A Vintage Palm Springs Pool Design

Last fall, I had the honor of being the designer on the first ever Maker's All Star Challenge. 15 DIY influencers descended on the Tampa Bay area to make over a worn out pool space in just one week. In addition, the project was filmed for YouTube and photographed for Do It Yourself Magazine so there was A LOT happening.

Leading up to the project was busy with lots of planning and ordering, but NOTHING would prepare me for the intensity of the install week. The craziness you see on TV? Yeah, that's 100% REAL.

The highlight for me was being able to style with the Editor -In-Chief of the magazine, Brian, for the photoshoot. All my little girl dreams came true that day. But let's get to the project.

The Plan:

The main goal was to add a HUGE deck space to the existing pool deck to give the homeowners a lot more area to spread out. There had previously been a fence and drop-off where the pavers stopped so there was a lot of unused space.

Along with the deck, an all new cable railing with lighting was installed, a palapa (tiki hut) was built, an outdoor kitchen assembled, a mural painted, a dog run installed and many many other projects big and small.

If I do say so, the end result was stunning.

The inspiration was vintage Palm Springs. To achieve that, we mixed new yet MCM inspired furnishings with actual vintage pieces.

The retro umbrellas set the tone.

These MCM inspired chaise loungers were made by Ethan from @BuildwithEthan and they turned out fabulous.

The house was already yellow so we knew we wanted to incorporate some yellow in the design. This pink and green Tommy Bahama print fabric was our main influence. We worked with several shades of green, pink and yellow from the fabric.

The back of the house got an outdoor kitchen and cute dining area.

Like all projects on a tight deadline, this one was not without complications. Originally, this DIY table was going to have a breezeblock base that I was SO excited about. But when we were on site, we found out the breezeblock wasn't going to get to us in time and we ended up having to pivot. Yet again, the DIYers did a fabulous job making something beautiful with materials we already had on hand.

I had a blast styling these shots. I worked side-by-side with the editor and loved learning the tricks of the trade from him. The number one styling tool? Wadded up plastic Target/Walmart sacks for making things look fuller. There's definitly some stuffed in the bottom of that silverware caddy to add height ;)

You can peep the pretty mural in these shots. Jess Crow of @crowcreekdesign came through in a pinch here, between steps of the epoxy counters that you'll see below, she painted this fabulous mural inspired by our fabric.

You know my designs are never complete without orchids. Especially orchids in a clamshell!

This bar cart was designed and built by Christy from @oakhillmillworks. There was so much talent in this crew.

Like I mentioned above, Jess Crow designed these gorgeous counters-- meant to mimic the colors of the Gulf-- they were a showstopper.

I could style tiki huts all day.

Of course I have to include photos of the magazine. It's the Summer 2023 Issue of Do It Yourself .

This photo of the editor and I on the day of the photoshoot is my favorite. He was my hero for this project and I'll never forget his kindness to me.

AND that's a wrap folks!

xo,

Rachel