HOUSE 3
LIFE & SOUL
After some major renovations, this California hacienda was decorated with a joy ful cocktail of colour and pattern and the final result is utterly sublime
Courtney Smith’s adobe hacienda, located in the hills of Marin County, California, with views over the East Bay, both surprises and delights.
The home’s Spanish-influenced architecture is not common in northern California, nor is the bold interior within that sings with colour and pattern.
‘A mash up of East Coast traditional and California cool’ is how Courtney of Courtney B. Smith Design describes her style. And it is a heady mix. ‘The East Coast with its sense of history appreciates provenance, while the West Coast is more casual, approachable and easy breezy,’ she says. ‘In the West, we really connect our interiors to our exteriors, but I use more pattern and colour than many Californian designers, with my projects informed as much by their settings as they are by specif ic fabrics and wallpapers.’
The love affair with the house began in 2016 when Courtney ‘was craving a project’ and she and her husband Greg and their children Jackie, now 15, and Drew, now 12, first viewed the property. The cottage had been built in the 1950s, with a wonky extension added in the 1980s. ‘It hadn’t been touched in 35 years but it had great bones,’ says Courtney. ‘Greg and I love Santa Barbara but for us northern California is home.
The house’s Spanish-style architecture and tiled roof reminded us of the properties there - they have a very particular aesthetic. Our dream was to create a home that was reminiscent of Santa Barbara, using the property’s hacienda bones as inspiration.’
With help from architect Jessica Fairchild of Fairchild Broms Design, they spent three years planning a renovation that maximised the beautiful views. The plan was to double the house’s size while merging the old and new, creating a property that felt like it had always been there. The 1980s extension was torn down but the original hacienda with its adobe walls remained intact because each wall was interconnected. ‘Greg and I have travelled in Europe and we’ve always been inspired by the patina of homes that have been lived in for generations. It’s hard to buy that here,’ Cour
