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Homes are similar books—the best ones order nifty stories. And the showtime page of illustrator Tina Ochenante’s Marin, California, family domicile reveals a magical flight orca. The infinitesimal yous cross the threshold into the 3-sleeping accommodation home, a suspended whale—a $xxx antique mall discover—greets all who go in. “Our boy is obsessed with it, in addition to nosotros pose a Santa Claus lid on it [for the holidays] and a witch’second chapeau for Halloween,” says Tina. “The menage doesn’t cry California, only it reminds us nosotros are xv minutes from the ocean.”
Even though the storybook cottage and guesthouse are nestled amongst the redwoods, the space eschews Northern California tropes—mid-century architecture and bleached wood—in addition to instead leans delightfully British, as well as purposefully then. Already an accomplished creative person, Tina together with her husband, Justin, who industrial plant inward tech, moved to the U.grand. pre-pandemic so she could accept classes at Cambridge. But when COVID hit as well as they learned they were expecting, they moved back to US, taking an Anglo pattern sensibility amongst them. “Tina has had Pinterest boards of different English cottages for forever, then nosotros ran alongside that,” Justin says.
The showtime step? Hiring Maria Wu of Studio Wu to aid them through eighteen months of renovations (every bit inwards, gutting the kitchen) as well as blueprint decisions. Wu brought the basic interiors to life amongst colors together with patterns that would feel British as well as playful—just not childish. It’s a frail trip the light fantastic.
“When I’one thousand preparing color palettes with materials too material, I kickoff putting stuff together, together with when I’1000 90 percent there, I force back as well as inquire, ‘What’sec the thing that I involve to add together to arrive experience a little off?’” Wu says. For example, she constitute a floral design, like the pulverisation room’second Adelphi yellowish bloom print, just chose it inward an unexpected light bluish colorway—so lay it all adjacent to mustard tile.
The living room, which Wu washed inward a moody grey dark-green, got a dose of personalized storybook charm around the fireplace, where she commissioned her creative person-in-residence, aka Tina, to paw-paint squares inward the fashion of traditional delft tiles. “I was excited well-nigh the idea, merely we had a backup design inward instance it looked terrible,” Tina says amongst a laugh. “This is our commencement time amongst a designer, together with I was afraid that the space wouldn’t experience like us, only I knew this would arrive ours.” Now it’second ane of her favorite details in the abode, in addition to each tile signifies an important function of their lives. There’s a clock, for example, because it was their boy’second get-go give-and-take, and a movie of the beloved family domestic dog, Alfonso. A hat represents Tina’s grandad; an elephant for Justin’sec grandmother. Some are within jokes from the xx-addition years the couple has known each other.
In the chief sleeping accommodation, the charm continues with a spindle bed too 2 upholstered chairs facing each other next to the window, Tina’s preferred topographic point for forenoon gratis-writing sessions in addition to reading. Plus: “It’sec the best view inwards the household,” Wu says. And in the guesthouse, that whimsical (merely never twee) tendency goes on.
It may non live England, in addition to their life is decidedly nonfiction, just the abode—amongst its funky color combos, custom tile, and that orca—is their happily always afterwards.
