If you hear Christine Salmon's version, the house is to blame. After years of living in Los Angeles and months of meandering through the ups and downs of real estate, Christine stumbled upon a 1937 cottage for sale and instantly fell for its white stucco exterior, classic arches, and Spanish tile roof. She says, "I was so mesmerized by the sunlight streaming in and the
open layout that I didn't even notice all of the house's faults," namely, a crumbling facade, scraggly front yard, and unfavorable location at the corner of an intersection. The previous owner had started renovating the kitchen but stopped in the middle, and the countertops and fridge were missing.
photography: Jonn Coolidge
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Looking past the imperfections, Christine envisioned a pristine cottage with a private courtyard garden and plenty of windows to fling open to the warm California sun. "I'd always dreamed of living in a Spanish-style cottage," she says. "This one had good bones—I knew all I had to do was make it mine."
photography: Jonn Coolidge
The center island in Christine's kitchen was designed to look like a piece of furniture so it would blend with the adjoining dining room. The wiring and gas for the cooktop run inside one of the island’s wooden legs for a seamless look. |
Christine then embarked on a renovation that began with updating the plumbing and electrical work, allowing her to complete the kitchen and modernize the cottage's two baths. Next up was replacing all windows and doors, substituting custom wood casement windows for plate glass that had been added over time. "I tried to use what I thought was original to the house and suited the Spanish style," she says. For a bit of calm on the cottage's not-so-ideal location, Christine created a garden retreat. "I wanted to be able to look through my windows and see green," she says. So she built a small stucco wall around the house with a wooden gate door and planted a ficus hedge inside the perimeter. "Now you feel like you're entering a cozy little cottage," she says. To complete the Mediterranean feel, she replaced the concrete path that leads to the front door with terra-cotta tiles and added a fountain to the yard. "Everyone should have a fountain," she says. "I can hear it from inside the house, and the sound is so soothing." 
photography: Jonn Coolidge
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While Christine had boosted her cottage's curb appeal, the interior still felt empty. "I had worked so hard for two years on the structure and renovation of the house that I really wanted to do the decorating right," she says. A mutual friend introduced her to interior designer Tia Zoldan, and the two immediately clicked. Tia encouraged Christine to keep most of her furniture but reupholster and repaint to update the look. "We tried to create something sophisticated but still keep it casual," Tia says. "It's a small house, and all the rooms open up to each other, so neutral colors seemed to flow better." While she kept the background light, Tia pushed Christine to add strong pattern and color through accessories and art ("I needed that push," says Christine) while still maintaining a clean and simple style. Christine loved the idea of mixing antiques with modern pieces and gave Tia only one hard-and-fast rule: "Comfortable furniture is a must—I've gotta be able to sink into it."
photography: Jonn Coolidge
Designer Tia Zoldan punctuated the pale color palette in the living room with bold strokes of black, like the patterned pillows on the sofa, ribbon trim on the curtain’s edges, and screen in the front window.
· See the room in greater detail |
photography: Jonn Coolidge
A fireplace turned a slab of concrete into an outdoor living room and hangout spot for Christine, above with Tia (right). "When I have friends over, everyone gravitates out here," says Christine. "It feels so cozy." |
At 1,500 square feet, the cottage contains plenty of spots where Christine can snuggle up with a movie or relax with a glass of wine. But the outdoor spaces call her to hang out, too. New pairs of French doors in the master and guest bedrooms open onto a patio where she built an outdoor fireplace for cool nights. "I use this whole house," she says. And that's no exaggeration. During the day, Christine manages health-care clients from an office she created in the garage. "I've learned to love working at home because I only have to walk 10 steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, and no one cares if I'm wearing my slippers during a conference call," she jokes. It's this easygoing approach to life that makes Christine, originally from Virginia, a West Coast girl at heart. "There's no place in the world like California," she says. "It's the laid-back lifestyle I like best." |
