A home in Krisel's Kings Point development, an 11-acre site off of the Canyon Country Club golf course that was designed in the early 1960s.

The kitchen of the La Casa di Ucello Bianca. As architect Ron Radziner says in the book's forward, Chavkin's color photography captures the light so essential to experiencing the West Coast's desert modernism.

The Sandpiper is a group of nine real estate subdivisions (306 homes in total), designed by Krisel and built between 1958 and 1969. Krisel also did all the landscape design for the site.

Each project comes with an introductory paragraph that provides basic details such as name, location, year, and architect (when known). The meat of the book is its visuals, as evinced by the nearly full-spread of the 1973 Lavie Residence (designed by William F. Cody) and its striking indoor-outdooor design.

Kings Point—located at the Indians Canyon Golf Resort—is home to 44 condominiums designed by Dan Palmer and William Krisel in 1968. High ceilings, ample clerestory windows, and extensive views of the Jacinto Mountains are among their defining charactertistics.

In 1962, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect Arthur Witthoefft won the AIA's highest honor for a home he built in the lush woods of Westchester County. Having fended off a developer's wrecking ball, Todd Goddard and Andrew Mandolene went above and beyond to make this manse mint again.

The planks inside the house blend into those on the small porch just outside. It's a nice touch that helps marry the outdoors with the home's interior.

The 1956 all-white La Casa di Ucello Bianca, designed by an unkown architect, was carefully restored by its current owners.

1030 West Cielo Drive, Palm Springs

879 N Monte Vista, Palm Springs

877 S Via Las Palmas, Palm Springs

1175 N Monte Vista, Palm Springs

1133 N Vista Vespero, Palm Springs

Also in La Casa di Ucello Bianca, sunlight from a clerestory reflects off white ceilings to illuminate richly hued furnishings.

The lower floor houses a spa, gym, and office. A built-in bathroom by Espace Cuisine includes a sauna.

Set against the backdrop of the dry desert hills, the Ace's white buildings are an unpretentious makeover of an existing, rundown roadside motel. L.A.-based firm Commune and the Ace's own design team, Atelier Ace, approached the project as a curatorial endeavor, commissioning a number of artists and artisans from southern California and the Southwest to piece together the design elements. See more of the Ace Palm Springs here.

The Buzyn residence features an open-plan interior.

For homeowners on a budget, the Internet is your best bet when making upgrades. “What we should all really be excited about is how much access we have to furniture and accessories at any price,” Berkus said. “I started my design firm pre-Internet and now we source 85 percent of what we use online because we have so much incredible access online.” Berkus recommends shopping globally by scouring websites like ebay.fr for more unique pieces of furniture that will stick with you for many years. 1stdibs and One Kings Lane are other good options. Pictured is a mid-century modern living room renovation designed by contestant Lukas Machnik> in Palm Springs for American Dream Builders. Photo courtesy NBC.

The courtyard is just one of many open spaces that will be highly utilized—in the non-winter months anyway. Concrete worked well with developing the language of FlatPak. The second level is a wood panel that can be clad in corrugated metal or cedar—different layers that can be plugged in like covers on your cellphone.

By merging typical Saigon architectural and stylistic details, architect Toan Nghiem of a21 Studio created a space that brings family together. Stacking roof layers, open flowering balconies, and an alleyway that serves as a living room, dining room, and outdoor playground are all filled with colorful, rich materials. Inside Saigon House, reclaimed and second-hand furniture lend history and spirit to the home. With so many small interior rooms and divisions between spaces, the addition of a net ceiling brings openness to the back alleyway, where the family often gathers to eat dinner. Not only does the net allow for ventilation and light, but it offers a place to play for the children, who love to climb and lounge above their parents.

The interior of the Menrad residence, with a raised ceiling and glass walls. "The house felt like the ultimate expression of what postwar residential architecture in California was all about," resident Chris Menrad writes in the book.

Gaffney's cousin lives in the house just in front. To give a bit of perspective, this photo was likely taken just feet in front of the waist-high wall that runs between the two houses's yards.

In their concrete-walled courtyard, Yuka and Aaron watch as twins Emerson and Jasper, daughters Maude and Mirene, and Alfie the dog play. The house is painted in Black Bean Soup by Benjamin Moore, a color in keeping with the period of the original architecture. The garden was designed by Lauren Hall-Behrens of Lilyvilla Gardens.

For the kitchen, American cherry wood was used to create cabinets that establish a warm and sturdy tone. Each piece of lumber was purchased at auction by the Brillharts and stored in New Hampshire, before being shipped to Miami and milled on site. The wood island is painted black to provide a point of visual contrast.

Project: The Saguaro Palm Springs After they revamped the brand identity of The Saguaro Scottsdale, in Arizona, Stamberg Aferiat + Associates turned to nature to revive the hotel’s sister property in Palm Springs, a once-iconic midcentury structure that had become distressed over time. Completed in 2012, the vivacious prismatic update took cues from the desert’s native wildflowers, including lemon bottlebrush, California poppy, indigo bush, agave, and desert penstemon. "Color can bring great joy into our lives and environments," says Stamberg Aferiat + Associates partner Peter Stamberg. "It can make a space more engaging, embracing, warmer, more open, or more closed."

A familiar scene in the Benoit home: Peter paints at the Steelcase desk—"I do all my work here," he says—while Ando sits nearby, waiting for attention.

A pool located just outside the dining space and master bedroom echoes the home's angular forms.

The carport stands apart from the home and is topped with Solar World’s Sun Module photovoltaic panels. McAdam and Smith have grown quite used to their small electric bills.

A good dose of inspiration from Luis Barragán turned a dark and beleaguered midcentury house into a family home for the ages. The paint colors chosen by the residents and architect Linda Taalman are American Cheese and Blushing Bride, both by Benjamin Moore, creating a tapestry of color and texture.

1415 N Camino Centro is a dreamy vision of midcentury Palm Springs, both inside and out.

William Krisel designed the Ocotillo Lodge, a hotel that features a number of his signature design moves: post-and-beam construction, walls of glass, and seamless indoor/outdoor connections. Pictured here is one of the hotel’s bungalows.

The semi-outdoor space extends the living room outward. Inside, a layer of glass sliding doors further facilitate breezes. The occupants can enjoy the sound and smell of rain behind shelter.

The back of the house has sliding doors that open far enough to expose the entire livingroom to the families' back yard.

For the kitchen, American cherry wood was used to create cabinets that establish a warm and sturdy tone. Each piece of lumber was purchased at auction by the Brillharts and stored in New Hampshire, before being shipped to Miami and milled on site. The wood island is painted black to provide a point of visual contrast. Himalayan marble countertops and stainless steel appliances lend moments of clean modernism to the kitchen, which is flooded with bright light thanks to patio windows that open to the yard.