Steven Ehrlich adds to Palm Spring's canon of landmark homes
Steven Ehrlich of Los Angeles-based EYRC Architects is behind this residential project – a modern concrete and weathered steel house, set in the striking, rugged landscape outside Palm Springs in the Californian desert

Richard Powers - Photography
As a focal point for the rise and rise of ‘desert modernism’ from the mid-century period onwards, Palm Springs has always benefited from an extraordinary cluster of landmark homes. Now architect Steven Ehrlich has added to the canon with a new house just outside the city for some old and dear friends.
Sitting within a rugged landscape of mountains and gulleys the two-storey, three-bedroom house is a considered response to the desert setting. Bands of concrete tie the lower level of the house, plus the pool and terrace alongside, to the land while the upper storey is coated in plates of red, rusting steel that echo the sun-baked surroundings.
‘The site is unique and majestic,’ says Ehrlich. ‘The house is close to civilization yet feels remote and private. Building on such a craggy site was complicated but our contractors performed a feat of engineering. The pool and casita were built first, because they are on the downside edge of the ravine.’
RELATED STORY
One of the priorities in the design of the house was to create a vivid indoor-outdoor relationship. Ehrlich created a multi-purpose ‘great room’ on the ground floor with a vast bank of glass that slides away to connect with the pool terrace. Another key ambition was to weave a thread of sustainability through the whole project, which features natural cross ventilation and cooling techniques, as well as photovoltaic panels up on the roof and minimal landscaping using only native desert plants.
For Ehrlich’s clients the house is a delight: ‘We love the amazing views and the feeling that the house is in the wilderness, even though it’s an easy walk into town,’ they say. ‘With the house being in the mountains we have no neighbours, so we also love the peace and quiet. There’s no space in the house that isn’t calming, beautiful and inspiring.’
INFORMATION
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Aesop’s Queer Library bookmarks brilliant literature, no purchase required
Returning to London’s Soho, 3-6 July 2025, the Queer Library pop-up offers complimentary books by LGBTQIA+ authors and allies
-
Wangechi Mutu's powerful sculptures take over the palatial interiors of Rome's Galleria Borghese
The Kenyan-born artist is the first living woman to have a solo exhibition at the villa
-
Il Sereno’s new Listening Suite is what phonophiles’ dreams are made of
Designed by Patricia Urquiola and Il Sereno founder and audiophile Luis Contreras, the new Lake Como-facing suite unites Japanese listening culture with Italian design
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heart
The dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bones
We step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio