When Los Angeles-based designer Matthew O’Dorisio was tasked by repeat clients, a couple with three young children, to fix up their 1920s vacation home in Montecito, California, he didn’t look further than the front door for inspiration. The four-bedroom French Tudor–style home, with a central turret and immaculate landscaping, looked like something out of the French countryside, so O’Dorisio allowed the interiors to follow suit.
Architect Sydney Stacey designed the home in 1927 and infused it with a European sensibility. “It looks like a little French chateau but then flips to Monterey Colonial style with exposed wood beams and terra-cotta floor tiles,” explains O’Dorisio, who honored the late architect in his revision. “It’s an old house, so some rooms had the original curtain rods built into the wall. We had to build identical ones into the rest of the rooms.” Here and there, O’Dorisio tweaked the initial design: In the daughters’ shared bedroom, he filled in an odd-shaped nook to make room for the girls to play. But, “We didn’t let it lose its character,” he says. Custom toe-to-toe beds were built along the length of a wall, maximizing utility and adding charm.
Like many of the rooms in the storied home, this bedroom is full of prints. “We used a huge variety of pretty patterned fabrics to give it an eclectic, modern French-cottage feel,” O’Dorisio says. One of the clients’ favorites? A bold floral Ferrick Mason fabric covering a massive L-shaped banquette in the expansive living room. “It was a hard sell,” he admits, “but the fabric is perfect for a banquette, and the clients love it now. It’s fun when you have clients that let you do things like that.” Another room in which he got to experiment with unconventional ideas was the kitchen, where the designer transformed a formerly tired breakfast nook with the same curtain rods he installed in several other rooms. Here, though, he used them as a place to hang back cushions instead of drapes: “It’s the kitchen, so why don’t we have some fun?”
The project took just six months to complete, but a celebratory spirit now infuses every room of the house. “It’s casual,” O’Dorisio says, “but there’s an element of formality to it, which is what makes it so beautiful.”
Exterior
“Pulling through the hedges, gravel crunching under your tires, it’s like stepping back in time to the most romantic French country estate,” O’Dorisio says.
Living Room
Pictured above.
For this sprawling space, designer Matthew O’Dorisio mixed vintage and new pieces to keep it “feeling collected and lived in.” Lounge chairs: Mimi London in Fermoie fabric. Coffee table: Hollywood at Home. Rug: Stark. Armchairs: Hollywood at Home in George Spencer Designs fabric. Curtains: Carolina Irving Textiles. Art: clients’ own.
For a “formerly awkward area” in one corner, O’Dorisio added an expansive banquette in an adventurous Ferrick Mason fabric. Coffee table: Chelsea Textiles. Rug: Stark. Art: Ulf Sandgren (left) and Ingvar Wiede.
Kitchen
Breakfast Nook
“The original space was very big and too stark,” O’Dorisio says. “There were talks about making it smaller.” Instead, “We broke up the big nook with cozy back cushions and bright blue chairs.” Back cushions are held in place with curtain rods. Chairs: Hollywood at Home. Table: custom. Light: The Urban Electric Co.
Office
Though O’Dorisio designed this space as an office, it’s more often where the family watches TV. Sofa: custom in McLaurin & Piercy fabric. Coffee table: antique. Drapes: Quercus & Co. Rug: Jamal’s Rug Collection.
Dining Room
Watercolor artist Caitlin McGauley’s hand-painted Tree Mural on grasscloth wallcovering makes the room feel like it’s in a lush garden. Table: custom. Chairs: custom in James Malone Fabrics. Rug: Stark.
Primary Bedroom
“It’s a very tricky little house to place furniture in, but this charming cove was such a good moment,” O’Dorisio says. Lounge chairs: Hollywood at Home in McLaurin & Piercy fabric. Pillows: Chelsea Textiles fabric. Ottoman: custom in Walter G linen. Rug: Stark.
The table lamps arrived in a much brighter shade of blue than O’Dorisio imagined, but they were perfect in the space. Bed: custom by Valley Drapery & Upholstery in Robert Kime fabric. Lamps: Christopher Spitzmiller. Bench: Made Goods. Drapes: Zak+Fox.
Daughters’ Room
The family wanted room to play, so O’Dorisio built both beds against the wall, opening up the space. Beds: custom in Marvic Textiles fabric. Rug: Stark. Wallpaper: Sister Parish.
Primary Bathroom
O’Dorisio designed the tiled room to match the home’s European feel. Floor and wall tile: Ann Sacks. Bathtub: MTI Baths.
Styled by Lindsay Reid. Produced by Robert Rufino.
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