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During the 1930s, Hollywood’s elite trickled into the desert paradise of Palm Springs, where the sun is as bright as a lemon slice.
Luminary architects Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, and John Lautner designed the mid-century modern homes that would ultimately attract Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, and Cary Grant. Adopting the casual elegance of a Slim Aarons photo, stars clinked their cocktail glasses on lanais there for decades.
Any design enthusiast references Palm Springs when discussing mid-century modern architecture, as does David Adams when describing the home he renovated in Nashville’s Hillwood Estates. Built in 1960, the brick-and-glass, U-shaped, white brick home features the sleek lines and indoor-outdoor vibe of Southern California’s famed architectural style.
“I have always loved mid-century modern,” Adams, a local wealth manager, says. “My favorite style was the Los Angeles/Palm Springs U-shaped ranch with a pool in the back and glass everywhere.”
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He found this mid-century modern gem by scouring Nashville, a city known more for Tudor, Craftsman, and Queen Anne homes than for modern architectural styles of the 20th century.
“I looked for three years for the perfect flat, one-acre lot and a unique ranch to be the blank canvas for this project,” Adams says.
At the time, he had already renovated a 120-year-old home on Belmont Boulevard, as well as his downtown office.
“By day, I use my left brain,” Adams says. “But I’ve always had an equally active right brain. My outlet has been renovating homes for the past 15 years.”
Once purchased, the five-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom home received a $2.75 million makeover. It began when Adams hired interior designer Hannah Crowell to help him create the floorplan and vision. More support arrived via architects Manuel Zeitlin and Dave Scott, Treetop Builders, interior designer Brad Ramsey, and landscape architect Anne Daigh.
Structural updates were top of mind. The team rebuilt the low-pitched roof to the original specifications by using contemporary materials, then added custom architectural gutter systems, spray foam insulation, and an encapsulated crawlspace.
Then the revisions moved into the aesthetic. Both wings were removed, raised, and rebuilt. This put them at the level of the heated saltwater pool in the backyard, creating a streamlined look. The home was also gutted to the studs, leaving the original double-sided, wood-burning fireplace while creating open living areas.
The pièce de résistance? A master bedroom with a bathroom that resembles a boutique spa, including an infrared sauna, heated tile, and steam shower. (Bonus: it leads directly to the pool.)
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Other perks include a pivot glass front door, Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, a three-car garage, a full-home sound system, and a flex suite with a wet bar, as well as retro-style light fixtures.
The result of this massive overhaul is one-level living at its most glamorous. The home boasts fantastic scale, including a spacious living room with floor-to-ceiling glass sliders that open onto a covered patio.
“The project took one-and-a-half years,” Adams says. “It would have been way easier to just tear it down and build new. But I had a vision to keep the mid-century modern authentic bones and spare no expense to create a unique property not found elsewhere in Nashville.”
The 5,572-square-foot home is now listed at $2,759,000, less than what Adams invested. But this renovation wasn’t meant to be a money maker.
“It’s a hobby,” Adams says. “I love creating and building a vision for something. Clearly it wasn’t about money. I wanted to create a piece of art for my soul. I decided to make the vision happen and trust the process.”