I keep trying to pin down the first time I looked at real estate in Palm Springs. I think it was probably in the late 90s while in town for a conference. A friend and I stayed at the pre-makeover Villa Royale hotel and would take neighborhood walks in the morning before heading to the convention center.

I was born into a family that loved all things atomic, Jetsons, and retro, so the space-age modernist vibe was right up my alley, and after staying a few times at Spanish-themed Villa, we got curious about “the other look,” what we naively thought of as “the South Beach look.”

Entering the open house we found, we gasped at the smooth white expanse of terrazzo flooring, open floor plan, and jumbo glass walls overlooking the pool. We marveled. We whispered. We dreamed. We imagined shaking up martinis and twisting by the pool in capris. I remember this house being freshly renovated, and that it was a little hard to tell if other houses nearby were coming together or falling apart. They were out of our respective price ranges regardless, but somehow we had the impression that there were “good investments” to be had…

Click to read the full post, presented as a guest blog, at Modern Tours Palm Springs.