A vacation home in iconic Palm Desert, California unites a mother-daughter design team.
Ashley Shaw can remember the scene vividly, almost as if she had time-warped back to her eight-year- old self. The car pulled up the long drive, lined by crisp green lawns dotted with towering slender palm trees and rigid mountains as the backdrop. The path meandered around to a building situated on a dramatic rise with a ribbon water feature inspired by Islamic gardens punctuating the view. “I always felt like Lucy from I Love Lucy would jump out at any time when we pulled up to the clubhouse,” laughs Shaw.
The historic Marrakesh Country Club in Palm Desert, California, epitomizes Hollywood Regency style: 364 homes all wearing the same signature Marrakesh-pink stuccoed facade with white mansard roofs, each boasting entryway courtyards with lush green foliage amidst pops of hot pink. Spearheaded by famed architect John Elgin Woolf, the 155-acre community built in 1968 was Woolf’s only multi-home development. And for Shaw, who visited the area twice a year growing up, staying in her grandparents’ home was one of her fondest childhood memories.
So when her mother, designer Heather Furniss, purchased one of the iconic homes in 2020—“I wanted to be closer to my dad, who still lived in the community,” explains Furniss, whose brother, stepmom, and two step-aunts also lived in Marrakesh—Shaw was transported back in time. “When I think of California in its golden era, I think of Marrakesh,” says the Charlotte-based designer. While the home boasted the signature Marrakesh exterior, the interior was rife with outdated finishes. But Furniss could see the home’s wealth of potential and took the interior down to the studs while adding height to the archways between rooms and updating the finishes throughout.
Together, mother and daughter worked to create an aesthetic that felt modern and fresh but also respected the home’s Hollywood Regency history. “We both really wanted it to embody the spirit of Marrakesh,” says Shaw. While their design tendencies are slightly different—Shaw skews more modern traditional while Furniss has a penchant for bold and daring—the duo easily locked arms, working virtually to pull together a look that seamlessly married both aesthetics. “My mom is a total maximalist,” says Shaw. “It’s really colorful and there’s a lot of texture, color, and pattern, and that’s how she loves to live.”
While no one fabric or piece spurred the design of the home, the iconic Billy Baldwin for Quadrille’s Arbre de Matisse fabric used throughout the living room is easily one of the most important selections Furniss made. “I’ve always loved this pattern, and I love Billy Baldwin, so when I had the opportunity to use it, I knew I had to,” she says.
From there, the design selections took off as Shaw and Furniss brainstormed virtually, sourcing many vintage and midcentury pieces from 1stdibs and online auction sites. For further inspiration, Furniss looked to her design friends, including Michelle Nussbaumer, whose fabric and wallcovering line for Design Legacy makes a statement in a pair of custom beds and draperies.
The vacation home for Furniss and her husband became yet another place for Shaw and her family to stay while in Palm Desert visiting. And while many decades have passed, the same magical feel remains every time the gates open to the country club and the car slowly drives through. “It’s such an amazing place,” says Shaw. “It’s such a treasure for not only California but also the design world. I’m lucky I get to share it with my family.”
