It’s difficult to imagine the ideal mid-century home without a gorgeous pool. This is probably on account of the fact that many of the places where modernism really took hold in the mid-century period were hot. As such, it’s no surprise that the pool was often centre of the action.

Here we gather together three mid-century homes built in three of these hot places: first, William F. Cody’s impossibly enticing pale blue pool in Palm Springs; second, Darrell Fleeger’s geometrical and symmetrical pool in Florida; and finally, Curtis and Davis’ Emerald Street Residence in New Orleans, with its pool snaking around the back of the house.

1. Curtis and Davis’ Emerald St. Residence, Shining Once Again

The Emerald Street Residence has not always been as dazzling as the current pictures suggest. Built in 1953, the house was originally designed by New Orleans-based Curtis and Davis Architects (comprising Nathaniel Cortlandt Curtis Jr. and Arthur Quentin Davis), the architectural partnership responsible for so-called New Orleans Modernism.

2. Seamless Modernism in Palm Springs: William F. Cody

The legendary mid-century architect William F. Cody was a difficult man to pigeonhole. There exist few buildings that could really explain his style and many of his larger scale projects were quite eccentric, curved in some instances, in others borderline Googie.

3. This Mid-Century Home in Miami is a Tropical Modern Gem

This striking mid-century house is a beautiful example of tropical modernism, a style which emerged from South Florida in the 1950s. Designed by architect Darrell Fleeger in the early 1960s, it is located in the style’s heartland, Miami.