This Palm Springs house has one of the best (and briefest) backstories we've ever heard: It was constructed in 1965 and later purchased by Jack Stephan, known as the "plumber to the stars," who redecorated the place himself. It is now known as Stephan's Folly, for reasons that are probably obvious. For reasons that are less obvious (but still marvelous), it has not been updated since. It is now on the market for $899,000.

• 1240 S Manzanita — Stephan's Folly [Paul Kaplan Group]