This is finally the year when I'll be making the trip to Modernism Week in Palm Springs in February. To a real mid-century modern-ophile, this festival of architecture is loaded with inspiration on modern living and what I think is the new luxury: indoor-outdoor living, living with nature, a sustainability mindset, and simplicity at home.

One house on the radar is the Wave House. The Miles C Bates house, also known as the Wave House for its distinctive roof, was originally designed in 1955 by American architect Walter S White. It is available to rent through Boutique rentals.

The house was designed as a sculptor's studio for Bates, who turned it into a communal hub for fellow artists in the California desert. It is now a designated historic landmark.

The home first opened to the public in February 2020 after an extensive renovation by the founders of LA-based Stayner Architects, who currently own the residence.

What I love about the new renovation of the home is the color and the pattern in the space, which is often absent in mid-century modern homes. Because of their simplicity and the connections to the outdoors, textiles are often keep simple with interest coming from textures rather than color, prints and patterns. 

In the Wave House, the designers leaned into color and pattern, and the results are provocative in the best possible way.  Using fabrics designed by the fashion designer Paul Smith and manufactured by Maharam, the fabrics are striped and plaid and use lots of colors within the weave. Visually, due to the thinness of the lines in the pattern, the fabrics have an element of restraint while still being textural and strong. The use of burnt orange curtains and walls provides a bold complement for the fabrics. 

The outdoor landscape of the home is the desert, and while maintained, it is also slightly free and uncontrolled. The boldness of the fabrics and colors in the interiors creates a collaboration with the wildness and extremes found outside. A great example of inside-outside working together, in an unexpected way. 

The Wave House and mid-century modern homes, due to their simple design and construction, offers a chance for architects and designers to use color and pattern creatively. The modernist home is a simple enclosure that invites design innovations in the most delicious ways.