Modernism Week 2026 – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

This is the final weekend of Palm Springs Modernism 2026 – the 11‑day celebration of mid‑century modern architecture, design, and culture that fills the desert with home tours, talks, parties, and exhibitions.

With Jen from @musetheshop – gorgeous vintage clothing – some worn on *Palm Royale*.

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of spending an unforgettable evening at the Parr House, located within Cotino – the first Storyliving by Disney community in Rancho Mirage.

It’s a place with its own fascinating origin story, and being there during Modernism Week made it feel even more alive. It was a rare evening of witnessing the beginning of something special.

The next day a few of us were able to tour the Cotino site. While the community is still very much under construction, the vision is already taking shape. The floor plans are on display, and we walked through several finished (and nearly finished) homes. Even in their incomplete state, you can feel the intention behind the design: clean lines, generous light, and that blend of nostalgia and newness that fits so seamlessly with the spirit of Modernism Week. I love the indoor/outdoor living concept.

An Overview of Parr House from the second floor.

With Mathew Mitchell – Editor of *Oasis* – a gorgeous new Palm Springs magazine

With Alison Martino – Writer, TV Producer, Historian.

The Parr house itself is a standout. Parr House is inspired by a superhero family’s mid-century modern home in Pixar Animation Studios’ “Incredibles 2.” The home is designed to be rented out exclusively for special events and gatherings. Our evening there felt wonderfully curated – an excellent jazz trio playing in the background, an open wine bar, and delicious hors d’oeuvres being generously passed around. It was a bonus to see some people I know and other familiar faces.

What struck me most about the Parr House wasn’t just the architecture – though the mid‑century lines and playful details are unmistakably Pixar. It was the feeling of stepping into a space that blurs fiction and reality. You can sense the whimsy of The Incredibles woven into a real, livable home. The mix of design and storytelling made the exprience feel a little magical.

As Cotino continues to rise from the desert floor, it’s clear that the Parr House is more than just a showpiece – it’s a promise of what this community is striving to become. Experiencing it during Modernism Week, surrounded by people who appreciate both design and imagination, made the whole project feel especially meaningful.

There’s something exciting about watching a place come to life in real time, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Cotino grows into the vision it’s already hinting at. A few photos:

More about the Parr House (written by Karlee Dutton, Public Relations Manager) here:

https://disneyparksblog.com/storyliving/first-look-inside-the-incredible-parr-house-coming-soon-to-cotino-the-first-storyliving-by-disney-community/

Pics: d. king

There are moments at Modernism Week that feel like stepping into a time capsule – and then there are moments that feel like stepping into history itself. Like when you get to meet a Modernism icon.

My signed “Palm Springs Life” cover – a keeper!

I was wandering through the Modernism Show at the Palm Springs Convention Center when I met Nelda Linsk – a prominent Palm Springs fashion figure, art dealer, and former owner of the Kaufmann House – better known as the First Lady of Modernism and forever remembered as ‘the lady in yellow’ from Slim Aarons’ Poolside Gossip.

The image is celebrated for capturing the glamorous mid-century modern lifestyle of the era. Yellow is such a magnetic color – warm, bold, impossible to ignore. It’s the color of joy, of desert mornings, of the kind of optimism Modernism was built on. No wonder the world noticed her first in that shade. There was a lot of beauty in that iconic photograph, but all eyes centered on Nelda.

I can only imagine what it must feel like to be hanging in so many people’s homes.

Nelda is having another mod moment. Her relevance and glow seems to never fade, as she’s gracing the February cover of Palm Springs Life Magazine and has just received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame.

In Poolside Gossip, the yellow dress became a symbol of Modernism’s optimism – bright, confident, sun‑soaked. But when I met her, dressed in understated cream, she carried the same light. It reminded me that Modernism wasn’t just about color or architecture. It was about people who embodied a certain kind of brightness. The kind once attributed to a dress was really the brightness of a woman who helped define an era.

Walking away from the show, I kept thinking about that shift from yellow to cream – from the bold brightness of youth to the softer, steadier glow of someone who has carried an era forward.

Modernism may be defined by its architecture, but its spirit lives on in people like Nelda Linsk, who remind us that true radiance doesn’t fade. It simply changes hue.

Here is another post I wrote last year – the first time I met Nelda and more about the photograph and the person who took it: