Desert Oasis

Updating a midcentury house in Rancho Mirage, California, Sean Robins and Ryan Lawson lean into the landscape and light

- KYLE HOEPNER

AD100 DESIGNER RYAN LAWSON (RIGHT) WITH SEAN ROBINS, COFOUNDER OF STUDIO VAN DEN AKKER, AT THE COUPLE'S HOME IN RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA; PAINTING BY OTIS JONES.

In a sense it’s intuitive, but in another way it’s super studied,” says AD100 designer Ryan Lawson, reflecting on his creative approach. “One decision leads to the next set of decisions, and then those, once they’re made, lead to the next.” In the case of the Southern California getaway that he shares with Sean Robins—cofounder of the furniture showroom Studio Van Den Akker—that chain of choices began with the purchase of a midcentury Rancho Mirage residence, its architect unknown (and possibly unknowable, after town records perished in a fire). If the house was not, as Lawson recalls, “exactly in original vintage condition,” it had undeniably appealing qualities, including proximity to a lake and high angled ceilings with handsome beams and wood planks.

MOUSTACHE CHAIRS SURROUND THE DINING AREA'S DIRK VAN DER KOOIJ TABLE; CHANDELIERS BY PIERRE SZEKELY.