Inside the silky skin cooling joy of an 8 foot by 3 foot deep galvanized metal “cowboy spa”. You’ll find it right next to the “where have you been all my life” hammock, just inches away from your icy beers and come-to-mama margaritas. The cowboy spa’s just one of the surprises luring you back into innocence and abandon at the most decadently delicious vacation resorts in the heart of cacti and coyote land. Joshua Tree Oasis is where the coolest vacationers go to be cool. True. Surrounded by stunning beauty inside and out, you get to enjoy the heat and magic of the desert while plunging carefree into one gi-normous watering trough and leaving all cares, aches, and baggage far away. This is pure fun in the sun and cool off time in the outside tub, the huge, bubbling Jacuzzi or kicking back cool as a cucumber inside the resort—your entire being refreshed by the modern AC and humidifying swamp cooling system. It could be a sweltering 110 in the shade, but you’ll be dancing naked inside to the tune of 65 or 55 degrees or whatever you choose to feel the coolest. So c’mon and soak up some summer time fun at Joshua Tree Oasis—where the Mediterranean meets the Mojave—and childhood is just a “double dog dare you” plunge away.

Cara-Wilson Granat

It’s not surprising that Gino and Troy preferred an earthier palette-tone when they designed the interior of Joshua Tree and other residences dotted throughout this desert region. Once again, the objective was to pull the outside into each room so that the feeling of walking inside and outside is like breathing in and out; it’s seamless, peaceful, flowing.

“We used cool colors for the walls,” Gino said. “Avocados, oranges, colors matching the many lichen-covered rocks surrounding Joshua Tree.” “That’s again, our `outside-inside’ philosophy of using the natural beauty you see from every vantage point here in the desert and then adapting it to the interior design,” Troy added. So if you look around at the walls, ceilings, tiling, all of it you’ll notice the pure whites from the sand, the soft orange hues from the oxidizing iron, the black, lava basalt. And then there’s that bright touch of turquoise in the kitchen to add an uplift as well as another element of beauty and comfort. “Oh, we’re open to working with our clients and can give them even an `opium-den’ look, whatever that is!” Gino laughs. But if they want bright red doors and walls and Buddhas everywhere, you can be sure that these two geniuses will weave the look into something never seen before or since. “We just encourage people to gather all their old family dishes and photos, funky tools and dime store `jewels’ and look at them in a different light as works of art rather than something to throwaway. You’ll never know how much fun—and everlasting the impression you create.” Troy said. Usually the look you’re looking for is right before your eyes—whether it’s in your attic or outside your window. Nature already has her own, exquisite color palette. And if you’re lucky enough to work alongside two amazing artists like Gino Dreese and Troy Williams you can gather what is already there and create truly living masterpieces. After all, it’s not what you look at, it’s what you see.

Cara Wilson-Granat

One of the most compelling aspects to this exquisite desert retreat is the fact that the outside and inside feel seamless. Look again and you’ll notice that as funky as some of the elements they’ve chosen to be imbedded within the walls and fireplace and nooks and corners outside and inside— from terra cotta heads and tea cups, to watch fobs and coins, the “unfunky”, natural materials they’ve picked are true to the pure desert landscape. You won’t find river rock or Sedona rock here. They would look fake and out of synch. So the granite and lava rock and basalt are soothing to experience because they are indigenous to the area. There’s nothing jarring or discordant about them because there’s a purity to everything. The outside and inside truly flow together. The designers said that they equally consider how the home is affected by seasonal changes and what kind of ongoing maintenance might be required.

“Every window offers its own scene—a view that’s like a work of art in and of itself,” Gino explains. “That’s our goal for every place we design,” Troy affirms. “…if we’re working with a place that has hills or fences close to the home we create as much breathing space, as much dimension as we can. We take a minimalist approach and work closely with the owners—so every pond, every fountain, every piece of sculpture all need to be true to what you see from the outside looking in and vice-versa. If it’s too frenetic, too busy and jars your senses from peace and tranquility, then it’s not a good fit.” Unless the home owner has requested a wild and upside-down look and feel, they both laugh. They can make that happen, too. But, thankfully, not in Joshua Tree Oasis which is peace personified—thanks to the beauty of the desert and the brilliant visionaries who love and honor it, Gino and Troy.

TO BE CONTINUED: Next week—“Choosing from Nature’s Palette-Pleasing Colors”

-Cara Wilson Granat

What was it that caught your eyes? Was it the muted hues of light from walls to ceilings blending into the smooth tiling everywhere? Was it the finely crafted details—the warmth of wood and stone? The massive fireplace which echoed the panorama of craggy landscaping beyond the outside deck?

Or was it the little surprises of art tucked here and there amidst this five-star vacation desert retreat–the multi-colored shards of glass, shells, stones and bullet-ridden cans offering their own kind of rusted, battered beauty?

Did you take in the weathered religious icons and the wall of bottles designed to capture a dazzling show of sunshine and moonlight? This exquisite hideaway of Joshua Tree Oasis is like a living, breathing collage of colors and vibrancy—a tapestry of sensuality and serenity like none other.  But the mastery behind the orchestration of interior and exterior design was created by two artistic geniuses.

Meet Gino Dreese and Troy Williams, Joshua Tree Oasis and Sorriso da Terra designers.

Successful landscape architects, Gino and Troy have been creative business partners for well over 25-years, designing for homes throughout the country. World-travelers, the two artists find that there isn’t one thing but rather many things that capture their imagination when choosing the perfect container for a burst of wild desert cacti—such as a horse trough or an ancient cement mixer.

Their love of life and ability to find humor and whimsy in just about everything they see is what they have integrated into the magic of Joshua Tree Oasis. Old cartoons and magazine ads from the 40s and 50s somehow artistically work in synch with time-worn cowboy hats and ropes. Nothing makes sense and everything works together in this amalgamation of sensory play.

What is their secret? Gino and Troy simply laugh.

“There is no secret. We are open to everything. If we like it, we pick it up and use it. We always collect stuff. Someone else might think it’s junk. We see it as part of a big picture and most of the time it works.”

Gino and Troy help us see the “stones” that time and others have tossed away and these two “collectors” have gathered back for us to appreciate and see as nothing but beauty—with a smile.

TO BE CONTINUED… Next time, Gino and Troy talk about, “The Outside-In and Vice-Versa.”

Cara Wilson-Granat

Everyone was beckoning them with tantalizing cruises, kayak races and tours to everything from Machu Picchu to Patagonia—all shouting out the best and sexiest and most adventurous way for lovers to honeymoon. They considered them all. The Caribbean to Cancun. New Zealand to New Mexico. Iceland to Ireland. But when they stopped for a moment and took a breath and looked into each other’s eyes, the answer was right before them. Joshua Tree Oasis. The most beautiful desert vacation retreat this side of Nirvana.

Joshua Tree Oasis was where he proposed and she said yes while the stars danced above them in the ebony sky and they luxuriated together in the steamy outdoor Jacuzzi—the billions of bubbles matching each silky champagne glass-for-glass. How could they ever consider any other place on the planet more tantalizing for honeymoon-ing than this incredible hideaway like nothing in this world?

And they could even bring the entire videography of their wedding and all the pictures and sit back and relive everything again by the roaring fireside, while savoring their favorite meals, and beginning a life that began the moment he asked and she answered yes. Joshua Tree Oasis is a honeymooner’s Paradise—at the edge of the Mojave, it’s the top-of-the-line for lovers and newly weds. Mazel Tov!

Cara Wilson-Granat