{"id":320731,"date":"2026-02-27T21:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/320731\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T21:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:40:14","slug":"inside-a-funky-1920s-stone-cottage-in-the-mountains-above-palm-springs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/320731\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside a Funky 1920s Stone Cottage in the Mountains Above Palm Springs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Palm Springs is synonymous with desert modernism<\/a>, a sleek, glass-and-steel aesthetic that has come to define the Coachella Valley enclave. But long before that movement took hold, the Araby Rock Houses offered a far more rustic, handcrafted interpretation of desert living.<\/p>\n

The rustic residences were built in the late 1920s by the self-taught engineer R. Lee Miller, who was inspired by Hopi and Navajo pueblos. They\u2019re distinguished by hand-laid native stone walls and seem to organically sprout from the landscape. Inside, features include hand-carved wooden doors and windows, exposed ceiling beams, built-in shelving, and hand-forged iron door latches.<\/p>\n

More from Robb Report<\/p>\n

\"2550<\/p>\n

2550 South Araby Drive bedroom<\/p>\n

One of the cottages, now\u00a0on the market<\/a>\u00a0for $1.5 million, has been designated a Class One Historic Landmark, making it just one of about 150 properties that hold the city\u2019s top preservation status. Dubbed Casa Contenta, the home was originally owned by Perle Wheeler Martin, whose signature remains carved into a patio nook. It was later owned by the Swedish artist Christina Lillian, and the current owners are former Canadian Football League star Peter Dyakowski and his brother Alex, who acquired the property in 2024 for $625,000, according to records. They\u2019ve listed the abode with Jason Cochran and Craig Chorpenning at Desert Sotheby\u2019s International Realty.<\/p>\n

While the property doesn\u2019t have a huge footprint\u2014it covers just 1,600 square feet of living space on about half an acre of land\u2014it makes up for its petite size. The great room includes one of two original stone fireplaces, with one still having its preserved stovepipe chimney. In the modernized kitchen, a few rocks peek through, giving the white walls something of a cow-print pattern. The primary bedroom is a large space brightened up with golden stones along the walls, while a hidden room is concealed behind a bookcase.<\/p>\n

\"2550<\/p>\n

2550 South Araby Drive casitas<\/p>\n

Two studio casitas each have an ensuite bathroom, bringing the total number of bedrooms up to three, plus four full baths across the property. Landscape architect Paul Ortega has surrounded the home with native plants and rock gardens that continue the humble dwelling\u2019s stone theme. In addition to a wrap-around patio, a rooftop deck originally used for stargazing and open-air cooking\u00a0looks out over the rugged mountain landscape.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to see all the photos of the Araby Rock House.<\/p>\n

\"2550<\/a><\/p>\n

2550 South Araby Drive exterior<\/p>\n

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Click here to read the full article. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Palm Springs is synonymous with desert modernism, a sleek, glass-and-steel aesthetic that has come to define the Coachella…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[149220,307,304,305,306,149224,149225,308,149227,93,61,60,149219,149221,149226,56957,149223,149222],"class_list":{"0":"post-320731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-araby-rock-houses","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-artsdesign","13":"tag-coachella-valley","14":"tag-desert-modernism","15":"tag-design","16":"tag-dubbed-casa-contenta","17":"tag-entertainment","18":"tag-ie","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-native-stone-walls","21":"tag-palm-springs","22":"tag-perle-wheeler-martin","23":"tag-robb-report","24":"tag-stone-fireplace","25":"tag-stone-fireplaces"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}