Author and Chicago real estate scion Wendy Walker—whose grandfather, city planner Charles H. Walker, was instrumental in the development of the Windy City in the early 1900s—settled in Southern California in the late 1990s, eventually making Palm Springs his primary home.
In search of a remote (yet not remote) escape in 2012, she settled on a nearly 160-acre plot of pancake flat scrubland that she scooped up for just $85,000 on the sandy outskirts of Yucca Valley near Joshua Tree National Park. “The beauty here is very otherworldly,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “The way the sky looks, the clouds are so low, it’s like you can reach them.”
Wicker worked with the prestigious firm North Works and reportedly spent about $7 million to build the “stripped-back, solar-powered shelter” when it was completed in 2017. State-of-the-art thermal technology heats the smooth concrete floors throughout the home and maintains the 75-foot lap pool at a constant temperature year-round.
The remote property covers approximately 160 acres on the edge of the city of Heights of the Valley.
Related: Alma Allen’s former Joshua Tree Hideaway just listed for $3 million
Now available for just under $15 million, the house was designed as a series of interconnected pavilions. The horizontal planes of the flat roofs float above the floor-to-ceiling glazing, creating an underlying transparency that defines the meaning and feel of being “in”. Adding to his artistic connection to nature throughout the day, sunlight and shadows use both indoor and outdoor spaces as slow-moving canvases. Over the years, its unique design has been the photogenic backdrop for numerous photo shoots, including IN Rob Report Earlier this year
At the heart of the 4,240-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom home is an airy great room. A simple columned fireplace rises between large panes of glass anchoring the wood-paneled ceiling at one end of the rectangular space, with the kitchen at the other. A wall of glass sliders opens the room to a large patio. Behind the kitchen, a courtyard enclosed on three sides includes a stainless steel built-in grill area with a sink, and, spanning the living area, are two bedrooms, including a primary suite with dressing room and a separate, window-wrapped bedroom that overlooks the desert floor.
Glass walls unify the 4,200-square-foot home.
Related: Joshua Tree’s famous ‘hidden house’ just hit the market for a cool $18 million
The central part of the house is flanked by two complementary detached structures, each connected by a trellis-covered walkway. The larger has two additional bedrooms (one designed as a fitness/yoga space), a bathroom, and a two-room writer’s studio, while the smaller sits by the pool and has a music studio. The home’s fourth phase, with a single-car garage and multi-vehicle carport, is topped off by a rooftop terrace ideal for sunsets (if you dare!) and stargazing.
The minimal landscaping immediately surrounding the house gives way to an increasingly barren landscape, with spiny bushes and Joshua trees set against the undisturbed shadow lines of distant mountains.
Charlie Price at Coldwell Banker has the listing.
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The authors
Mark David
