Two trendy desert home designs — featuring open floor plans, horizontal lines and indoor-outdoor space — have won Gold Nugget Grand Awards for architecture and design. Revelle at Clancy Lane, designed by Danielian Associates and built by Family Development, won a first-place prize for single-family detatched homes between 3,000 and 3,500 square feet. And the custom La Quinta home of the Schumacher family, designed by South Coast Architects and built by Bradshaw Construction, was named the best custom home under 4,000 square feet.

“I think the intent was to really understand the modern design,” said Joe Gallitto, sales associate for Revelle at Clancy Lane. “The mid-century modern (look), especially in the desert, is huge, so if someone’s going to build a new home, they want to get it right.”

Revelle, a 32-home development on Rancho Mirage’s prestigious Clancy Lane, boasts five semi-custom designs. The winning plan includes a formal dining room, what the Gold Nugget profile describes as “an emphasis on horizontality,” and 12-foot clerestory sliding doors connecting the great room to the backyard.

“You have these enormous sliding doors, so the outdoor-indoor living and the lifestyle that provides is amazing. It really brings the outdoors in,” Gallitto said.