A few short years ago, a household-based anywhere outside Hollywood's epicenter would have been inconceivable for Tracy James Robbins and Brian Robbins. But in 2021, the power couple (she oversees her fashion line, Tracy James Collection; he is the president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon) found themselves whiling away their strange, Zoom-filled days at a rented farmhouse in Montecito, California, their nine-year-old daughter, Stella, and Brian's sons from his previous marriage, Miles and Justin, in tow.
An idyllic corner of Santa Barbara County wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains and known as the American Riviera, Montecito claims Oprah Winfrey, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Harry and Meghan among its residents. It also proved to be an ideal vantage point for Brian, prone to poring over real estate listings, to spot the 1928 Spanish Colonial Revival by renowned architect George Washington Smith that he and his family now call home.
Relocating meant the couple would be building a social life from scratch, and Brian would have an hour-plus morning commute to his Hollywood office. But the move also represented a newfound freedom, reflected in their design choices and made under the guidance of another dream team on speed-dial: Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent, the married celebrity designers who helm their own ELLE DECOR A-List firms.
This story is from the Summer 2024 edition of Elle Decor US.
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This story is from the Summer 2024 edition of Elle Decor US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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The Empire Strikes Back - A 19th-century gem in Cambridge, Massachusetts, gets a tour-de-force restoration thanks to Frances Merrill of Reath Design.
Is it possible to simultaneously go back in time and leap forward? This was the challenge a couple set for themselves upon purchasing a salmon-pink 1869 house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, not far from Longfellow House, the National Historic Site that served as George Washington's headquarters during the revolution. We loved all the beautiful old details of this house, the homeowner says.
Just Like That, But Cheaper. -One writer tried to replicate a classic ELLE DECOR interior in his apartment. Could he do it for $500?
It was all about the green curtains. In 2008, to my great surprise, I was offered a ninemonth fellowship based in New York City. I had lived there twice before, both times unsuccessfully, meaning I had failed to create any kind of significant social life, and so this was a chance not only to do research for my new novel, but also an opportunity to get things right. I swore I wouldn't let the city break me a third time.
And How! - Decorator Nick Olsen transforms a Sag Harbor home into a Hamptons retreat with an irreverent humor.
If you must go to the Hamptons, however-because it is devilishly good fun, after all-you may notice an apparently modest, low-slung cottage on Sag Harbor's Main Street and think, with a comfortable sort of feeling, Now that is how a house should look. Nestled amid the Botox bars, helipads, and club-staurants, it could almost set the sordid world aright both a rebuke and a solution to the chaos that surrounds it. A real home.
You Stay Here
At a Martha's Vineyard compound, Steven Gambrel and Tom Kligerman have made a guest retreat so good, visitors may never want to leave.
WHAT'S IN THE MIX?
Rayman Boozer brings his mastery of color and pattern to the renovation of a Harlem duplex for a young family.
Now You See It
A modernist beach house's discreet profile hides killer views and knockout interiors by Rafael de Cárdenas.
CIRCLE D'AMOUR
For an object lesson on how to design a Paris love nest, look to Pierre Yovanovitch.
PARK AND RECREATIONS
With the rise of electric vehicles and a fresh focus on design, the once overlooked garage is becoming a future-forward source of joy and energy at home.
But This is My Home - One writer discovers that living in an architectural icon can be a blessing and a curse.
One writer discovers that living in an architectural icon can be a blessing and a curse. My husband and I moved into the Kallis House in Los Angeles six years ago. It was designed in 1946 by the modernist architect Rudolph Schindler, and it's believed by many, including Frank Gehry, to be among Schindler's best. The house is eccentric, perched on the lip of a hill, with a butterfly roof and a shaggy exterior made of grape stakes. The interior is an unfolding series of surprising angles, with a wonderful wide view of the San Fernando Valley.
A SISTER STORY
Jewelry designer Brent Neale Winston and her decorator sibling, Ramsey Lyons, recast a historic Long Island home.
