PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ACME 5 LIFESTYLE
RENT THE LIFESTYLE
Anyone who has yet to get lost in the airy expanse of the Acme 5 Lifestyle store in Yucca Valley will feel as if they have been living under a High Desert rock when they learn what they’ve been missing. Owner Anton Goss opened the showplace of organic-style furnishings, décor, and pottery two years ago, joining sister shops in Santa Monica and San Pedro. What’s new now is the brand’s Airbnb near Pioneertown. A “modern bohemian” amalgamation of interior design services, specimen plants, and merch made by real humans thrives under one rentable roof just minutes from the shop.
WHERE THE COOKS GO
The Upper Crust, El Paseo’s grand palace of kitchen essentials and tabletop indulgences, has moved to a new address on the same avenue after a stunning buildout to house more of what their customers love. Collectors of pieces by South African artist-designer Carrol Boyes will find her functional artworks have plenty of space to spread out and express themselves. (And yes, about the cheese. The shop still stocks its famous line of signature spreads.)
TWO TIMES THE TILE
Eye-catching tile backdrops in Modernism Week homes and on HGTV’s Desert Flippers often materialize through a collaboration with Fina Meraz, owner of Tile Designs by Fina in Palm Desert. Meraz recently opened a second showroom in Palm Springs. Both feature 90 vendors presenting endless tile formats, styles, and mediums — some exclusive to the stores.
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NEW LOCATIONS
COOL & COLLECTED
Mojave Flea has found its home. The “nomadic makers market” that began in 2018 as a pop-up across the Southwest began experimenting last June with a brick-and-mortar shop at The Shops at Thirteen Forty Five in Palm Springs. Now, founder James Morales has led his gypsy band of more than 50 artisans and designers into their own building on Indian Canyon Drive. Nomads no longer, the makers and merchants have settled into a bohemian department store format across 7,000 square feet inside the new Mojave Flea Trading Post. Goods handmade in the Coachella Valley, Joshua Tree, and beyond are sectioned by category. Stop by the coffee bar and florist among the apparel, apothecary, accessories, home wares, and art departments.
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRANDON HARMAN
ROOTING FOR YOU
In Palm Desert, Rooted Plant Design and Care plants a tree in a U.S. forest for each residential or commercial client they represent. The new plant and floral design studio specializes in creating interior spaces and patioscapes that are lush with green life. They also enliven events and offices, provide ongoing plant care, and have a special green thumb reserved for faux plants, ideal for low-light or low-maintenance situations
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY PALM SPRINGS ART & DESIGN GALLERY
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Ed and Betty Koren have combined their vintage and antiques offerings through Bridges Over Time with The Koren Gallery to create the Palm Springs Art & Design Gallery specializing in 20th- and 21st-century design. United in downtown Palm Springs, the 7,500-square-foot space features significant period furniture, decorative objects, lighting, fine art, and sculpture.
MODELING THE MIDCENTURY MOTIF
How will that 1960s chair look back at home? The Modern Home 2 showroom offers a clue, arranging exceptional vintage furniture, lighting, and accessories into vignettes that help to visualize modernist lines and scale in a true room setting. Contemporary pieces join midcentury modern objects and original MCM artwork, all in a luxe interior. Design projects can tap into a wide assortment of mod fabrics, wallcoverings, and upholstery textiles ready to recover new or vintage furniture. MH2 brings authentic vintage style to the Sun Center along Palm Canyon Drive and complements the Modern Home Design Showroom behind it, a resource for every-era flooring, tile, and decorative hardware.
RENDERING COURTESY FLANNERY EXCHANGE
REVITALIZED MULTI-TASKER
In a region filled with architectural banks, the Las Palmas Bank of America Building built in 1981 wasn’t one of them. Local entrepreneur Mike Flannery of Acme House Company and Solterra Development recognized potential in the bulky structure on North Palm Canyon Drive and invested a year in its glass-walled makeover. Reopened as Flannery Exchange, the building combines bright and sunny co-working spaces and conference rooms with established businesses and the grab-and-go Café La Jefa. A rooftop deck for brainstorming sessions (La Jefa coffee in hand) is the mountain-view high point designed to attract a community of gurus, entrepreneurs, and creatives.
HAPPY B-DAY, MOD FLOORS
After growing up in the flooring business and building her early career around strong relationships with manufacturers and distributors, Kirsten Pardun hosted the grand opening of Mod Floors in February 2020. This transplant from the Pacific Northwest had anticipated first-year challenges, but 2020 put her mettle to the test. She’s still open and ready for 2021 thanks to her product knowledge and a curation of tile, carpet, rugs, quartz countertops, and hardwood and vinyl plank flooring she trusts for their quality and value. Pardun is the exclusive Palm Springs dealer for several lines ranging from Japanese-style ceramic tile and modern glass pool tile to small-batch hardwoods from a boutique mill in Canada. “I love the experience of creating spaces that bring happiness, comfort, and peace,” she says. “And I love sharing in that process with my clients.”
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MOD FLOORS
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