11th annual House and Garden Walk

11th annual House and Garden tour features four abodes in Palm Springs

The homes include:

Casa de Suenos: A Spanish- style home built in 1938. The property is in its original condition.

Tree Tall Palms: A post-and-beam modern home designed by Donald Wexler for Dinah Shore in 1963.

The other two homes, Sand Acre (a Spanish home rumored to have been frequented by Marilyn Monroe) and Casa Caja (a contemporary home designed by Doug Hudson and Erich Burkhart) which was toured recently by The Desert Sun.

There is nothing documented that says blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe stayed behind the tall hedges and great wood gates that hide Sand Acre, a Spanish home in the Movie Colony neighborhood built in the 1920s and 1930s.
“So we go with the rumor,” said Larry Rener, director of guest services for Homes Run, which manages the five-bedroom estate.

Sand Acre has the feel of an old Palm Springs home but with “modern amenities,” Rener said. The house features a twisting iron staircase leading to a tower bedroom, fireplaces inside and out, a tennis court, pool and spa, and citrus trees.

“It's totally private,” Rener said. “A lot of celebrities sneak in and out and no one even knows they are here.”

Despite having five bedrooms and six bathrooms, the home feels warm and cozy, with exposed wood beams, hardwood floors and soft furniture.

The picturesque hacienda rents for about $1,800 a night.
Doug Hudson and Erich Burkhart have rented their Old Las Palmas home several times for catalogue shoots — including a catalogue for Design Within Reach.

Photographers appreciate its intense mountain views, privacy and indoor/outdoor features. But the couple's home isn't a conventional house, Hudson said.
It has just two smallish bedrooms that connect in the center via a spacious bathroom with glass walls.

The living area was designed around a ceiling-high fireplace and walls of bookshelves. And the kitchen island is a giant slab of granite. The walls of the home open on several sides to the outdoors, leading to several seating areas, a casita and pool.

“The expectation of a five- bedroom house for the two of us (wasn't practical),” Hudson said, perched in a low-slung chair around an outdoor fire pit. “The house (instead) is one big room. It's very personal for the two of us. We weren't thinking resale.”

Unlike many contemporary homes that sport solely modern furniture, Hudson and Burkhart's home is full of an eclectic mix of finds from 1960s London, Cuba, Asian antiques and German Plexiglas cubes. Designing the home was a departure for Hudson and Burkhart, who previously worked on research facilities and hospitals. Hudson recently finished working as the director of design for the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center.

“This house was so satisfying,” Hudson said.
It was also well received. It was completed in 2002 and in 2005, it was featured in Metropolitan Home Magazine. This brought Hudson more recognition in the desert and before long, he found himself working full time in Palm Springs — designing both custom homes and working on Port Lawrence in downtown Palm Springs.
His partner still works in Marina del Rey and they kept their mid-century modern home in Beverly Hills.

Palm Springs, however, is Hudson's home. He enjoys reading by the fireplace and entertaining outdoors. “(Here) we met all our neighbors really quickly,” Hudson said. “At our house in L.A., we don't know our neighbors.”

Photographers appreciate its intense mountain views, privacy and indoor/outdoor features. But the couple's home isn't a conventional house, Hudson said.

It has just two smallish bedrooms that connect in the center via a spacious bathroom with glass walls. The living area was designed around a ceiling-high fireplace and walls of bookshelves. And the kitchen island is a giant slab of granite. The walls of the home open on several sides to the outdoors, leading to several seating areas, a casita and pool.

“The expectation of a five- bedroom house for the two of us (wasn't practical),” Hudson said, perched in a low-slung chair around an outdoor fire pit. “The house (instead) is one big room. It's very personal for the two of us. We weren't thinking resale.”


Unlike many contemporary homes that sport solely modern furniture, Hudson and Burkhart's home is full of an eclectic mix of finds from 1960s London, Cuba, Asian antiques and German Plexiglas cubes.

Designing the home was a departure for Hudson and Burkhart, who previously worked on research facilities and hospitals. Hudson recently finished working as the director of design for the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center.


“This house was so satisfying,” Hudson said.
It was also well received. It was completed in 2002 and in 2005, it was featured in Metropolitan Home Magazine. This brought Hudson more recognition in the desert and before long, he found himself working full time in Palm Springs — designing both custom homes and working on Port Lawrence in downtown Palm Springs.

His partner still works in Marina del Rey and they kept their mid-century modern home in Beverly Hills. Palm Springs, however, is Hudson's home. He enjoys reading by the fireplace and entertaining outdoors.
“(Here) we met all our neighbors really quickly,” Hudson said. “At our house in L.A., we don't know our neighbors.”

Stefanie Frith covers Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at 778-4757or stefanie.frith@thedesertsun.com.


The 11th annual House and Garden Walk will take place from noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15. Four architecturally significant homes will be open for a self-guided tour that raises money for Jewish Family Service. The organization provides counseling, in-home care, meals and transportation for seniors, family education, homeless services, and support groups for Coachella Valley residents. Homes designed by Donald Wexler and Doug Hudson, as well as two Spanish-style estates will be featured. The cost is $75. Information: 325-4088.