Modernism Madness: The Shag House

My first home tour for Modernism week 2024 was a home I wanted to visit for a long time;

which turned out to be a fully immersive experience which felt like climbing into a 3-D painting.  One painted by the artist known as Shag (Josh Agle), who reimagined this mid-century modern, tiki-inspired privately owned home to fit with his original designs.

If you’ve ever visited Palm Springs, you more than likely stopped by the Shag store on Palm Canyon.  It’s a must-see on the visitors list as it contains an array of well curated limited-edition merchandise, original paintings, and fine art prints that span over 30 years of Shag’s career.  I feel like it was all condensed into one home. 

For this home, Shag drew upon his architectural studies and the aesthetic of his artwork to reinvent this classic 1958 home. 

Modernist fans will recognize the core of the house, where Shag has preserved much of the original layout including the familiar 3-bedroom, 2-bath floor plan, as well as the tongue and groove ceilings.

While the centre of the home’s layout remains the same, everything else has been updated, expanded, and transformed, for the current homeowner, Brandon McBurney; who enjoys hosting philanthropic events.

In collaboration with Brandon and John-Patrick Flynn of Brandtopia, the Shag team has created an entirely new exterior offering grand curb appeal.

The front entry has been expanded and the original breezeway has been converted into a swank party lounge.  Beyond the lounge, the addition of a casita offers a quiet retreat  with a unique vantage point of the pool’s and surrounding areas.

It’s amazing what people can create with a vision, a team, some cash and cachet.  Bravo for a job well done!

Photos: d. king

Modernism is on from February 15-25, 2024

For Modernism Tickets:

https://modernismweek.com/

Feel-good Friday: Tiki Time – Happy Hour!

It’s Friday.  Pour a cocktail, sit back and relax!

Time to make a trip to the Shameful Tiki Room.

kon tiki opened in 1958
kon tiki opened its doors in 1958 and closed them in the early 80’s.

A once familiar signage
A once familiar signage

It began in Montreal when I accompanied my parents to a place called the kon tiki lounge. My dad didn’t drink but my mom liked to order a cocktail with rum & fruit juice in a hollowed out coconut. I had a Shirley Temple in a pineapple topped with a maraschino cherry and always an umbrella.  The room was dark and exotic that had lagoons with running water, palm trees and  blue, green and red lighting. It felt so grown up and indulgent. So when I moved to Vancouver one of the first things I did was pay a visit to Trader Vic’s at the Bayshore hotel. The chain was not nearly as intimate and they didn’t bother to fill up a pineapple but the cocktails were still tropical style.

In Palm Springs recently we visited a place called Bootlegger and the Tonga Hut.  Bootlegger is very tiny, very tiki like and dark but the thing about the Tonga Hut is they have a secret room.  I won’t tell you how to find it (it’s very cool) because then it wouldn’t be a secret.  My friend disappeared in a flash behind a secret wall – that’s all I’m saying. I came across a website that explains Tiki Culture (yes, it is a culture onto itself).  THIS IS IT:

The Tiki Lifestyle. Island Living. Retro Life. What is it all about?

Bootlegger, Palm Springs
Bootlegger, Palm Springs

Matchbox, Palm Springs
Matchbox, Palm Springs.  Okay, it’s not tiki but they have a firepit.

IMG_0050Well, it’s pretty simple. It’s all about living the good life the way the cocktail set did back in the day. Historically and geographically, Tiki is defined by Polynesian culture.

People who are into Tiki Culture, or the “Tiki Lifestyle” crave an escape from the fast-paced lives we live. We want to know we have a special place, whether physical or in our minds, where we can go to get away from it all. For many of us, it’s our own little Tiki Bar set somewhere in the corner of our home. For some of us, it’s the Tiki Bar down town or on the beach. For a lucky few, our entire lives (including our homes and businesses) are 100% Tiki with that distinct mid-century retro look and feel.  Source: http://tikiloungetalk.com

 Do you do tiki?

some things never change - cheers!
some things never change – cheers!