Rat Pack–Inspired Mid-Century Modern Home Blends Palm Springs Glamour with Modern Design

The home, designed by Gordon Stein, founder of Stein Design, boasts incredible views of the nearby mountain. Expansive sliding floor-to-ceiling windows comprise the majority of the home’s walls, creating a nearly seamless connection between the interiors and the landscape.

Clerestory windows in the main living area let more light flood the space while giving the illusion that the roof is floating effortlessly above the home. Travertine and stone tile flooring were utilized throughout the home and extended into the exterior, creating a connecting architectural narrative between the interior and exterior.

​Equipped with two pools, a large putting green and a bocce ball court, this home was built for entertaining. A resort-style layout, paired with open-concept architecture, makes it easy for homeowners and their guests to navigate between indoors and out.

​“Along with the Rat Pack theme, we wanted to create this sort of playground for the clients,” Stein says. “When they have their buddies over, they can spend a lot of time hanging around the bar and then messing around outside.”

Inside, the grand, floor-to-ceiling travertine fireplace acts as an anchor of the home, solidifying it as the primary gathering place. A refined, upholstered coffee-colored conversation pit, a popular design choice in homes from the 1950s and 1960s, adjacent to the fireplace, features a beautiful custom-made circular coffee table with a polished stainless steel rim and a glass top configured into a modern geometric pattern, inviting conversation and connection.

​“The top of the table is designed to play into the brutalist-style furniture pieces from that era,” Stein explains. “The top is all individual glass pieces that I designed into this patterned layout.”

​The kitchen is clean and simple with a patterned backsplash serving as the focal point. The carved-out shapes are a nod to classic Mid-Century Modern design, adding both visual interest and texture to the space.

​“This was a play into Louise Nevelson’s work; she was doing all of these assemblages of things she found at cabinet shops, and that really became her style,” Stein says of the famous sculptor. “I was inspired by her style. My dad, who was an architect himself, was gracious enough to build these in his home shop for me. We had him over the day we installed them; it was really cool.”

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Details were paramount in making this home come to life with character. Stein meticulously researched the time period and incorporated customized elements to bring the home together, from the custom-made hi-fi unit in each bedroom, personalized with nostalgic records from the period that Stein hand-selected, to commissioned art pieces by local artists reminiscent of the art displayed in homes in the 60s. Even the detailing of the fireplace screens, which were a series of nails welded together to create a brutalist aesthetic. Every detail was carefully considered.​

“The details are so important,” Stein remarks. “We feel these details, whether it’s architectural details or a furniture piece, are all key in the language of the overall design and making it successful. It’s become our signature.”

Stein says his favorite part of the project was working on something new and inspiring. “I like the idea of having a chance to work in another genre and work on things we haven’t done before. In this case, it was working on something inspired by the Rat Pack era,” Stein says. “I think the end result was really rewarding.”