Styles of Southern California- Palm Desert

One of the greatest things about Southern California is the many different locations types and climates.  From the mountains that get blankets of snow to the mild temperature beaches that can often stay pretty cool, to the dry hot desert.  These different climates also give way to different house types.  I think we can all agree that looking at different styles of homes across the globe is a fun treat.  And while homes can be made with a particular appearance that is creative and pleasing to the eye, a lot of homes are designed with functionality aspects that are often overlooked by a lot of people.

You'll find some pictures of homes that I took from a neighborhood in Palm Desert.  For some people, these are homes they see everyday but for someone that may live in the midwest or East Coast, these may look like something they only see in books or movies.  And while everyone has their own taste with what they like, I find these homes to be very cool.  Here are a few things about them that make them suitable for the desert that other homes may not have. 

*Flat or low-pitched roofs.  The pitch of a roof AKA the angle the roof has or doesn't have on top is one of the most telling things about the climate where a home is located.  Most roofs that are very tall and pointy looking are located in places that are wet or may get snow. Rain and snow can damage a roof if it sits on it or weighs it down so the pitch helps it fall to the ground.  In the desert, however, most homes are made flat or have very little pitch because that extra attic space only traps in heat.  A lot of these roofs are also covered in small rocks that not only protect the layer below it from the sun but rocks easy take on then release heat.

*Pops of color.  Homes built around the 50's and 60's really brought on fun colors like orange and turquoise and you'll see colors like this throughout the desert. And while the colors are fun, they also come from the pops of color you see naturally in the desert.  When you look around, you can surely see a lot of browns, tans, and grey but there are a lot of dryscape plants that display bright purples, oranges and blues.  And the homes reflect what the area looks like in that respect.  The light colors on homes also have to do with the heat as well since light colors don't trap in heat the way darker ones can.

*Window placement and size.  You can see that these homes don't boast the large or panoramic windows some homes have. These home designers were thoughtful in knowing that the brutal sun can really bring in way too much heat through windows, especially at the time these homes were built.  So windows built up top near the roof, or tall but very thin windows allowed sunlight in without inviting the hot temps too.