German cult film villain Udo Kier (Melancholia, Blade, Andy Warhol’s Dracula) has one of the most unusual homes in Palm Springs, a conversion of the 1965 Francis F. Crocker Library, which was originally co-designed by Swiss-born modernist Albert Frey and John Porter Clark (who engineered the Palm Springs tram).
The home is dominated by a sprawling 1,000-square-foot living room area, which feels more like a mid-century furniture showroom than a traditional living room, thanks to Kier’s impressive collection of vintage lights and chairs by the likes of Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen and George Nelson — the result of 20 years of avid collecting by Kier.
<em>(From the pages of the April 23 issue of Variety.)</em>
“Somebody tried to analyze my taste once,” says Kier, who has around 25 collectible chairs in his living room alone. “I collect chairs and lights, which obviously means I want to sit in the light — not surprising for an actor I suppose.”
Palm Springs has long been a mecca for mid-century modern collectors, but these days Kier’s mood is less acquisitive than before. “I have everything I want,” he says.
Instead, the actor longs to leave the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, where he also owns a home, and tend to his serene desert garden, complete with lap pool and cacti. “My great joy these days is giving palm trees water,” he says. “Simple as that.”
