Palm Springs: Sun-Smart Courtyard Living for the Desert Climate Home
Palm Springs is a house in Palm Springs, CA, United States, designed by sticklab. The single-level home gathers daily life around a pool courtyard while long rooflines and slatted shade manage the desert light. Clear glazing opens the living areas to patios and gardens, setting up a measured back-and-forth between cooler interiors and sunlit outdoor rooms.
Late sun throws stripes across white stucco and gravel. A slatted canopy draws shade over potted olives while sliding glass panels open to the breeze from the courtyard.
This house in Palm Springs, designed by sticklab, pairs measured shelter with exposure to desert air. The project focuses on how light, heat, and daily movement meet a central court and a series of calm interior rooms.
Shade Sets Rhythm
A wood-slat pergola runs along the exterior walk, cutting the sun into narrow bands. Deep overhangs extend the effect at the patio, so glare drops and temperatures soften without blocking views to palms and bright bougainvillea.
Rooms Meet Terrace
Floor-to-ceiling sliders pull living areas straight to the pool edge. Inward-facing elevations keep the courtyard as the social core, with low walls shaping privacy from the street while keeping mountains and sky in play.
Kitchen Holds Court
The kitchen anchors a long great room, its matte charcoal cabinetry and pale counter set against warm wood cladding. Linear pendants float above the island and dining table, and cross ventilation moves from a slim clerestory to the open sliders during cooler hours.
Material Calm Inside
A plank ceiling in light timber carries from lounge to dining, lending quiet continuity. Polished concrete floors ground the rooms, while a mustard sectional and black lounge chairs add saturated notes without tipping the palette toward glare.
Courtyard, Water, Light
The pool and spa sit within a clean rectangle of paving, set close enough to touch from the living room threshold. At dusk, concealed lighting grazes wood siding and water, so the court reads as an outdoor room rather than a separate yard.
Even small moves carry weight here. A built-in media cabinet keeps bulk off the floor, and narrow planters at the terrace corners draw green into the seating areas without blocking circulation.
The house trades spectacle for comfort. White walls reflect heat, shaded walks temper the approach, and large panes invite winter sun while summer overhangs knock it back.
Night collects in the courtyard as the ceiling glows and the water settles. From the patio, the rooms look composed and easy—proof that climate, not ornament, leads the work.
Photography courtesy of sticklab
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