Midcentury renovation · Twin Palms, Palm Springs · 2026
Twin Palms Renovation
Louis Willard Photo
A 1961 William Krisel home in Twin Palms, brought up to a modern standard without losing the lines that made it worth keeping.
Structural Systems renovated one of the 1961 originals of Twin Palms, a house designed by William Krisel and built by the Alexander Construction Company. The renovation works inside those bones rather than against them: the interior was opened from end to end with a new kitchen and baths, and the backyard was rebuilt around a new pool and spa. The post-and-beam ceilings, the clerestory bands, and the walls of glass that made the neighborhood famous are still doing their jobs.
- Type
- Whole-home renovation
- Original architect
- William Krisel, AIA
- Original builder
- Alexander Construction Company
- Year built
- 1961
- Size
- 4 bed, 3 bath, approx. 2,212 sq ft
- Lot
- Approx. 10,890 sq ft corner lot
- Scope
- New kitchen and baths, new pool and spa, outdoor living areas
- Renovation by
- Structural Systems General Contracting
A Krisel original on a corner lot
From the street the house reads exactly as Krisel drew it: a long, low profile behind a white block wall, the clerestory band of glass above it, palms overhead and Mount San Jacinto on the horizon. The renovation kept that composition intact, so the home still belongs to its 1961 street.
One open volume under the beams
Inside, the living, dining, and kitchen share a single open room beneath the exposed post-and-beam ceiling, with floor-to-ceiling glass at the far end facing the backyard. The kitchen anchors the space: a large island, Viking appliances, natural white oak cabinets, and custom stonework, with the refrigerator faced in oak so the cabinetry line never breaks. The same oak runs across the floors to tie the rooms together.
A primary suite that opens to the garden
The primary suite keeps the midcentury logic of the rest of the house: a vaulted, white-painted beam ceiling, clean walls, and sliding glass that opens straight to a sunlit garden. The baths push further: a sink carved from a single block of travertine, zellige tile and terrazzo in the showers. The other bedrooms hold that line, quiet and light-filled rather than staged.
A backyard worth the glass
The rear of the property was rebuilt as a whole: a new pool and spa centered on the gabled elevation, outdoor dining beside the built-in BBQ, and loungers along the water. The planting stays low and keeps the mountains in view from the rooms.
“Twin Palms was the first Alexander tract and the first true modern subdivision in Palm Springs. Krisel's plan rotated the same basic house on its lot and varied the rooflines, so a street of identical homes never looked identical.”
Houzz, "William Krisel's Twin Palms: A Modern American Dream" ↗
The house
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