Dino Raimondi’s family room in the Cody Place Aliso model incorporate wallpaper and textured rugs to different effect.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER MAYER FOR TOLL BROTHERS
Going fast, the luxury townhomes in Toll Brothers’ gated Cody Place south of downtown Palm Springs are up for grabs — and the models show several faces of Palm Springs style. The two- and three-story designs with up to four bedrooms range from 1,800 to 3,200 square feet. Some feature rooftop decks, loft spaces, multiple balconies, and dedicated work areas.
Before breaking ground, Toll Brothers invited interior design firm Fig + Nash to conceptualize four of the homes. Partners and designers Dino Raimondi and Mick Fox, along with managing designer Gabriela Helesicova, divided and conquered, each designing one for a specific fictional client and then collaborating on the fourth. The models inspire while offering a tour through some of the design perspectives offered by the Fig + Nash team, whose Palm Springs boutique and showroom will be joined by a second location on El Paseo this fall. Here, the trio shares four ways to achieve that “we bought the model” feel at home.
Mick Fox, Dino Raimondi, and Gabriela Helesicova of Fig + Nash.
Create a mood board
While the architecture should drive your design, collaging a visual reference is a worthy exercise in discovering the home you envision. Fox swept the Brody model in a calming, neutral palette. Its casual, cool California vibe is layered with tensions between the soft and rough edges. “The Aliso is for the New Yorker who wants our weather but doesn’t want to leave the aesthetic,” says Raimondi of the darker, moodier model for the GQ gentleman. Helesicova, from the Czech Republic, describes her Cameo model as colorful, sophisticated, and glamorous. “It has a modern European influence without being too shiny.”
Build from the ground up
Start with your flooring and explore colors, patterns, and textures that work with it. Then, get bolder.
Mick Fox’s bedroom in the Brody model incorporates wallpaper and textured rugs.
“We highly encourage the use of wallpaper: on all walls, accent walls, in a powder room, or on the ceiling,” Raimondi says. “It adds a texture and pattern you can’t get with paint.” Fox calls it a “shorthand” technique to any atmosphere you desire. “And it’s back with vengeance. A lot of graphic designers and creatives are finding it’s a medium for their art.”
Dim the lights
Putting all your lights on dimmers allows for instant ambiance while softening the look of everyday necessities you won’t see in model homes. “If models were open at night, mood lighting would be key,” Fox says. “Dimmers and a can of paint are the most cost-effective — and the most design effective — things you can do. If you paint your walls navy and dim the lights, it’s like voila, a whole new world.”
The loft space in Gabriela Helesicova’s Cameo Elite model uses chrome and glass to keep the look light.
Conceal the clutter
Give those daily essentials a place to go and to stay. For those who find it hard to edit possessions, cabinets with doors hide more than open shelving. Collectors: Don’t put everything out at once; rotate your decorative accessories. How much you display is similar to how much color you’re comfortable living with. “Everyone has to find their own balance,” Helesicova says.