Discover Cuyama Buckhorn, a 1950s roadside motel reimagined with mid-century design, cowboy heritage, and thoughtful branding in California’s high desert.

On the high desert plains of Central California, surrounded by mountains and the wide-open skies of the Cuyama Valley, sits Cuyama Buckhorn, a 1950s roadside motel and restaurant brought back to life with design-forward intention. Growing up just down the road in Bakersfield, I have a deep appreciation for projects that respect and revive this region’s heritage. Once a stopover during the oil boom era, the Buckhorn has been transformed into a boutique destination where mid-century lines meet cowboy heritage, and where small-town hospitality anchors a new kind of desert escape.

Honoring the Past, Designing for Today

The project is thanks to the amazingly talented Kiana Toossi of Holiday Studio with a simple principle: restore what was already there. From reusing original block walls to reinterpreting the carved buck logo found on the old bar door, the creative team leaned into the motel’s history as a design brief in itself.

Identity: The new brand system merges mid-century geometry with western flourishes. Typography nods to the 1950s but feels current, while the color palette draws directly from the desert landscape.
 

Illustration: Artist Aaron Joel Underwood (Unto Dust) created a suite of custom illustrations that extend the Buckhorn’s voice into menus, maps, and collateral.
 

Collateral: Business cards, letterheads, and even embroidered robes carry the identity with tactile precision, ensuring every touchpoint reinforces the story.
 

As co-owner Jeff Vance described in Magnolia Network’s (re)motel), 

“You want to design something, build something, or embrace something from the past that’s gonna stand the test of time… we listened to what the old building was telling us.”

A Boutique Experience Rooted in Place

The Buckhorn’s interiors carry that same balance of history and freshness. Guest rooms feature Brooklinen robes embroidered by local makers. The bar and restaurant spotlight produce from small farms in the valley. Even the retail experience is designed with intent: The Buckhorn Market curates local goods alongside embroidered apparel and branded keepsakes, blending souvenir culture with regional pride.

Photography from Stephanie Russo captures the intimate interiors and culinary program, while Brian Chorski’s film-based imagery evokes the landscape, biking trails, horse ranches, and dusty highways frozen in cinematic stills.

Design Beyond the Property

What makes the Buckhorn inspiring isn’t just the architecture or graphics, it’s the ecosystem of design:

• In-room comforts made cohesive through branding.
   
• A property map illustrated to guide guests with whimsy.
   
• A digital presence that extends the physical experience online, blending photography with designed assets.
   
• Events and programming crafted as much for locals as for travelers, positioning design as a connector for community.
   

Why We Love It

For designers, Cuyama Buckhorn is a study in how branding, identity, and architecture converge to revive a space without erasing its past. It’s about restraint, knowing when to keep the black block walls, when to repaint white, and when to let a 70-year-old buck emblem guide the creative direction.

The result is a place that feels authentic to its desert roots yet aspirational enough to attract a new wave of travelers. In other words, design that doesn’t just decorate but tells a story across every medium, from signage and stationery to the way you feel walking through the door.

Explore more at cuyamabuckhorn.com or on Instagram @cuyamabuckhorn.

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