Designtripper

Sculptor, photographer and designer Blake Simpson’s small five-room desert motel has just the kind of back story I fall for every time: a nearly derelict structure he gut-renovated himself–thoughtfully and by hand–over the course of the past nine years. With previous high-profile jobs like furniture designer for Marc Jacobs, the consummate craftsman attended to every little detail–the doors, windows, walls, floors, gates, and a lot the furniture was created on site. The result is pretty impressive: a hand-built hideaway with a decidedly laid-back, masculine vibe and sloppy-modern aesthetic (in a good way; not the rigid, sterile kind, all clean lines and right angles). Inside, mid-century chairs, globes, typewriters and record collections strike the right balance between decor and distraction. And outside, the thing to do is plant yourself in one of the mismatched lawn chairs on the beautifully landscaped desert patio to read all day under the shade and talk all night beside the fire. At least that’s what I’d do.

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