Joshua Tree has long been a bargain market for anyone priced out of buying a home in the greater Los Angeles area. When the pandemic hit, it supercharged a buying spree in and around the town by outsiders: Some were first-time homeowners wanting a full-time residence, while others wanted vacation homes they could list as short-term rentals. With the sudden surge in popularity, another set started scooping up homes there to renovate and resell outright.

That was Los Angeleno Brian Ware, a designer at creative agency One Trick Pony. When he suddenly couldn’t travel abroad anymore for work during Covid, he decided to apply his aesthetic sensibilities elsewhere and pivoted to the home renovation business, starting with a fixer-upper in Yucca Valley. “I was going to Seoul once a month, but with the pandemic, it all kind of came crashing down,” he recalls. “I bought some properties in the desert, thinking that I could employ myself and give myself something to do. I knew I couldn’t afford Los Angeles, but I could afford something out in the desert.”

Brian bought this 1971 midcentury home sight unseen in January of 2021 for $337,500. Caring for his mother in Michigan, he was unable to travel to the West Coast to see it in person. Instead, he put his trust in FaceTime and the guidance of a few friends who were able to tour the 2,323-square-foot residence. It’s located in Yucca Valley, which sits in California’s high desert just outside Joshua Tree National Park and about 20 miles from Palm Springs.

Originally, Brian planned to limit his investment in the renovation, but, to his fortune, he was at the forefront of the Covid housing boom driven by buyers flocking away from city centers, a pattern that has contributed to something of a housing crisis in the Joshua Tree area. The value of his property surged by approximately $200,000 by virtue of the area’s growing popularity, he says. Seeing the potential for a greater return, Brian decided to invest in a pool and convert the garage into a live/work space, which together accounted for roughly 25 percent of his renovation budget.

The ’70s home (and many of the others in its neighborhood) was like a time capsule: well preserved but dated, with an aesthetic of its era that included wall-to-wall carpeting, lots of wood paneling, and linoleum floors.

At its core, the renovation modernizes the home and its lived experience without losing any of its authenticity. “Everything’s very similar but shifted just a little bit. It’s refreshed,” notes Brian. Original details like the clerestory windows and vaulted ceilings were preserved. However, the cramped kitchen was expanded and connected to the adjacent living and dining area to create a contemporary open floor plan. “I blew up the kitchen to make that a big space because even though I like a galley kitchen, not everyone would want that,” he says. After stripping the home down to its essence, Brian chose to paint the walls and ceilings a crisp white that he feels highlights the architecture.

The primary bedroom is decorated with reading lamps by Schoolhouse and custom Sisal rugs." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Elizabeth Carababas" photoUserId=""/>

Brian swapped out the home’s tan exterior for a matte black color from Behr with dark brown undertones. “Oftentimes desert homes are made to match the landscape in a light, sandy kind of way where they almost camouflage into the hill, which is beautiful,” says Brian. “But because this is located in a neighborhood and it isn’t an adobe home, I didn't think that was appropriate. The darker brown picks up the hues and tones of the desert vegetation.”

$3,500 Permits	$30,000 Site Upgrades & Landscaping	$12,800 Framing
$18,470 HVAC	$20,780 Furniture	$19,000 Roof
$32,693 Windows & Doors	$15,000 Electrical	$14,000 Interior Finishes
$44,821 Cabinetry & Counters	$115,000 Pool	$19,000 Floors
$17,000 Tiling	$10,000 Fixtures	$10,370 Appliances
	$22,000 Plumbing
Grand Total: $404,434

The material palette—an assemblage of cooling concrete floors, white walls, and custom plywood carpentry—is a simple backdrop against which Brian has layered in eclectic accents. He spent $20,000 curating a mix of vintage and modern decor that’s influenced by his time in Mexico City, Southern California, and Asia. A blend of paper lamps, for example, are scattered throughout the home, which is also a nod to the way he decorated his former apartment in Brooklyn, New York, which was near the Noguchi Museum in Queens.

Everything inside the home will come with the listing, which is currently asking $995,000. While he still plans to take on projects with his studio, One Trick Pony, he says he plans to flip homes full time, and a residence in nearby Landers is currently underway. “I have a great Rolodex of professionals that I trust, so it’s steaming forward fast. I’m excited about that one, too,” he says. “It’s going to be different: maybe a little more edgy and interesting. That’s ideally what I’d like to do—renovations that aren’t just palatable for the buyer.”

Project Credits:

Interior Design: Brian Ware

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Budget Breakdown: For $404K, a First-Time Renovator Revives a Joshua Tree Midcentury