A Palm Springs custom, mid-century modern home designed by late architect Donald Wexler for his family in the mid-1950s is on the market for $3.8 million.

Known as the Donald and Marilynn Wexler Residence, this 2,424-square-foot, post-and-beam home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It sits on almost a third-acre lot in the Movie Colony East neighborhood, backing up to a black-bottom pool and a detached spa with San Jacinto mountain views.

Wexler, who died in June 2015 at 89, played a leading role in shaping the city’s modern aesthetic during his 50-year career. His pre-fabricated modular Steel Development houses in the Racquet Club Estates neighborhood and the Palm Springs International Airport terminal with its folded plate roof and soaring glass walls are among the most important achievements of this recipient of the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

But for his longtime former home, where he and his wife raised three children, Wexler “employed a softer touch,” the listing reads.

The single-story, all-wood Wexler Residence, expanded in 1960 and sold in 1993, incorporates elements learned during his apprenticeship with Richard Neutra and William F. Cody. It features a flexible open floor plan supported by a wood post and double-beam system — a Wexler signature.

Large fixed and sliding glass walls and clerestories connect the interior to the landscape. The surrounding garden features granite boulders and established plants, likely attributed to designer Antone Dalu, who worked on many of Wexler’s projects in the 1950s, according to the listing.

Tongue-and-groove ceilings create a streamlined, flat roofline, while deep overhangs shield the interior from direct sunlight.

Vertical fir siding, spun metal can lights and other finishes original to the design intent have all been preserved by the current owner, who bought the property twice.

Records show Daniel Patrick Giles, the founder and CEO of the luxury fragrance brand Perfumehead, purchased the Wexler Residence for $2.275 million in August 2023 and for $915,000 in July 2007. He sold it in October 2015 for $1.675 million.

In 2008, Giles undertook a full restoration with Wexler, architect Lance O’Donnell and interior designer Darren Brown. The project earned the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom) 2009 Residential Restoration of the Year Award.

In keeping with the home’s original design, Giles has since installed terrazzo floors throughout the home, and fully renovated the kitchen and bathroom. These upgrades include stainless steel appliances, marble slabs and European fixtures and fittings.

The kitchen opens to the dining area, which extends out to the patio, while a glass partition separates the living room from the driveway at the front of the house.

An office adds to the property’s features.

Other upgrades include a meticulously curated Wexler White paint that ties the interior together, along with a new roof, HVAC system and solar panels.

The Wexler Residence holds double historic status, featuring a listing on the National Register of Historic Places and a designation as a Palm Springs Class 1 Historic Resource, with Mills Act property tax savings.

Rick Grahn and Brian Linder of The Value of Architecture at Compass hold the listing.

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