Charm Lives on in This Retro Kitchen, on View During Modernism Week

An interior designer and real estate agent maintained original details in their 1970s home. Here's a peek at the kitchen.

Lisa Marie Hart Home & Design, Interior Design

The original ovens are still present in the home of Craig Wroe and Dan Pelosi.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRANDON HARMAN

THE BACKSTORY

As we are midcentury modern originalists, our priority was to find a home with as many original design details as possible,” says owner Craig Wroe, who had visited the desert while growing up in L.A. The couple formed a plan once they began attending Modernism Week. Finding a “midcentury-modern time capsule” remotely from Jersey City took four months. Realtor Will Paine of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices called as soon as the home hit the market — sold by the original owner’s family and untouched since 1971. They made an offer over the phone, and Dan flew to Palm Springs the next day to see it. “Out of a lifetime of good decisions, moving to Canyon Estates was our best and happiest.”

WHY THEY LOVE IT

“We love its 20th-century aesthetic and exuberance,” Wroe says. “Old-growth wood and the quality of U.S. steel for the appliances don’t exist anymore or are exorbitantly expensive. Our kitchen celebrates and honors those. The original appliances work perfectly. And love how our countertops slope up to create a seamless backsplash, a unique fabrication you don’t see anymore.”

Image
Many of the original features were kept in this kitchen that can be viewed during Modernism Week.
ORIGINAL 1970s FEATURES
  • GE Harvest Gold dual ovens
  • Jet-age, GE push-button cooktop
  • Curved Formica countertops custom-made for 
Canyon Estates homes
  • Faux bois kitchen cabinets with exposed brushed-brass 
hinges
NEW ADDITIONS
  • Replaced original dishwasher; hope to source a period one
  • Samsung Bespoke custom-color refrigerator to match 
 tiles/gold appliances; existing fridge died
  • Polished and honed concrete sub floor; removed old
 vinyl flooring
  • Paavo Tynell chandelier; relocated breakfast room’s 
 original “daisy” chandelier over patio dining table
  • Tiled blank wall above sink with Walker-Zanger Pietta Donovan “Carnaby,” a ’70s sunrise–inspired pattern
  • Rebuilt skylight; installed modern flush mount lights