California Dreaming

​In a breath-taking scenery of long linear Yucca trees, golden sand, and brightly colored rocks of the Salvation Mountain, around the first days of March all true Californians start their migration towards the Joshua Tree National Park, in a quest of regeneration, to live in the desert close to nature and their inner tranquility.

A good spirit and an adventurous heart are at the basis of all wanderers, who embodied the hippie spirit that comes along with this land. The area has now become one of the greatest and most inspirational destinations for interior designers, who aim at capturing that wild spirit from the desert. The construction of estates tends to a symbiotic intervention with the landscape in order to preserve the raw beauty of this place, as it has been done for buildings such as The Invisible House, disappearing in the desert for its wide glass windows, and Bonita Dome, built with the Cal Earth technique for a sustainable living.

This ecological crossroads, at the meeting point of the Mojave Desert and the lower Colorado Desert, inspires spirituality in every interior, as sandy tones and neutral hues cover the walls of every living, besides inspiring beige woven fabrics from the ethic motifs, large terracotta vases and curious clay objects.

Accents of bright reds and splashes of indigo directly channel the silent magma underneath the soil, donating energizing vibrations onto home décor pieces such as eccentric rugs from the colorful and intricate patterns, embroider tapestries and bulky soft seatings.

A place for meditation and refreshment is a must in Joshua Tree's houses, as most of them present an open patio specifically designed to embrace the surrounding nature with sand touching the floors at the edge, and even welcoming inside the house cactuses and peculiar gaudy flowers. Fringed tapestries and rounded mirrors ornate the walls, hand-painted tiles create patterned borders and soft nude poufs fill the relax area, the ideal place to be at that magical golden hour.

The creative genius of Kelly Wearstler is also the inspiration behind the pieces selected in this collection, just like the Hand Embroided Ikat Kilim in blue, red, and white from Les Ottomans, a home décor piece entirely made with wool and perfect for decorating every angle of the house. The motif recalls ethnic shapes and embellishments coming from Asian and Turkish cultures, patterns that repeat creating an elegant abstract design.

The bold and bright colors deriving from the Salvation Mountain in the near outskirts of Slab City are better represented by this Maria Cristina Busnelli's Lungo Il Fiume tapestry derived from cotton and linen. This piece is an infusion of lively tones chanting of the magical land of freedom, just like the widely famous rocks south of the California desert, free of the capitalist system.