To make the home warm and modern while retaining the charm of its history, Walters turned to interior designer Sam Cardella for help. The designer proposed that the ceilings be swathed in reddish brown cedar planks. Cardella also worked with contractor Mark Hahn to replace the shiny white terrazzo floors with a low-sheen brown-gray concrete floor that infuses a calm earthiness to the house.
And then he turned to the problem of the cylindrical fireplace. Although the piece was original, it was also gimmicky. Cardella tore it out but designed an ode to it in the form of a wood-clad wall with back-to-back fireplaces that separates the bedroom from the living space. Rather than leave the wall open at the ceiling, Cardella installed two mirrors that reflect the cedar planks, giving the illusion that you’re looking into the next room without sacrificing privacy. On the living room side, the fireplace faces out into a room decorated with masculine, welcoming pieces, including a set of leather tub chairs, a Jens Risom sofa, and an oversize coffee table.
At the same time, the spirit of that swinging ’60s Playboy pad remains. In the master bath, the full-length glass door to the outside slides away completely, converting the indoor shower into an alfresco, spa-like sanctuary. Outside, landscape designer Marcello Villano reimagined the front yard as a stylized desert fantasy. Palms wave in the breeze over an undulating landscape of river boulders, agaves, yuccas, and barrel cactus. In the backyard, Villano shrunk the pool’s footprint and squared off its corners, while Cardella brought in a suite of white ’60s-style patio furniture and soft lighting.
“We do a lot of dinner parties, and we like to have a cocktail hour out by the pool,” says Walters. “The landscaping is gorgeous at night and the lighting’s very sexy.”
No matter how alluring the house, however, it didn’t find Walters love. That came from home, in Portland, where he met Rick Cassar, the man who would become his husband in 2014. Walters, a college instructor, had already retired, but Cassar was still working—coincidentally, at a remodeling firm. “I talked him into retiring,” Walters says. All the more time to spend in Palm Springs.