by More Burba Trulsson

Photography: Erica Mendenhall Photography

December 31, 2025

Designer Elyssa Contardo transforms a dated 1990s Rancho Mirage property into a sleek, modern European retreat—complete with a private lake, golf course and tennis court.

In Rancho Mirage, a luxurious 8.5-acre property boasts views of the Santa Rosa Mountains, its own three-hole golf course, a sunken tennis court, a lavish pool and a private lake with waterfalls and an island. The 10,000-square-foot-plus home is a study in modern California design, with seven bedrooms, a nightclub-inspired bar, a screening room, and, in addition to the main kitchen, a butler’s pantry and catering kitchen to make cooking for a crowd easy. It recently sold for $16 million, and the transaction is said to be Coachella Valley’s largest residential sale of 2025 and the highest-priced home ever recorded in Rancho Mirage.

Credit for the home’s appeal goes to Designer Elyssa Contardo, who updated the property inside and out, emphasizing its resort-style setting and infusing the house with a sleek, European aesthetic. “This was a down-to-the-studs remodeling,” says Contardo, who has studios in Palm Desert and Park City, Utah. “We wanted it to be comfortable, contemporary and have a modern European ambiance, with many places for entertaining.”

Embarking on an 18-month redo with Palm Desert-based Hudson Construction, Contardo evaluated the circa 1990 house, which had a vaguely Mediterranean architectural motif featuring a red tile roof, French doors, mullioned windows and plenty of arches and columns inside. “It was a matter of cleaning up the house,” she says of the home’s dated look. “We raised the ceiling height in some sections, repainted, replaced all the windows and used gray slate as the new roof material.”

Inside, the designer opened the “choppy” floor plan, creating more connectivity between the public spaces and enlarging one of the home’s two primary suites. “The original library became the office, and we changed the dining room into a lounge with a bar and wine room,” says Contardo of other changes to the layout.

With a backdrop of light oak flooring, pale walls, marble accents and minimalist millwork, the designer chose furnishings with long, low, lean lines in neutral hues, allowing garden views and artwork to bring in the brighter colors. For the great room, she fashioned two symmetrical seating areas to anchor the expansive space, with one side facing a see-through fireplace—clad in Pietra gray marble—that is aligned to the new dining room on the other side. The opposite great room seating area is a lighter version, with cream-colored sofas and a glossy coffee table. Contardo designed the custom light fixture in a series of swooping curves to connect the two seating areas.

Off the great room, the lounge is a magnet for entertaining, with an angled bar and an eye-catching glass wine room. “We wanted a nightclub look for this space, so there’s dramatic lighting and glossy surfaces,” Contardo explains. “She designed the ceiling with dark-gray mirrored panels, interspersed with LED strips, giving the room more impact. On the walls, oak paneling is done in “Whipped Honey” from Tinted Finishes, the designer’s own line of wood stains.

Contardo specified a charcoal-stained table for the dining room, long enough to seat 12 and designed the custom blown-glass fixture that delicately dangles above. In the kitchen, the designer collaborated with Classic Cupboards; the look is spare and open, with a mix of wood and lacquer cabinetry. “I wanted the island to look like a block of marble,” she says, “so I did a waterfall on all four sides and clad the drawers in marble, too.” To keep messes out of the main kitchen, there’s a butler’s pantry and a catering kitchen, equipped with multiple dishwashers to handle large events.

In the larger of the two primary suites, Contardo designed a floating headboard wall, adding a sense of privacy to the spacious bedroom. The wall illuminates its two columns with pink LED lighting and features a series of teardrop-shaped pendants as bedside lights. For the primary bath, bookmatched Calacatta marble creates a backdrop for a soaking tub and is used for the vanities. “This has a calm, spa look,” Contardo notes. “We left an open shelf for folded towels.” 

Outdoors, she turned her attention to the landscape, reconfiguring the pool from an arched shape to a mirror-like rectangle with the help of contractor Melo’s Pools and Outdoors. A fire element surrounds the water, and a large shade pavilion was added for outdoor lounging and dining. She scraped the lake’s island of its bulky rock surface, replacing it with sand to make a smooth landing spot for the paddleboat as it cruises across the turtle-and-fish-filled waters. The sunken tennis court was given a fresh coat of paint in an earthy hue, and new plantings added yet another layer of privacy to the gracious estate.

Contardo’s touch clearly elevated the Rancho Mirage home, creating a refreshed, modern and inviting retreat. “I’ve been in the luxury high-end residential design business for 17 years,” says Contardo, summarizing her approach. “I do like a tailored, refined look, but my job is to understand my clients and elevate their style"