Our new listing, Soleil House is renovated by fashion designer Trina Turk.
Located in the special and rarely available neighborhood of Cahuilla Hills. The home was designed in 1963 for a Doctor and his family by Harold J. Bissner, AIA (1901–1988), and Trina is the second owner. Bissner was a talented and versatile architect who practiced in the San Gabriel Valley during the first half of the twentieth century. Largely self-trained, he moved to Pasadena in 1921 and began his career designing stately Spanish Revival estates as well as tract homes.
A trip to Hawaii in the 1950 and a visit to the Halekulani Hotel there drove his architecture in a more Japanese/Polynesian direction, where he did several apartment buildings in Pasadena in that style. After this trip, his work evolved, and he became one of many skilled modernists shaping postwar California’s architectural landscape. Bissner “retired” and moved to the Coachella Valley in the late 1950s, where he continued to practice in the Palm Desert region during his later years. Throughout his career, he collaborated with notable architects, including Harold Zook and Robert Pitchford, and worked alongside his son, Harold Bissner Jr., who would go on to establish his own reputation as a respected architect.
“…the ceilings are only 8 ft high and because of the really deep overhang on the deck, it kind of obscured the view. This house was sort of built going up the hill, so it allowed us to drop down to create this conversation pit.” - Trina Turk
One of the architectural features that Trina added to the home was a unique conversation pit that is centered in the living room in front of the fireplace. Popular in the 1960s, this space allows for uninterrupted sight-lines out to the spectacular view below the house, while offering a new perspective on the ever-changing light and landscape and a cozy place to watch a winter fire.
“where some people see a tear down, I see potential” - Trina Turk
From the moment of entry, the home unfolds as a study in light, material, and horizon. Interior finishes from flooring and tile to wall treatments draw inspiration from the natural palette outdoors, creating a seamless dialogue between interior and landscape. Here, the immediacy of rugged, sculptural terrain meets the vast openness of the valley below, creating a dynamic spatial tension that animates every room. This dialogue is fully expressed in the dining room, where a monumental pane of glass dissolves the boundary between inside and out, pulling the craggy mountainside directly into the interior. With the slightest shift in perspective, the experience transforms from intimate proximity to the boulders to a sweeping, cinematic panorama across the desert floor.
"Soleil House is a rare and compelling expression of Palm Springs modernism, where architecture, site, and sky converge in a continuous, immersive experience of space, light, and landscape." - Chris Menrad
