18th Street

When my then-husband and I first visited this four-bedroom Spanish Colonial Revival-style property, the 1923 house was slightly run-down, but brimmed with architectural authenticity. Inside, the character-defining features of early 20th-century California style — arched doorways, original fireplaces, vaulted ceilings, and a living room with a large bay window — enticed me with thrilling design possibilities. I completely fell for the house.

We moved in as soon as we were able with our young sons and a jumble of possessions and pets. Buying the house had nearly cleaned us out, and all we could afford in the way of decorating was a fresh coat of paint. I furnished the house with items I’d found at garage sales, flea-market curtains, and my first costly investment of an English Chesterfield sofa covered in Rose Cumming fabrics, plus two chairs from Indigo Seas. This immediately gave the house that sense that we’d lived there for decades, which is now, of course, my signature style. With a friendly and relaxed yet intimate mood, the interiors fused my love for classic English country style with a youthful and laid-back Californian spirit.

Our home in Santa Monica was where I further developed my love for beautiful fabrics and antique textiles, and worked out how to hand-tie and properly spring a sofa à la style Anglaise. ​​While living here, I launched my first fabric collection and from then on our home became a testing ground for new designs — the boys rarely returned from school to find a piece of furniture in the same place as it had occupied in the morning. 

This house is also where I finally had a bedroom with high enough ceilings to indulge in a secret wish — a canopied four-poster bed hung with fringed curtains, piled high with pillows, and, more often than not, occupied by my three young sons, jumping, wriggling, and squealing with laughter. This house began as a dream, and ended as one.