Sun, Stripes, and the San Jacintos: A Palm Desert Travel Diary

If you’re an architecture lover like me, the idea of sleeping under a rollercoaster roof is as romantic as sleeping under a canopy of stars. So when I was invited to stay at The Desert Wave, a mid-century gem in Palm Desert designed by Walter S. White with a roofline that undulates like a skateboard jump, my boyfriend and I swiftly cleared a weekend.

This wasn’t just any weekend—The Desert Wave is in the middle of a collaboration with Design Within Reach, showcasing a collection by Paul Smith, the British design brand you probably know for its Gerard Richter-esque "signature stripes" in colors evoking Mediterranean sunsets.

The Desert Wave

Photo: Stacy Suaya

The Desert Wave

Photo: Stacy Suaya

The living-room sofa was clad in these stripes. The bedframe was wrapped in Stepped Plaid, a gorgeous and almost completely upcycled textile. The pièce de résistance was a polka dot Womb Chair in the living area’s glass corner, near sliding glass doors that served as portals in the 1960s for artists, actors, and musicians, all guests of the original owner, sculptor Miles C. Bates.

The Desert Wave

Photo: Stacy Suaya

We spent a lot of time leafing through old LIFE magazines in this room, as well as exploring the area around us. If you’d like to experience The Desert Wave as we did, here is our travel diary.

Friday night

After checking in to The Desert Wave, we dined at Chef Tanya’s Kitchen, which was only a few minutes drive in Palm Desert. This fully vegan restaurant delighted us with a chicken sandwich crafted with milanesa-thin crispy seitan filets and a Haboob for dessert—basically a gourmet, plant-based McFlurry. We sprang for the S’mores flavor.

Saturday morning

After a dunk in The Desert Wave’s pool, while the Rolling Stones and The Band crooned from the record player, we cruised 25 minutes into central Palm Springs’ Townie’s Bagels, for their New-York-style water-boiled bagels. This longtime neighborhood favorite had carrot lox and a line almost out the door. Aptly, we did the New York Times crossword puzzle then skedaddled in search of more mid-century architecture.

The Desert Wave

Photo: Stacy Suaya

Saturday afternoon

It was finally time to experience Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House, on my list for years as the Palm Springs Art Museum has been busy restoring it, piece by piece. A gentle docent named Herb showed us around and recounted the story of Swiss-born Frey, the architect who brought modernism to Palm Springs. Aluminaire was his prototype for affordable, mass-produced housing in the U.S. According to Herb, the residence was inspired by Sears’ prefab home kits.

The Frey House II, Palm Springs

Photo: Stacy Suaya

The Frey House II, Palm Springs

Photo: Stacy Suaya

Herb told us that a home tour for Frey’s Frey House II was set to begin in 20 minutes, so we hastily scored tickets online. Soon, a van corkscrewed us up into the San Jacinto Mountains. Longtime Palm Springs Life editor Steven Biller led the tour with fascinating facts about Frey and the home he built around a giant boulder.

Saturday night

A dinner reservation at 8pm at Workshop Kitchen called us back into Palm Springs. I’ve been obsessed with Workshop for a few years. I love its Michel Abboud-designed brutalist farmhouse repurposing of the 1926 El Paseo building, and the cinematic and elegant Beirut-based PSLab lighting. Most people probably come for the dishes, though. Let’s just say its 2015 James Beard win has kept its luster through an ever-changing, vegetable-forward, and wood-fired menu.

The Aluminaire House, Palm Springs

Photo: Stacy Suaya

The Workshop Kitchen, Palm Springs

Photo: Stacy Suaya

Sunday morning

After some vinyasa yoga on the patio at The Desert Wave set to desert birdsong, we strategized a breakfast plan. Tanya’s has a produce section, and we wanted to take some “egg” and “tuna” salad and a loaf of vegan gruyere for the road.

So, after some coffee, a burrito, a cinnamon roll, and a shopping spree at Tanya’s, we were fueled up for the journey back to LA. Desert Wave’s roof appeared in the rearview, gently mimicking the San Jacintos and life’s ever-changing flow.