February 2010

Horoscope - February 2010

By Sherryl Nova

February can be your lucky month if you decide that now is the time for your charitable contribution. Jupiter and Pluto align compatibly and encourage philanthropic action. Expanding the horizons of others will supersize your own. Luck is with those who don’t include it in their plans.

Editor's Letter - February 2010

By Steven Biller

Our desert has so much going for it — Native American heritage, celebrities on red carpets, fine art and culture, and a landscape that invites adventurers to see the land from jaw-dropping perspectives. So the prevailing interest in the area’s midcentury modern architecture — which has captured the attention of local and visiting enthusiasts, experts, photographers, and journalists — hardly surprises us.

Bugatti Road Test 2.0

By Pat Devereux

Or, why you should stop worrying and revel in the Grand Sport Experience.

Leading The Charge

By Ellen Paris

The Credit Card Reform Act of 2009 holds major changes to the nation’s affinity for plastic. The first phase, which became effective last August, gives cardholders 21 days (up from 14) from the statement mailing date to pay without a late fee.

Those Were The Days

Janice Kleinschmidt

A decades-long collector of postcards, photographs, and brochures, Peter Moruzzi began picking up those dealing with the Coachella Valley as soon as he moved here in 1998. At this month’s Modernism Show (Feb. 13-14), he will sign his recently published Palm Springs Holiday,

Intelligencer - February 2010

Artistic Recycling, Valettes, and Sommeliers

PSST! - Word Association - February 2010

"No Place For A Puritan" - Desert poems, stories, and essays.

The One and Only Humboldt Fog

Janice Kleinschmidt

There are many bries, goudas, and cheddars. But there’s only one Humboldt Fog. Among the cognoscenti, this elegant goat’s milk cheese commands attention. And there’s but one maker: Cypress Grove Chevre of Arcata, which has won numerous awards for its artisanal cheeses

A Look Back

The Raymond Loewy Home - As construction progressed this season on the Loewy home, people began to hear of the spectacular and exciting design embodied in the dwelling; and the house soon became the talk of the town.

PSST! - Swizzle Sizzle

Janice Kleinschmidt

In keeping with the “hip” theme of the master planned Escena Golf Club in Palm Springs, architect Douglas Fredrikson of Phoenix, Ariz., updated midcentury modernism at the community’s clubhouse.

2010 Discovery Home Tour - Ashe Residence

The highlight of this residence is the 120-by-90- foot pool, the equivalent of four standard pools. The pool area — covering 8,800 square feet, including the pool house — features elements purchased and disassembled in Thailand and rebuilt on site.

2010 Discovery Home Tour - Bighorn Golf Club House

This beautiful, 9,600-square-foot house was conceived by developer/ builder Richard Pruter of PAR Development as a luxurious haven for entertaining. From its flowing water fountain behind custom iron gates to sweeping views of Bighorn Golf Club.

2010 Discovery Home Tour - Sherman Residence

This house is the perfect example of old meets new. The older home was transformed into sleek, contemporary lines and spaces. It was important that the home be easy to maintain and yet look amazing, that it function easily and effortlessly, and that everyone in the family would be comfortable.

2010 Discovery Home Tour - Diaz Residence

This 6,500-square-foot Clancy Lane residence was conceived by designer Jeffrey Jones from the ground up. The structure’s contemporary lines converge to create a series of triangles, circles, and squares.

2010 Discovery Home Tour - Corwin Residence

Christopher Kennedy Design was retained to handle all hard-surface selections, space planning, and furniture design for this home in Mirada Estates. The designer worked closely with architect Anders Lasater of Laguna Beach for the remodel.

2010 Discovery Home Tour - Love That House!

Driving past the Coachella Valley’s sumptuous residences piques curiosity about what lies beyond custom iron gates and walls. Wonder no longer about a handful of them when you take the Discovery Home Tour (9 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 14).

Springtime for Chanel

The Chanel Resort 2010 collection, unveiled at Saks Fifth Avenue in The Gardens on El Paseo in Palm Desert, has the distinct flavor of Venice’s Lido Beach, one of Coco’s favorite playgrounds.

Out of the Shadow

By Morris Newman

Photographer Leland Y. Lee, who worked with icons of modernist architecture and design, returns to Palm Springs as the subject of a gallery exhibition.

For The Love of the Land

By Morris Newman

John Lautner designed for Palm Springs in an inspired way, if, just this once, the notion of inspiration is admissible. It might be equally true to say the desert inspired the Los Angeles-based architect and gave him ideas for structures.