In California’s remote Morongo Valley, situated roughly 30 minutes from both Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park, Merchant House High Desert is a full-on display of interior designer Denise Portmans’s Europe-meets-California aesthetic. Originally from London, Portmans has spent the last three decades living on and off in Los Angeles, where she runs her design shop, Merchant Modern, in Santa Monica.

As Portmans tells it, her love affair with the desert began with an Airstream trailer that she brought back to life. After searching far and wide for a home to buy, she finally found this 1958 Morongo Valley residence with good bones in early 2019.

Together with her daughter, artist Sara Marlowe Hall, Portmans transformed the desert home into what she describes as “a living gallery, basically.” Portmans coated the walls with a fresh layer of white paint and decorated the rooms with a mix of objects curated from her L.A. shop. There are midcentury pieces by Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, and Arthur Umanoff, as well as vintage Moroccan rugs, sculptures, ceramics, and paintings by contemporary artists, including work by Sara.

“The idea is that as you’re [at the rental], you discover things,” says Portmans. “It’s not in your face, but it’s there.” The interior designer cites the kind of rustic holiday home you’d find in Spain’s Balearic Islands as inspiration for the home’s overall vibe, adding: “I wanted people to feel like they can get away in two hours and experience something different.”

The largest intervention was on the home’s exterior, which Portmans transformed into a true extension of the indoor living spaces. The interior designer installed an outdoor kitchen, shower, and bathtub, as well as a plunge pool and various seating areas so guests can relax and enjoy the desert surroundings.

“The house backs onto a mountain, so you really feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere,” Portmans says. “You can literally feel your body unwind.”

Learn more about the Merchant House High Desert or book your own stay here.

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Project Credits:

Interior Design: Denise Portmans / @merchantmodern

Photographer: Kate Berry / @katebe_