Marrakech Meets Desert Modern in Palm Springs

Surrounded by a landscape of lanky palms and jutting cacti sets the gloriously pink Soukie Kasbah. This Palm Springs Airbnb is owned and operated by the same team behind Soukie Modern, the Morocco-meets-California home-decor store also located in Palm Springs. For owners Kenya Knight and Taib Lofti their cross-cultural design aesthetic makes even more sense when you consider that Palm Springs and Marrakech essentially share the same latitude, which lends both cities similar weather and desert landscapes. Soukie Kasbah is the “lifestyle embodiment of the Moroccan-inspired brand,” Knight said.

Soukie Kasbah was designed to create an extension of Soukie Modern’s bohemian style. The decision to paint the home this stunning shade of pink, Dunn-Edwards Rustique (DE5149) (and Deep Brown (DE6077) for the trim), was inspired by the fact that many buildings in Marrakech bare the same hue. “When we saw Rustique we knew we had found the perfect choice,” Knight said (in fact, even the building that houses the duo’s home decor store — the Shops at 1345 — is now painted Rustique!). The color enabled Knight and Lofti to make the home a true embodiment of their Soukie Modern brand.

Knight and Lofti chose to use Dunn-Edwards EVERSHIELD® on the home's exterior, as the coating provides optimal protection against the desert sun, reducing UV color fade. EVERSHIELD’s slight sheen is also a feature Knight loves. “It picks up on light and shadows differently than the average flat paint,” she said. “Depending on the time of day, the shades of pink vary. It's pretty incredible. The house has moods just like its inhabitants!”

The color pink had to particularly pop off the home’s landscaping in order to fully cultivate that Marrakech in Palm Springs feeling. The landscapers, the Backyard PS, helped ensure Soukie Kasbah’s did just that.

Inside, Soukie Modern boasts Swiss Coffee (DEW341) on its walls. The off-white shade is clean, warm and inviting, allowing the home’s unique vintage and handcrafted decor to take center stage.

Using these three shades of Dunn-Edwards paint, Knight and Lofti transformed their Airbnb into a spectacular Moroccan oasis under the California sun. Soukie Kasbah’s touch of bohemian whimsy provides a relaxing and welcoming ambiance that transports its guests to a Marrakech mindset.

All photos courtesy Kenya Knight of Soukie Kasbah