Inside President Gerald Ford’s Distinguished Desert Getaway
Steven Stolman
The Fords' post-White House residence was a true reflection of their personalities.
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Town & Country
Once upon a time, exiting Presidents helicoptered off into the sunset bathed in a nostalgic glow of self-sacrifice and a well-deserved return to the private sector. Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter went home to an inspiring life of faith and public service in Georgia; Ronald and Nancy Reagan returned to their California ranch and ultimately a gracious but low-key 7,000 square foot home in Bel Air; George and Barbara Bush took refuge in a Houston condo along with their seaside family compound in Maine; and Bill and Hillary Clinton moved into a discreet Dutch colonial in tony Chappaqua, New York.

George W. and Laura Bush really never moved out of their ranch in Crawford, Texas, so they simply packed up and went home, while Barack and Michele Obama leased (and later bought) a gracious Tudor-style manor house in Washington DC’s chic Kalorama neighborhood.

A portrait of Betty Ford graces the entry of the Ford’s former home.

President Gerald and Betty Ford, accidental occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue following the resignation of Richard Nixon, were the definition of low-key Midwesterners who brought their Ann Arbor candor and charm to the American people. Their White House was all about a national healing, followed by an open and honest baring of their souls as they demonstrated that they were, indeed, just like everyone else, warts and all: When Betty openly discussed her battles with breast cancer and then alcoholism, the entire country stood by her side.

The Ford’s post-White House residence was a true reflection of their personalities—cozy, comfortable, efficient, and completely of the moment.

Located on the 13th fairway of the lush Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, the sprawling Southern California midcentury house was designed in 1977 for the Fords by Welton Becket & Associates, best known for the iconic Capitol Records building in Hollywood.

In the living room hangs a painting of the State Dining Room at the White House

For the interiors, they engaged Beverly Hills decorator Laura Mako, a favorite of Hollywood luminaries such as Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart and Danny Kaye. Mako fulfilled the Fords’ request for a home that, while embracing the desert modern aesthetic, was also comfortable, colorful and, most importantly, happy. Indeed, the spot-on 70s scheme is familiar to anyone whose parents retired comfortably to any one of the myriad of Sunbelt destinations, from Palm Springs to Palm Beach.

Fast forward 35 years to 2012, when the Ford family estate put the house on the market a year after Betty’s death. At that same time, two Los Angeles entertainment executives, Bill Damaschke and John McIlwee, had commenced a search for a weekend getaway.

Owners of another architectural treasure, John Lautner’s Garcia House, they were immediately drawn to the Ford house’s pure, clean lines and gracious layout. Many of the house’s original pieces were being offered as part of the sale, an opportunity Damaschke and McIllwee embraced.

“We wanted to be respectful of the home’s distinguished past, but we also wanted to bring it into the modern day and make it our own,” says McIllwee.

The kitchen of the home was gently updated.

With the help of Marmol Radziner Architects, interior designer Darren Brown, landscape designer Marcello Villano and the Kohler Design Center, the end result is hardly a time capsule, but a wistful reminder of another era’s stylistic expressions and defining values, updated for today’s lifestyle while still reflecting the gentle, post-Presidential journey into the California sunset of Gerald and Betty Ford.

See more of the home's thoughtful modernization:

The exuberant lime and lemon chiffon dining room.

The dramatic guest room features a large Walead Beshty work above the bed.

The master bedroom is a study in pattern and texture.

The master bath features a large Kohler soaking tub and skylit shower.