman: Every Room Should Sing, and Patterns of India. These resources help inform pattern mixing, color combinations, and a layered, eclectic approach.
The Elements of Style: A Practical Encyclopedia of Interior Architectural Details from 1485 to the Present has also been useful for historical context and detailing; I found a used copy locally and it’s been a valuable reference for architectural ideas.
Our Design & Renovation Plan
I’ll share inspiration and renovation details for each room as we complete them. Unlike the slow room-by-room approach we took in our current home, this project is happening all at once, so I’m moving between rooms and trades frequently.
We’re keeping the existing footprint and focusing on cosmetic updates to save money: new tile, vanities, cabinet fronts, selective door and window changes, fresh paint, and a lot of furniture and textiles. We will open up a half wall and remove a divider to improve flow, but there are no major structural changes planned.
The backyard will be a separate project to tackle later. For now, stay tuned for the first room-by-room inspiration post in the coming weeks!