Modernism Week: The Cree House, Palm Springs
High up in the mountain on the edge of Palm Springs and Cathedral City, sits The Cree House. Designed by Albert Frey in 1955, commissioned by Raymond Cree — with the intention of a series of 9 homes up the mountain side, with a resort restaurant at the bottom. Things went by the wayside and the complete project was never realised, but in his 80’s, Raymond Cree had Albert Frey revise the plans and create something specifically for him — the Cree House was built as a simple 2-bedroom home (costing just $40,000 to build). Now often referred to as the ‘Forgotten Frey’, it’s privately owned and only open for special occasions such as tours during Modernism Week.
The Cree House did undergo extensive restorations several years ago, but all updates are sympathetic to the original designs (and many areas such as the kitchen and bathrooms are entirely original without any additional changes. The kitchen even includes an original - and still working - wall mounted fridge and freezer that is integrated into the cabinetry, and lovely little pocket drawers that can be pulled out for setting your groceries down, or popping your cup of coffee on the ledge while you enjoy the morning sunshine.
Although the home was designed more than 70 years ago, it feels timeless and is a real delight to be inside. Frey designed the angles of the home to be perfectly aligned with the east and west directions of the sun, so the home is kept in the shade for the majority of the day (the sun in Palm Springs is no joke in high summer!). The talents of an architect like Frey are really on show in a home like the Cree House. I was lucky enough to see inside another of Frey’s designs, The Loewy House, during another Modernism Week in Palm Springs, and Frey’s love for the inside/outside and working with nature is evident in all that he designed.
Furnished for Modernism Week 2020 by Herman Miller, the furniture is perfectly integrated with the home while still feeling contemporary. I would gladly move in (originally fridge and all) tomorrow and do all my work at the beautiful George Nelson swag leg desk looking out over Palm Springs.
