Palm Springs vibes by the Bay

All the way across the Pacific, from the California desert, modernist Palm Springs style has well and truly arrived and cemented itself into Australia’s contemporary architectural landscape.

It’s easy to see why.

The combination of cool, minimalist lines, open interiors, crisp white finishes, and drought-hardy landscaping is the perfect fit for our harsh Aussie climate.

In the breezy bayside suburb of Wellington Point, just 30 minutes from the Brisbane CBD, Endeavour Foundation’s luxurious $1.8 million Prize Home blends clever modern design with the best bits of the Palm Springs aesthetic.

The result?  A sophisticated, 24/7 holiday vibe we just can’t get enough of. So, let’s dive in and take a closer look at the essential ingredients for Palm Springs style.

How to create the contemporary Palm Springs look

White, white and more white

The ‘white-on-white’ Palm Springs look is a cool design choice, in more ways than one. Not only does crisp, fresh white complement the minimalist, clean lines of the modernist architecture, but white also reflects light – rather than absorbing it like dark colours – keeping your home cooler on hot summer days.

In fact, commercially available white paints reflect between 80 and 90% of sunlight.

While Brisbane isn’t exactly the Palm Springs desert, it can still heat up in the summer months so opting for an aesthetic that’s all white is more than all right.

Contrast with natural materials

Natural materials like timber and stone can add warmth and contrast to a cool white palette. Think rocky garden beds, stone benchtops and vertical timber panelling.

Create volume

Contemporary Palm Springs style is all about creating an open and airy space to live in, lounge in, and, of course, entertain in. (Cue drinks trolley[CB1] .)

To create a sense of space in a home, you can either ‘go out’ and design a floorplan with generous room dimensions, or ‘go up’ and create volume with higher ceilings. 

Our modern bayside Prize Home does both with a generous floorplan and higher ceilings delivered via a clever void above the staircase, and high, raked ceilings upstairs. The result is an easy, airy sense of space that creates nothing but good vibes.

Bring the outdoors in

An integral part of creating this bright and airy look is the connection between indoors and outdoors. Oversized windows bring the outdoors in while expansive glass doors provide a direct link to the outside with minimal visual barrier.

Two words: breeze blocks

If you’re going to capture the Palm Springs mid-century modern vibe, you’re going to need a stack or two of breeze blocks. Well-placed breeze blocks can add privacy to your home while, as the name suggests, also capturing the available breeze. And of course, if you’re going full Palm Springs at your place, make sure you paint them white. Is there any other colour?

Drought-tolerant landscaping

Unless you have your automatic sprinkler system installed, gardens in warm climates can sometimes have to last for a long time between drinks. That’s why choosing drought-tolerant plants for your urban landscape is a must.

For inspiration, take a leaf out of the Palm Springs style book and go for desert-hardy, architectural plants like succulents, agave, cacti and yuccas, or the much-loved Aussie coastal native, the pandanus.

Contemporary slant

While a modernist Palm Springs home is typically a sprawling single storey affair with a flat or slightly raked roof, contemporary architecture has evolved the design style for modern times. Our modern Prize Home is the perfect case in point.  While this streamlined Bayside home undoubtedly captures the Palm Springs vibe, the two-storey design and peaked roofline is very ‘right-now’ and maximises the low-maintenance 405m² block.

Don’t forget the pool

What Palm Springs home would be complete without a sparkling blue pool out the back? Just make sure that it’s kidney-shaped or rectangular (like our Prize Home’s) to complement the clean lines of the architecture. Keep the landscaping minimal and your Palm Springs style will be on point.

Win your own slice of Palm Springs

If you’re feeling the Palm Springs vibe, get in quick and snap up a ticket in the draw to win this $1.8 million modern masterpiece.

You can also take a virtual tour and see all of the design details that make this home an architectural gem. 

Or come and visit in person and really soak up the vibe. (And make sure you check out the bay views from the Primary Suite.) You’ll find opening times and directions here.

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