It's our favorite weekend of the year - Modernism Week in Palm Springs! Also known as our "annual inspiration trip" with our friend Elizabeth Gilmore. We attended our first Modernism Week last year and quickly fell in love, it's hard not to!

Modernism Week is a celebration of design, architecture, and style over 10 days in the desert. And what better place than the mid-century modern capital, Palm Springs? If you love colour, sunshine, beautiful houses, and an excuse to get all dressed up, this is definitely the vacation for you.

Moroccan Modern Show Home at Modernism Week

One of the best parts of Modernism Week is visiting all the incredible homes, many of which are only open for tours during Modernism Week itself. This year, the showcase home was "Moroccan Modern," a one of a kind custom-built home from 1975 by architect Hal Lacy that was recently renovated.

The shape of the house is centered around an incredible courtyard and pool, with the rooms acting like a wall to give you total privacy and seclusion. Since we live in Canada, we are obsessed with the idea of indoor/outdoor living, which is so popular in the desert! We loved the pink door too, obviously.

Where to Stay for Modernism Week: Saguaro Palm Springs

Every year for Modernism Week we have stayed at the Saguaro Palm Springs! We love this hotel for many reasons, mainly that it's just so damn cute. The colorful rainbow walls were repainted just in time for Modernism Week by Dunn Edwards, and the hotel makes the perfect backdrop for a weekend of Instagram shots.

Plus, you just have to love this pool! We took a quick break from home tours to soak up the sun by the pool, order a margarita, and just relax. We love their hotel restaurant El Jefe for tacos, and the Saguaro is one of the more affordable places to stay in Palm Springs (along with being so picturesque). Make sure you choose a room with a pool view at the Saguaro- it's SO worth it!

Palm Springs Door Tour

Some things are just so fun that you have to do them twice! The Palm Springs Door Tour (hosted by Palm Springs Style) is a super fun event for Modernism Week that is basically a dream for millennials like us. You start at the Saguaro hotel, and embark on a cute, self-guided bike tour through all the beautiful neighborhoods of South Palm Springs, stopping at all the bright doors along the way!

This is the perfect chance to see some of the architecture in Palm Springs while also getting in a lot of Instagram pics. ;) When the tour is over, you're met with a fresh, cold cocktail back at The Saguaro. For your bike rental, cocktail, and the tour, it's only $20! So make sure you snag tickets next year, this event is only open during Modernism Week.

Vintage Trailer Show at Modernism Week in Palm Springs

New to us this year was exploring the Vintage Trailer Show at Modernism Week!

This was surprisingly one of our highlights of the weekend, we had no idea how much we would love it! The Vintage Trailer Show is a curated collection of vintage trailers, campers, buses and motor homes all decorated with their own vibes or theme. Apparently this is one of the largest vintage trailer shows in the United States!

We are SO glad that we ended up going, it was super cool to get to see all of the hip trailers decked out and to learn more about them from their owners. There was everything from super rare RVs that looked straight out of a 1950s magazine, to new, modern trailers fit for a young couple. We definitely recommend attending this show next year!

Palm Springs Art Museum

Palm Springs is known worldwide for it's architecture and design, so obviously it would have an incredible museum! We loved visiting the Palm Springs Art Museum for the first time, it was full of modern art and the building itself was so stunning to wander through.

We loved their outdoor sculpture garden, and their new cafe Persimmon is set to open soon! Because who doesn't want to enjoy rose and charcuterie at any opportunity?

We even got a sneak peek of their new exhibit which is on now - and it's all about Andy Warhol! If you're visiting for Coachella, definitely stop in at the museum and check it out.

Visiting Frey House II at modernism week

Another incredible activity that we feel so lucky to have experienced is visiting Frey House II, Albert Frey's house!! When he died, he left his house to the Palm Springs Art Museum, and the house is only open to tours once a year, during Modernism Week.

This was such a special experience to visit the home of one of our favorite architects, high up in the hills of Palm Springs. It was like stepping into the past, and if you ever get the chance to go, definitely go. The tours sell out fast each year!

The Hidden Frey at Modernism Week

The Frey fun didn't stop there, we also had the unique opportunity to visit the Hidden Frey during Modernsim Week too! This newly restored 1966 tennis estate was the featured home of Modernism Week, and it's named the "hidden" Frey because the property is relatively unknown.

The house is sunken from the street and truly hidden from view, with the tennis court and home below street level.

We had the best time visiting Palm Springs for Modernism Week 2018, and hopefully we will be back next year too! We can't recommend it enough - it's the perfect time to escape to Palm Springs for some sunshine, get inspired by all the amazing art, design, and architecture, and also just hang out with your friends or loved ones in an amazing city!

Heading to Palm Springs? Check out all our fave spots in our guide here:

Palm Springs Guide