Good bones and great location drew the fashion designer Trina Turk to a dilapidated 1963 midcentury modern home in Palm Springs in late 2024.
“Though it was in terrible condition, the bones of the house told me somebody who knew what they were doing designed this place,” said Ms. Turk of the property, which sat on a desert slope at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains, three miles from downtown. She closed on the house that November for $1.251 million.
After finding the original plans just as renovations commenced in January 2025, she learned that the architect responsible was Harold J. Bissner, Sr., who designed many classical-inspired homes in the Pasadena area before moving to Palm Desert in the 1950s and shifting to modernist architecture.
Still, those bones had endured some neglect over the years. Ms. Turk ripped out and replaced a rotted wraparound deck, tore down interior walls to the studs and gently reoriented parts of the 2,286-square-foot interior. Then came the fun part: adding back period elements, which came easily to Ms. Turk, who is known for her colorful retro design aesthetic.
When the work was done, she christened it Soleil House. In February, it was featured in Palm Springs’s annual Modernism Week architecture festival. Now it’s on the market with Chris Menrad and Keith Markovitz of TTK Represents of Compass for $3.495 million.
