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A Palm Springs Collector Fabulously Feathers His Mid-Century Mod Nest

Living room of Palm Springs California home of interior designer Rick Reilly featuring a Florence Knoll sofa, Pierre Paulin chairs and pieces by Jean Prouve

From the comfort of a mid-1960s Pierre Paulin–designed Groovy chair in the living room of his Palm Springs home, Rick Reilly surveys the fruits of his three decades of collecting: postwar Italian lighting, 20th- and 21st-century art, ceramics by George Jouve and Jean Lurcat and tables and chairs by Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Chapo.

A former advertising executive who shifted vocational gears in 2023 to launch RCR Design Consultants, Reilly lived for years with most of these prized pieces in both a New York City apartment and an early-1800s farmhouse in Litchfield, Connecticut. 

Interior designer Rick Reilly sits in the living room of his Palm Springs home, surrounded by pieces from his collection mid-century-modern furniture and art
A collector of mid-century modern design and art for decades, interior designer Rick Reilly furnished the entertaining area of the living room of his Palm Springs, California, home with a variety of seating, including a pair of French 1950s chairs — one of which he sits in here. Top: Artworks in the room include masks from Ghana and Zaire; Alexandre Noll vessels and more African sculptures, arrayed in a 1970s Zig Zag bookcase by Joelle Ferlande; and a Jean Picart le Doux tapestry hung on the wall above a Jean Prouvé table, underneath which sits a Charlotte Perriand Berger stool.

Now, following the purchase, renovation and decoration of this mid-century-modern California desert townhouse in the historic Seven Lakes Country Club — designed by architect Richard Harrison in 1964 — he’s seeing the treasures he’s long loved come to life in a whole new way. And he’s clearly pleased to show them off to Introspective now.

“I don’t like to be beholden to a certain look, and I like to juxtapose elements,” he says as he begins the tour, noting that he’s put tribal pieces from Ghana and Zaire and statues from the Ivory Coast in a steel 1970s Zig Zag bookcase by Joelle Ferlande. “This home is the place where everything can coexist.” 

Palm Springs home of interior designer Rick Reilly in Palm Spring California's Seven Lakes Country Club, which architect Richard Harrison designed in 1964
The home is in Palm Spring’s Seven Lakes Country Club, which architect Richard Harrison designed in 1964. Reilly’s renovation and redecoration of it will be revealed to the public on February 19, when the house is one of the destinations for Palm Springs Modernism Week’s Iconic Home tours.

The stylish convergence of Harrison’s Desert Moderne architecture — with its deep eaves, sculptural brick exteriors, clerestories and window walls — and Reilly’s eclectic, sophisticated interior decoration will soon be unveiled to a wider audience. On February 19, the townhouse will be one of the destinations for the Palm Springs Modern Committee’s Iconic Home tours during Modernism Week.

By opening his doors to the residence he shares with his husband, Craig Robinson, a financial executive and ceramist, Reilly hopes to open people’s minds as well.

Living room of Palm Springs California home of interior designer Rick Reilly featuring a Florence Knoll sofa, Pierre Paulin chairs and pieces by Jean Prouve
The entertaining area’s Pierre Paulin Groovy chairs face off across a slatted Cansado bench by Perriand, which here serves as a coffee table. The Florence Knoll tuxedo sofa is positioned so guests can look over a SCAL daybed by Prouvé to the views of the golf greens seen through sliding walls of glass. The floor lamp next to the couch is by Lightolier.

“I think my house is a reaction against the typical Palm Springs aesthetic of the past twenty years, with its Rat Pack references, bright colors and tiki bars,” he says. “To me, that does a great disservice to the architecture, which deserves to be complemented by important furniture.”

To counteract previous anachronistic renovations and create contemporary spaces that better suit/harmonize with the 1965 design, Reilly updated the interior envelope. He reskinned the orange-peel textured walls and painted them a clean gallery white, he replaced white-tile floors with terrazzo, and he redid the bathrooms using period-correct four-inch matte-gray tiles he had imported from France.

The kitchen now has white-oak cabinetry and white Caesarstone countertops, plus Arne Jacobsen sink taps. There’s also a new wide pass-through, so guests in the living room can be part of the conversation while their hosts cook. 

Eero Saarinen Tulip table and brightly colored tapestry in Dining are of Palm Springs California home of interior designer Rick Reilly
Roger Capron was a master of ceramics, and his images and motifs are so joyous, reflective of southern France, where he did his work,” Reilly says of the lamp that tops the Pierre Chapo buffet beneath a primary-colored tapestry.

Reilly furnished the sunny dining area off the cooking space with a marble-topped Eero Saarinen Tulip table and Perriand Bauche chairs. Against a wall, he placed a Pierre Chapo R07 Petit buffet, topping it with a dainty Roger Capron lamp emblazoned with a hand-painted sun. “The little sun just brings a smile to your face,” the designer says.

The mixing of rustic, natural materials, chunky wood pieces and refined sculptural forms that characterizes the dining area is a recurring theme throughout this home — as well as those he has crafted for other modernist devotees since launching his design career. 

Reilly entered the field a couple of years ago after realizing that collecting, refinishing, reupholstering and arranging furniture and decorative arts, which he put so much time and care into for his own homes, was his true passion. Almost immediately, his friends and neighbors — who’d long been impressed with his houses — validated his career change by commissioning him. Before long, he had wound down his work in advertising. 

For his Palm Spring home, Reilly imagined a romantic narrative to work from. “I pictured a well-traveled person who bought this place in 1965 and also had a place in the South of France and visited Spain’s Costa Brava and Portugal’s Comporta,” says the designer, who has lived and worked in Mexico City, London, Sydney and Bangkok and has taken several trips to southern Africa with his husband, who is from Zimbabwe.

Reilly’s design for the open-plan living room, which he divided into several sections, reflects that Mediterranean jet-set sensibility. In the more formal entertaining area, he points to a 1950s chrome-framed Florence Knoll tuxedo sofa, which sits across a slatted Perriand Cansado bench — here used as a coffee table — from a Jean Prouvé SCAL daybed.

media room of Interior designer Rick Reilly's Palm Springs California home, filled with pieces from his collection mid-century-modern furniture and art
The media room’s sofa backs up to a Knoll sideboard, on which Reilly placed a Piero Fornasetti lamp and a Harry Bertoia Sonambient sound sculpture. Two Pierre Jeanneret Chandigarh chairs face each other, with a customized USM Haller storage system on the wall beyond.

“I wanted pieces that were flat and low slung, to accentuate the ten-foot ceilings,” Reilly says of the furniture arrangement.

Artworks include wooden Alexandre Noll sculptures, masks from Ghana and Zaire and a dazzling Jean Picart le Doux tapestry from the 1950s. The tapestry hangs above a terrazzo-topped Prouvé table holding a Gae Aulenti lamp that resembles a futuristic helmet and visor.

Jean Prouve desk and chair  in guest bedroom of Palm Springs California home of interior designer Rick Reilly
A nook in the primary bedroom became a home office, thanks to the addition of a Compas Direction desk and Standard chair, both by Prouvé. The desk lamp is attributed to Pierre Giraudon, and the artwork above is by Tracey Moffatt.

The art, Reilly notes as he walks on, continues into an adjacent gallery-like nook hung salon style with works by Keith Haring, Gilbert & George, John Baldessari, Gregory Crewdson and Todd Hido. Thanks to its Jeanneret table arrayed with art and design books — all underneath a Marcel-Louis Baugniet mobile — the space also feels like a library.  

In the living room’s media area, Reilly placed a rosewood and marble Knoll sideboard, topped with a Piero Fornasetti lamp, and a small-scale Harry Bertoia Sonambient sound sculpture. “It’s my dinner bell,” Reilly says, laughing as he runs his fingers across the piece’s upright metal rods. 

Primary bedroom of mid-century-modern home in Palm Springs California of interior designer Rick Reilly
A swing-arm Serge Mouille light fixture commands the upper reaches of the primary bedroom, whose other furnishings include Florence Knoll dressers used as nightstands, a Chandigarh bench by Jeanneret, a Charles and Ray Eames La Chaise daybed, more Berger stools and flokati rugs, to warm up the terrazzo on either side of the bed.

He and Robinson often sit on the sofa here eating dinner or snacks off an unusually tall Perriand coffee table with tapering stiletto legs. “It’s incredibly functional because of its height,” says the designer.

Reilly turned a nook in the primary suite into an intimate work area with a Compas Direction desk and Standard chair, both by Prouvé. In the sleeping space, he placed a low-profile upholstered bed between a pair of walnut Florence Knoll dressers, which he calls “prized 1stDibs finds.” He countered these rectilinear forms with the sensuous organic curves of a Jouve mirror and a Charles and Ray Eames La Chaise daybed.

Even with all these blue-chip names of 20th-century design, Reilly “wanted to keep the bedroom pared down and calm.” And thanks to its palette of grays and wood tones and its minimal, small-scale artworks, he has.

It doesn’t lack for grand gestures or little luxuries, however. The designer mounted a dramatically overscale swing-arm Serge Mouille light fixture on the wall over the headboard. And his-and-his fluffy flokati rugs rest on either side of the bed. 

“We’re in the desert,” Reilly says, smiling as the tour comes to an end. “But it still gets cold at night.”

Rick Reilly’s Quick Picks

Fabio Lenci for Stendig Hyaline Armchairs, 1960s
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Fabio Lenci for Stendig Hyaline Armchairs, 1960s

“I love these chairs. The contrast between the glass sides and the natural leather is sublime, and from the side, the seats appear to be floating. These are true statement pieces —  plus, they’re extremely comfortable! 

Olavi Hanninen Trestle table,1960s
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Olavi Hanninen Trestle table,1960s

“This dining table is both modern and slightly rustic. The free-form edge is truly sculptural, and the detail and craftsmanship where the legs meet the base strut are amazing. I could see this table used in a living room or in a library as a large console table or even as a desk in an office.”

Pierre Giraudon Table Lamp, 1970
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Pierre Giraudon Table Lamp, 1970

“Giraudon was a trained biologist, who incorporated plants, shells and other natural material into his resin pieces. His work reminds me of the work of Joseph Cornell, in which the viewer is drawn into the world the artist has created. This lamp features a beautiful piece of coral, which would work really nicely in a cottage by the sea. In our home, we have a small Giraudon lamp that contains beautifully colored insects and plants. I was an avid collector of insects as a child, and our lamp reminds me of that time in my life.”

Charlotte Perriand for Steph Simon Berger stool, ca. 1956
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Charlotte Perriand for Steph Simon Berger stool, ca. 1956

“This is truly one of the most versatile pieces of furniture a person can own. Not only does the beautifully simple stool work with nearly every style of decor, but it can be used as a side table or nightstand in addition to seating. I prefer vintage examples with a rich patina, such as this one, but newly issued examples from Cassina, which are also available on 1stDibs, are just as beautiful.”

Gae Aulenti for Poltronova Stringa Armchair, 1960s
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Gae Aulenti for Poltronova Stringa Armchair, 1960s

“The perfect reading chair — cozy yet modern. The contrast between the cognac leather and felt backing and the chrome allows it to work in a variety of settings. I would love to see this paired with a Daphine Terra lamp by Tommaso Cimini to create the perfect reading nook.”

Harry Hilson Structure Series SS-W-HW-W-2 tapestry, 1973
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Harry Hilson Structure Series SS-W-HW-W-2 tapestry, 1973

“Tapestries give a wall depth and create warmth. This one, by Harry Hilson, incorporates a form that reminds me of a Jean Arp figure. I’d try it hanging over a fireplace mantel.”

Jacques Blin bowl, 1950s
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Jacques Blin bowl, 1950s

“I am a big admirer of mid-century French ceramists, especially those by Georges Jouve, Roger Capron, Jacques and Dani Ruelland and Jacques Blin. I have been collecting pieces by them for nearly two decades, and I am still amazed at the craftsmanship and detail in each of their pieces. This bowl by Blin is a perfect example of his work and is a true testament to his creativity. This would look lovely as a stand-alone piece on a coffee table.”

Andrea Salvetti Dilmos Coffee Table, new
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Andrea Salvetti Dilmos Coffee Table, new

“I remember first encountering Salvetti’s work in the nineteen nineties at Moss, the legendary gallery in New York’s Soho district, where his polished aluminum Ortofrutta crates were on display. I still wish to this day I had bought one then. This table, in the shape of a tree trunk, is organic and modern at the same time, and the polished aluminum highlights the tree rings, giving it a ‘petrified’ effect.”

Pierre Jeanneret PJ-BU-02-A Pigeonhole Desk, 1957–58
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Pierre Jeanneret PJ-BU-02-A Pigeonhole Desk, 1957–58

“To me, this is the perfect desk, the ideal combination of utility and beauty. It has an ample leather-covered work surface combined with a display area that is perfect for books or decorative items. The timeless design means it will be at home anywhere. I would float it in the middle of an office so that its beauty can be admired from all sides.”

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