Intimate Oasis

As anyone who’s visited can attest, the desert heat in Palm Springs can be, in a word, unrelenting. Still, against the incredible vistas of the San Jacinto Mountains, a young entrepreneurial couple, who owns ski resorts, sought to turn their Spanish-style getaway into something of a calming respite from the demands of running businesses. They envisioned a place to entertain friends, to pour another round of tequila from their growing collection, or to plan their next adventure.

The couple chose designer Staci Munic to help create their desert home, who, upon entering the space, immediately noticed the slate floors—a material that had fallen out of favor in the prevailing decorating zeitgeist. A less environmentally savvy designer might have ripped it out without a second thought. But Munic paused. The stone was in excellent condition and in keeping with the area’s building vernacular. It belonged in this house. 

“Why go through the expense?” she asked her clients. Why create the dust and disruption when they could work with what was already there? Instead of fighting the slate, she decided to embrace it.

The real breakthrough came when Munic found the right Cambria quartz design for the kitchen counters and backsplash. It didn’t just coordinate with the slate—it accentuated the subtle tones that made the floor remarkable in the first place. Standing in the kitchen now, you can see how the countertops echo the mountains outside the windows, and that everything connects in an effortless visual relationship between the natural and built environment. 

Munic opened up the wall between the kitchen and living room, creating a gracious space conducive to entertaining. Furthering that thread, she added a fireplace where there hadn’t been one before, building it into a corner with ledger stone that feels like it sprang from the desert itself. A built-in bench extends from the hearth—the perfect spot for a late-night tête-à-tête.

Circling back to the desert heat, Munic turned her attention to the existing ceiling and had it replaced with insulated drywall. Then she stained the new exposed beams to match the deeper tones in the slate. In one final intervention, she added a custom bar off the dining room, perfect for cocktail hour.

The entire project took approximately five months, during which the couple would escape to their casita or head north to their other property when things became too chaotic. And now fully realized, they have a home that’s as comfortable as it is rooted in place, proving that the best solution isn’t necessarily for everything to be new. It’s finding someone creative enough to see value in what’s existing and incorporating it into a beautifully fresh and functional space.