Palm Springs Realtor Tip # 254:

Dress to match your listings. 

My listing in Indian Wells Country Club which will open escrow Monday! 

#sunshine #palmsprings #YellowisWorkingForMeTheseDays

Pompeii De Las Palmas: Palm Springs Pied-à-terre

Italianate Regency Midcentury

Enjoy Your Last Days In Pompeii

You don't have to be at the foot of Mount Vesuvius to have a smoking hot time- check out Pompeii De Las Palmas!  This is a short sale, will be listed at $160,000, but sure to go over asking price.  To see the prior listing from a few years back, click HERE.

Like its sister property, Villa Roma at the South end of Palm Springs, this was also built in 1966.  There is a very Caesar's Palace colonnade around the swimming pool with a magnificent view of the mountains from Old Las Palmas.  This is a one bedroom, two bath condo, approx 850 sq. ft.  There are only nine units in this complex on West Stevens Road.  HOAS are $275.00 monthly.

To schedule a showing (will be a one-day, blue-light special event), call Matthew @ The Paul Kaplan Group at 760-969-2278

Palm Springs Real Estate Question: What Is Wind?

Invariably, when our looking at properties in Palm Springs, I get asked "What about the wind?"

I'm sure you've experienced wind before wherever you may reside, and wind here is no different.  No one dies of wind in Palm Springs.  Just keep in mind, that it's one of the few weather patterns that we get in the desert on a fairly regular basis.  Contrary to popular myth, even the South End of Palm Springs has extreme wind.  This photo was taken this morning in my backyard in Twin Palms, in the Southern end of Palm Springs.  The last three major windstorms have all come from the South, while at the North end (yes folks, even North of Vista Chino) was relatively windless (at first!).

The wind blew all my chairs over, flipped my glass top dining table over and broke it, and blew pillows all around the yard.  I hope we can rebuild without FIMA's help.

The simple fact is: we get wind.  We don't get snow; there's no ice storms;  there's no rain for weeks on end; there's no hail; no subzero temperatures, just wind.  Our airport doesn't close because of bad weather, you rarely have to reschedule picnics, there are no snow days at school, just wind.

Palm Springs Feature IDEAT Design/Architecture Magazine

Palm Springs should be flattered!  We had a major mention in IDEAT, a favorite Paris-based design and architecture magazine.  This is our second mention in a year!  I was interviewed last summer for this July feature- and Genevieve Brunet mentioned Deja Vu Vintage! I love all the European press that Palm Springs is getting- I love you, PS!

Palm Springs Real Estate: A Quincy Jones Condo

I still have vivid dreams about living in this sleek white space.  Windows on every side, glimpses of sky and mountain from every clerestory window.  Space-age furnishings.  All that is missing is Rosie the Robot Maid.  Visit the full listing at: http://www.paulkaplanrealtor.com/details.php?mid=170

Life in Palm Springs: Brunch at Spencer's

Today, I went out to brunch with family and friends at Spencer's in Palm Springs- at the Historic Tennis Club.  Nicole and I happened to be wearing yellow!  (Mine is by Mr. Turk).  I got to squeeze in flash-fried oysters and a wedge salad before running off to write a counter offer on a property for a client and show a fabulous midcentury modern Meiselman home that I have as a listing.  I'm not just a fashion plate and social butterfly, I'm also a real estate agent!
 

Down on the Street, Palm Springs

There is something really appealing about finding a neglected car that is still in regular service parked in a neighborhood.  Repairs made on a budget- dents hammered out, every scar on the paint since the day the car left the factory appears present.  If this car had been on the East Coast, it would have already been recycled, but fortunately, the California Desert is kind to steel.  This 1960something Pontiac Lemans, wearing mismatched tires, original weatherbeaten paint, and a tattered interior, is driven every day by its owner in Palm Desert.  Survivor.  Palm Springs is a haven for older cars.

 

Paul Kaplan Modern Real Estate Mad Men Office

I am totally grooving on these vintage teak screens that were installed in our office lobby.  They were salvaged from a fabulous William Cody-designed home in Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells.  The new owner had no appreciation for the sexy atomic-age-jetset aesthetic of the home she had inherited, and was gutting it (boo hoo) to obliterate any character with travertine tile and granite countertops.  Fortunately, these were able to find a new and much-loved location!

Paul Kaplan Modern Real Estate Group Shoot

We had the best time doing a photoshoot at the historic 1949 Herbert Burns-designed residence on Via Miraleste in Palm Springs.  I sold the house a few weeks ago, but the owner was kind enough to let our entire real estate group do a photoshoot there a la Mad Men style- with vintage clothes and accessories from Deja Vu Vintage Finery on Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.  Look forward to seeing all the great photos!  Here's a sneak peak of me (Matthew Reader) and fellow agent, Kris Rain, giving me a light.

Paul Kaplan Modern Real Estate @ Raymond|Lawrence

If you've not yet been to the new Raymond|Lawrence space on North Palm Canyon Drive in the Uptown Design District in Palm Springs, you're missing out!  Among all the great vendors there, The Paul Kaplan Modern Real Estate Group also has a 'mod shack' kiosk there with open house guides, flyers for midcentury modern homes, a realtor on site to answer your questions, and books and maps that hightlight Palm Springs' rich architectural resources.  It's located at 830 N Palm Canyon Drive.

Rooms from Yesterday's House of Tomorrow

Is anything better than looking at old idea books for home design.  Does anything current look newer than these designs do?

Alexander Home Illustration

Sometimes a client has a hard time visualizing what a home will look like after a facelift.  I love to be able to do a 3D rendering on my own- fortunately, I have some training as an interior designer and did this one in a couple of hours.  I've loved drawing since I was a kid, and I always forget that I know how to make something look really fantastic with very little work.

Poolside in Palm Springs

It's really wonderful to be eating dinner outside in the evenings in March.  Had a great poolside pizza dinner at the home of Laurie and Larry Weitz, talking about doing a fashion and interior event at their posh Las Palmas home in April.  Can't wait!  It's always great to spend time in an Alexander home, particularly when it's been renovated in a fabulous way. White on white on white.

Palm Springs Art Museum Photography Council Party

The Palm Springs Art Museum's Photography Council hosted a Moroccan-themed party at the home of Sally Riggs in Thunderbird Heights in Rancho Mirage.  I'm a longtime admirer of Sally's swank hilltop perch with all its wooden screens, intimate corners, and cool Middle-Eastern flair.  One of the greatest homes in the desert!