Stickybeak of the Week: Hanging 10 in an Airy Californian Living Room
A bestselling author and her family celebrate Palm Springs style in their renovated great room
Even though Kelly Oxford chose to title her humorous New York Times bestselling book Everything Is Perfect When You’re a Liar, she wanted her mid-century Los Angeles home to be anything but fake. “I knew right away I wanted the house to be true to its design,” she says.
Except for “a crazy Gaggenau kitchen renovation” in the 1980s, Oxford says, the home was in its original 1960s condition. Even the lace floor-to-ceiling curtains were still hanging. To bring in the right furnishings and accessories to complement the design in the great room, she enlisted the help of designer Orlando Soria of Homepolish, and they worked on creating a Palm Springs vibe with sisal rugs, a monochromatic palette and saturated bursts of blue.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Kelly and James Oxford with children Sal,13, Henry, 11, and Beatrix, 6, and their two cats Gus and Gertie
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
That’s interesting: Kelly and Soria scoured second-hand markets across Los Angeles to find unique artwork with which to decorate the blank walls
Except for “a crazy Gaggenau kitchen renovation” in the 1980s, Oxford says, the home was in its original 1960s condition. Even the lace floor-to-ceiling curtains were still hanging. To bring in the right furnishings and accessories to complement the design in the great room, she enlisted the help of designer Orlando Soria of Homepolish, and they worked on creating a Palm Springs vibe with sisal rugs, a monochromatic palette and saturated bursts of blue.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Kelly and James Oxford with children Sal,13, Henry, 11, and Beatrix, 6, and their two cats Gus and Gertie
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
That’s interesting: Kelly and Soria scoured second-hand markets across Los Angeles to find unique artwork with which to decorate the blank walls
For the TV lounge, Kelly wanted a sectional with plenty of space for the whole family. Soria found this vintage aqua sofa at Apt2B but Kelly was hesitant about having so much saturated colour. “I’ve always been a boring, accent-with-colour type,” she says. “Orlando assured me it would be great and left me to make the decision. I’m so happy I listened to him.”
They worked on adding subtle jabs of quirkiness, such as with custom pillows depicting bananas. “We were looking for banana-leaf fabric and found this instead,” Soria says. “It has the playful movement of traditional banana leaf but more unexpected. There’s something kind of funny about it. It’s got the perfect amount of quirky and pretty and sophistication.”
The lace curtains are original to the home.
Burled wood coffee table: AllModern
They worked on adding subtle jabs of quirkiness, such as with custom pillows depicting bananas. “We were looking for banana-leaf fabric and found this instead,” Soria says. “It has the playful movement of traditional banana leaf but more unexpected. There’s something kind of funny about it. It’s got the perfect amount of quirky and pretty and sophistication.”
The lace curtains are original to the home.
Burled wood coffee table: AllModern
To get the 1970s tropical Palm Springs vibe, Soria commissioned his friend Erika Lawrence Gragg to make the three paintings over the fireplace.
For accessories the Kelly and Soria strolled the Rose Bowl second-hand market and riffed off each other. “We just walked around, and he told me when I liked something that was ugly, basically,” Kelly says.
Soria then worked on creating a tablescape that looked good up close as well as from the entry of the home. He mixed heights and materials, like a ceramic grid sculpture, a metal tray, a wood tray and clothbound books to create a natural feel. “And not so covered in stuff that it looks jumbled,” he says.
Soria then worked on creating a tablescape that looked good up close as well as from the entry of the home. He mixed heights and materials, like a ceramic grid sculpture, a metal tray, a wood tray and clothbound books to create a natural feel. “And not so covered in stuff that it looks jumbled,” he says.
Soria established the dining area to the right of the more formal sitting space. He started the layout with a 2.5-metre-long dining table surrounded by woven leather chairs.
The gallery wall brings in a bit of Kelly’s playfulness. She and James bought several nude portraits at the second-hand market and painted bikinis on them. Kelly calls them “tasteful nudes.”
Table: West Elm; chairs: HD Buttercup
The gallery wall brings in a bit of Kelly’s playfulness. She and James bought several nude portraits at the second-hand market and painted bikinis on them. Kelly calls them “tasteful nudes.”
Table: West Elm; chairs: HD Buttercup
A built-in bar sits just off the dining room. Soria chose copper chairs for something to pop off the dark wood. “I thought it was refreshing to see metal,” he says. “And it looks like folded pieces of paper. There’s not much room to put something over there, so I thought it might as well be interesting.”
Chairs: Blu Dot
Chairs: Blu Dot
Kelly’s two Persian rescue cats, Gertie (left) and Gus, who’ve risen to their own level of celebrity status on Kelly’s Instagram account, are happy with the move, too. “They love the house because they can run a really long, straight line,” Kelly says. “Gertie races me all the time; it’s kind of insane.”
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This is the view when you walk through the front door. Soria chose to have the sofas in the formal sitting area face off to preserve the view to the garden and pool.
Rugs: Rugs USA