If the producers of MTV’s “Real World” ever want to shoot in Palm Desert, Calif., designer/builder Judson Davis has just the place for them. The home, christened Desert Castle by the company that rents it out on occasion for the owner, is an over-the-top, 7,800-square-foot Tuscan palace, complete with the requisite abundance of travertine marble, flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings, a state-of-the-art open kitchen, plus seven bedrooms and seven full baths. But the real excitement—and where permanent camera positions would no doubt be de rigueur—is out back at the pool.
“This is Palm Desert, where life is in the pool,” says Davis, a design contractor whose company, Judson Design & Development in Camarillo, Calif., was responsible for the initial design (inside and out) and construction of the home, which is on the grounds of a top-notch resort. “The owner wanted this to be a weekend party home in the desert, basically his own little hotel.”
The overall look of the 65-foot-wide, tile-edged pool is surprisingly subtle, but plenty of bells and whistles lurk under the Mediterranean-blue water. A 14-foot round spa anchors the pool on the house side; the opposite infinity edge is banded in Plexiglas that’s been lit with fiber optics. The pool has no steps. Slab-cut travertine marble flows directly from the great room to the patio and into the pool, creating underwater patios on either side of the spa. These underwater areas are substantial enough to accommodate a half-dozen sunbathers or a full complement of outdoor furniture. A shallow, underwater bench on the golf course side of the pool offers up even more room for pleasure-seeking lounge lizards.
This seamless indoor-to-outdoor-to-pool effect is possible because of the glass system that Davis installed in the 27-foot-wide opening of the great room. It’s from Dorma, a German-based manufacturer of sophisticated door and window systems. The ½-inch plate glass is hung from the ceiling, leaving the floor free of tracks. The panels slide to the exterior and get stacked up outside against the marble wall. “It’s a system that’s usually installed in malls or other interior applications,” says Davis. “Here in Palm Desert it protects against the wind.” It also offers up great views to the golf course and, of course, makes that seamless transition to the pool possible.
There’s one other feature off the great room that would certainly wow the “Real World” folks. Those showy flying buttresses aren’t just for show, it turns out. Each of the side columns, watched over by faux sphinxes, camouflage pipes. Water pumped from the pool travels up these pipes and into a 6-foot-wide stainless steel trough that’s been carved into the buttress. From there the water cascades down into the spa, creating a waterfall that offers some soothing sounds and, for this desert location, some welcome cool air. It turns on with the flick of the switch or, of course, from a central control system.
Just think of the fun the “Real World” cast would have with that little feature.
Project Credits: Builder/Pool builder: Judson Design & Development, Camarillo, Calif.; Architect: James VanVoorhis, Northridge, Calif.; Landscape architect: Thomas F. Kaye, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Photographer: Rand Larson; Illustration: Rick Vitullo.
