Yesterday's Homes of Tomorrow Return

In the days when the space age was just getting off the ground a design revolution was taking shape back on earth. Inspired by the optimism of the era, architects and designers were hard at-work planning for a future of endless possibility and in the desert oasis of Palm Springs, Calif., modern design blossomed like nowhere else, producing works like this.

Historian Beth Edwards Harris is the proud owner of this 1946 home, designed by architect Richard Neutra for the family of Edgar Kaufmann.

"Netura designed every square inch of this place with Mr. Kauffman," Harris told CBSSunday Morning correspondent Serena Altschul. "And I think he would have been more than delighted that finally somebody brought it back to his vision."

The Kaufmann's were perhaps the 20th century's most famous home-owners: their other vacation getaway was none other than Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. For their desert retreat, the Kaufmanns demanded a home just as beautiful. Harris has lovingly restored the house inch by inch - from the original furnishings, to the flooring and landscaper.

"You can be all the way inside and nestled and cozy," Harris said. "And you can come all the way out and, you know, enjoy the outdoors. And that's what the architect was trying to do…and create a wonderful transition between the built and the natural."

When Harris bought the house in 1993, it was in total disrepair. One real estate agent actually suggested she tear it down and start-over. It's no small irony that today, so-called futuristic designs like this are, to many, nothing more than old-fashioned.

"Often times people do not consider the buildings they grew up with as important, they're a little too familiar." architect Alan Hess said. "And, often these modern buildings are what people were, you know, grew up with, especially for baby boomers. And, so they don't think that it can be significant."

In his book, "Palm Springs Weekend" and "Googie Redux," Hess has championed the post-war southern California style.

"The spirit of modernism was to bring the fruits and benefits of the modern age to everyone," he said. "And, it was, you know, these modern, mid-century modern buildings, whether they were, you know, ranch houses, whether they were coffee shops or car washes, all of these brought — the fruits and the privileges of modern life — modern technological life to the average person."

The designs also encouraged a casual California lifestyle. They possessed something often missing in modern architecture: a sense of fun. So much so, the style has even been called a cross between "the Jetsons" and "the Flintstones."

Janice Lyle lives in this hillside retreat designed by architect Albert Frey for himself in 1964. Once again, the interior decoration is courtesy of the architect and mother nature. A mountain actually comes into the house.

"The mountain is a part of our living space," Lyle said. "I sleep with my head about 12 inches from the giant boulder."

Lyle wouldn't have it any other way: "It is kind of like dying and going to heaven," she said.

Frey had set out to design an inexpensive bachelor pad, using low-cost materials inside-and-out.

He didn't anticipate today's energy prices: in summer, it costs nearly $1,000 a-month to cool just 500-hundred square feet. The intimacy with the desert has some other consequences, such as uninvited visitors like scorpions and lizards.

Vice President of the Palm Springs Modern Committee, Nickie McLaughlin said it is vital to preserve, protect and even promote the mid-century modern designs.

"It's great for tourism," she said. "Over the last few years the amount of people that have come from all over the world purely to view this architecture has grown enormously. And the city of Palm Springs needs tourism."

Indeed, visitors once came to Palm Springs just to play golf and maybe spot a celebrity.

Now, design is the starring attraction, and well-heeled visitors can even stay here, in the crown jewel of Palm Springs modern: the Elrod house.

Designed in 1968 by architect John Lautner for interior designer Arthur Elrod, you might recognize the home as the setting for a rollicking fight in the 1971 James Bond movie 'Diamonds Are Forever.'

For just $3,600 a night — with a three night minimum — the Elrod house can be yours. But mid-century modern comes in more modest packages as well, and that's perhaps the most important legacy of Palm Springs design. Houses like one designed by William Cody in 1969 proved that the modern vision was attainable by almost everyone, like Courtney Newman.

"The guy puttin' it up was lookin' at us like we were crazy," he said. "It's very soothing for some reason. You would think it wouldn't be, but it's just like it was always there, which it was."