Colorful Joshua Tree Monument House is Now Available to Rent
For the first time ever, this bright Joshua Tree home by Southern California starchitect Josh Schweitzer is available to the public for vacation rentals. The “Monument House” offers guests a quiet escape and an up-close look at a piece of imaginative 90s architecture, consisting of three cubist buildings all painted in different vibrant shades reminiscent of the surrounding wilderness.
“Everyone thinks of the desert as monochromatic,” says Schweitzer. “But when you look carefully, there are all these amazing colors: a vivid green lichen growing on a rock, a bright red flower, and the impossibly blue sky. This compound takes those colors and builds them at the scale of man, which is bigger than the flower, but a lot smaller than the rocks.”
The Monument House is one of many multicolored homes in the park. “Following in the footsteps of Lloyd Wright’s nearby New City of Mentalphysics, this home continues a rich tradition of experimental and radical architecture in the California high desert,” says the website for Homestead Modern, the Joshua Tree rental firm currently managing the property.
The listing follows a recent renovation of the Monument House. The home’s moss-colored building features an open plan living room with comfy but modern furniture and a bright orange fireplace, with views of the desert landscape framed by trapezoidal windows and doors on all sides. These playful geometric openings are meant to mirror the shapes of the large boulders in the surrounding park. While there’s no TV here, there are plenty of books, games, and internet access to provide entertainment.
In the blue structure, a canary yellow “chef style” kitchen has all the essentials for small gathering meal prep. The dining room is equally sunny, with a table by Roy McMakin and chairs designed by Schweitzer himself. If you’d rather eat outside, you’ll have no problem dining al fresco in the home’s red-colored outdoor gazebo, complete with a propane barbecue grill.
Come nighttime, visitors to the Monument House can stargaze around the outdoor firepit before heading inside to the solo bedroom with its plush mint king-size mattress from Tuft & Needle. Or they take a dip in the outdoor hot tub (hidden in a deck) to enjoy 360-degree views of the five-acre estate and beyond. The home also includes an electric vehicle charger for any EV-driving guests.
The property location is idyllic. Located just one mile from the entrance to Joshua Tree Nation Park, the house is easily accessible while retaining a secluded feel, standing alone against a rocky hill in a valley of boulders. It’s important to note that guests are not permitted to use the rental for any photo or film shoots without advance permission. Bookings at the historic Monument House start at $299 for a two-night minimum stay.
