Mid-Century Modern Design in Palm Springs
Sunray Studio designs bold, warm, sun-drenched homes across Palm Springs — honoring the desert modernist legacy with authentic furnishings, clean lines, and joyful colour, never a cliché.
Homes That Honor the Era
A selection of the mid-century modern homes we've designed and restored across the desert.
What We Do
Authentic mid-century modern design, from a full restoration to a single well-chosen room.
Restoring a classic or building fresh? Tell us about your desert home.
Mid-Century, Done With Real Knowledge
Sunray Studio was founded by people who genuinely love mid-century modern design — not as a trend to cash in on, but as a legacy to honor. Palm Springs is the beating heart of American desert modernism, home to the Alexanders and the Wexlers and Krisels who defined an era, and designing here comes with a responsibility we take seriously. For thirteen years we've restored and designed homes across the desert that are authentic to that spirit: clean, warm, sun-drenched, and bold, with real walnut and terrazzo and breeze block, joyful colour used with confidence, and furnishings sourced with a deep knowledge of the designers and the period. But we're not making museums. We keep the soul and add the comfort a modern family actually needs, so a home feels both true to 1962 and completely livable today. The result is a home that makes you smile every time the desert light pours in — bold, warm, and unmistakably mid-century, without a single cliché in sight.
- ✓A genuine love and knowledge of the era
- ✓Authentic materials — walnut, terrazzo, breeze block
- ✓Bold, joyful colour used with confidence
- ✓True to the era, livable for today
Three Things We Believe
For a home true to the desert modernist legacy, owners across Palm Springs trust Sunray Studio.
Honor the Architecture
We design with the bones and the era, never against them, so a home feels authentic and inevitable rather than costumed.
Authentic Over Imitation
Real materials, real vintage, real knowledge. The difference between soulful mid-century and a themed knockoff is everything.
Bold, but Never Garish
Colour and pattern used with confidence and restraint, so a home is joyful and vibrant yet still elegant and calm.
From First Visit to Full Sun
A clean, considered process — the way a desert modern home should be made.
Consultation
We visit your home, learn its era and your life, and talk openly about vision, scope, and budget.
Design
We develop the scheme — architecture, colour, materials, and the authentic pieces that define each room.
Source & Build
We source the vintage and reproductions, commission the work, and coordinate every trade.
Move In
We install and style, handing back a home that's bold, warm, and true to the desert modern spirit.
Warmth, Light, and a Whole Lot of Joy
The genius of mid-century modern design, and especially of the desert version, is how it uses light, warmth, and joyful colour to make a home feel optimistic. That's the spirit we chase in every project. We plan homes around the extraordinary desert light, with big glass and clean sightlines that pull the outside in and let the sun do the work. We ground rooms in warm, honest materials — walnut, teak, terrazzo, breeze block, leather — that age beautifully and feel wonderful. And we're not afraid of colour: a burnt-orange chair, a turquoise tile, a mustard sofa, used with confidence and balanced with restraint, so a room is vibrant and alive without ever tipping into kitsch. It's design that makes you happy to be home — bold and warm and full of the sunny optimism the era was built on. Get that spirit right, and a mid-century home doesn't just look authentic; it feels like the best kind of joy.
- ✓Homes planned around the desert light
- ✓Warm honest materials — walnut, terrazzo, teak
- ✓Bold colour used with confidence and balance
- ✓Design built on sunny mid-century optimism
Words From the Desert
We bought a 1959 Alexander in Vista Las Palmas that had been 'updated' into oblivion, and we wanted it restored to its mid-century soul without turning it into a museum. Sunray Studio walked that line perfectly. They brought back the clean lines and warm walnut and sourced the most incredible authentic and reproduction pieces, then made it livable for a modern family. It's joyful, sun-drenched, and completely of its era — and completely ours. Pure magic.
Mid-century modern is easy to do as a cliché — a few Eames knockoffs and a starburst clock. Sunray Studio do it with real knowledge and a genuine love for the era. Our Twin Palms home is warm, bold, and authentic, with beautiful vintage finds beside clean modern function. They know the architecture, the designers, the desert light — everything. Best decision we made for the house.
Sunray Studio designed our Deepwell home with such joy and precision. Every color, every angle, every piece feels intentional and true to the mid-century spirit — bold but never garish, retro but never kitschy. They handled the whole project beautifully and delivered a home that makes us smile every time we walk in. It's like living inside the best kind of 1962.
Let's honor your desert home
Tell us about your home and the bold, warm mid-century spirit you're after. Your first consultation is complimentary — and often where a classic comes back to life.
Mid-Century Modern Questions, Answered
Do you only do authentic mid-century, or MCM-inspired too?
Both, shaped to your home and goals. For a genuine period home — an Alexander, a Wexler, a Krisel — we lean toward authentic restoration: honoring the architecture, sourcing real vintage and quality reproductions, and keeping the era's soul intact. For other homes we design in a warm, mid-century-inspired spirit that's true to the aesthetic without pretending to be a period restoration. Either way, we bring real knowledge of the era, so it never reads as a cliché.
Can a mid-century home actually be livable for a family?
Absolutely, and that balance is central to what we do. We're not building museums — we keep the clean lines, warm materials, and joyful spirit while quietly solving for real modern life: storage, function, comfort, and the way families actually use a home. The best mid-century restorations feel completely authentic and completely livable at once. We've done it many times, and it's one of the most rewarding parts of the work.
Do you source authentic vintage furniture?
Yes, and it's one of our favorite parts — with real knowledge of the designers, makers, and the era. We source authentic vintage pieces where they belong and pair them with quality reproductions and new pieces where that makes more sense for durability or budget. The result is a home furnished with genuine mid-century character rather than a set of look-alike knockoffs. Knowing the difference is exactly what you're hiring us for.
What does full-service design include?
Everything from the first walkthrough to the final styling: architecture and space planning, colour and materials, kitchen and bath design, furniture and vintage sourcing, procurement, trade coordination, and installation. You get one studio holding the whole authentic mid-century vision and managing every detail, so even a full restoration feels calm, clear, and handled from start to finish.
How is your pricing structured?
After an initial consultation we provide a clear proposal — a flat design fee based on scope, plus transparent tracking of all furnishing, sourcing, and construction costs in your budget. For smaller needs we offer hourly consultation. We talk numbers candidly from the first conversation and help you invest where authenticity and materials matter most, so there are never surprises.
Do you work beyond Palm Springs?
Palm Springs and the surrounding desert are our home and our specialty — Vista Las Palmas, Twin Palms, Deepwell, and beyond — and we design throughout the Coachella Valley. For the right mid-century project elsewhere, we're glad to travel. If you love our work and have a modernist home to honor, let's talk.
Book a Consultation With Sunray Studio
Tell us about your desert home and the bold, warm mid-century spirit you're imagining. We'll be in touch within one business day to arrange your complimentary consultation.
- Visit us800 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262
- Call us(760) 555-0182
- Email ushello@sunraystudio.com