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Inspired by Palm Springs’ Rat Pack era, interior designer Raili Clasen conjures up a retreat in Rancho Mirage for her favorite clients

A custom sectional sofa fabricated by Community MFG. is ideal for reading, watching television or hanging out and enjoying the view over the pool. It’s paired with Lawson-Fenning’s plump Ojai Lounge chairs. Photos by Linea Photo.

While working on a vacation home is always enjoyable, collaborating with your favorite clients kicks that experience into the stratosphere. “It was all about having fun,” says interior designer Raili Clasen about creating this Rancho Mirage property.

Lake August’s Sunniva wallcovering in Autumn directs focus to the living room’s bar, where a trio of chairs from Article’s Sede Collection sidle up to a counter covered in Concrete Collaborative’s Pacifica Salt & Pepper. Photos by Linea Photo.

Clasen’s association with the clients, who are now friends, stretches back over a decade. “They were my first clients for a ground-up project,” Clasen remembers. “They were so amazing throughout that process that they set the bar very high.” Plus, she adds, “I’ve tweaked their home many times over the years as their kids grew up.” So when they purchased a vacation house, it was inevitable that they called on Clasen to work her magic for them once again. “We loved the architecture but we hated the finishes,” says Clasen. Out went the countertops, the backsplashes and the fireplace tiles. “They were brand-new so it was a little heart-wrenching,” Clasen admits.

A classic Noguchi paper light dangles over the expansive Gather table, both sourced from Design Within Reach, around which cluster CB2’s Pula bouclé dining chairs. The Secto 4200 pendants over the kitchen island are from Lumens. Photos by Linea Photo.

What remained was a structure that was ideal for a family with an active social life: large rooms that opened onto an expansive, enticing pool; overhangs that ensured the interior stayed cool and omitted the need for window coverings; skylights that lit the interior with a soft glow; and noise-dampening wooden ceilings. Clasen set to work: “They wanted a mini resort that was all about lounging.” In contrast to the couple’s Newport Beach home—a modern organic farmhouse—here the wife was eager to lean in on the area’s mid-century modern aesthetic. “She wanted to go full-on Palm Springs,” Clasen explains. “She wanted the pink-and-white umbrellas and the explosions of fun.”The wife loves wallpaper, so Clasen included a unique pattern in nearly every room, from an Andy Warhol floral in the laundry room to a black-and-white checkerboard inspired by Vans’ classic skater kicks in the daughters’ room and a buttoned-up pinstripe in the guest bathroom.

The laundry room is brightened by Vertigo’s Home Small Flowers Removable Wallpaper by Andy Warhol x Flavor Paper in Full Spectrum and Julien Roubinet’s Grateful Dead – Terrapin Station print. Photos by Linea Photo.

The family are photography buffs; bright, glossy prints are peppered throughout the house, and they wanted color. Clasen reached back to the 1950s to find her palette, relying on dark blues, khaki greens and rich walnuts to ground vibrant wallcoverings and lively art with occasional splashes of that era’s odd hues (like the mustard waffle towels in the guest bathroom that conjure up the period’s bowling shirts).

In the daughters’ bedroom, Spoonflower’s black- and-white check small wallpaper by Raili+Ruby, Clasen’s collaboration with artist JRUBY Designs, is offset by the Diana bouclé bed from CB2 and a print of Harry Styles discovered at HDQ Walls. Photos by Linea Photo.

Of course, a house with a large pool invites regular entertaining. Clasen envisioned spaces that would accommodate both swanky adult soirees and, with three teenagers, raucous water-soaked gatherings, and she subtly sectioned off the house so that adults and kids could host simultaneously. Witness the living room, which she divided in two. One side is dominated by an oversize plush sectional, perfect for observing the goings on around the pool or curling up to watch television.

The blue-and-white pool bath mixes Everglade + Bone’s Bateau Everglade tile, West Elm’s turquoise San Francisco bucket sink and white fixtures from Newport Brass. Photos by Linea Photo.

The other side, dominated by a photo of the Rat Pack, brings the desert’s cocktail culture into focus with its large bar and poker table. In the dining room, an expansive table, surrounded by chairs upholstered in a soft bouclé, welcomes dinner parties that last well past midnight; the nearby kitchen’s long island comfortably seats another handful. “It’s a party house,” says Clasen, “designed for friends and family to visit and enjoy.”

A trio of Coral Sands pink-and-cream patio umbrellas, which shade a sextet of CB2’s Idle white sun loungers, underline the home’s carefree vibe. The terrazzo side table is also from CB2. Photos by Linea Photo.