Category Archives: Homes and Architecture

Leslie Dinaberg Sits Down with Leslie Westbrook

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Leslie Westbrook

Leslie Westbrook

Building on her lifelong interests in travel, fine art, and antiques, longtime local writer and editor Leslie Westbrook recently went public with her treasures, opening up a storefront, Leslie A. Westbrook, Art & Antiques, in Montecito’s upper village.

Leslie Dinaberg: Tell me about your new business venture?

Leslie Westbrook: I used to have an antique shop 20 years ago on Coast Village Road (Basement Antiques). So when I travel, I’ve been a travel writer for a long time, I’ve bought things and brought them back and sold them, sort of to supplement my income, but not in a big way.

LD: So you took your air miles and went to Brazil.

LW: I thought I’ll go down and I’ll buy some stuff and I’ll bring it back and I can sell it to collectors and/or consign it or sell it to shops. My area of interest and emphasis has always been art, but from South American “Santos,” because I’ve always liked them and been interested in them. So I went down there, I spent four days going to flea markets and a couple of antique dealers down there that I know and I bought a bunch of stuff. And I have a friend, sort of like my Brazilian son, he speaks Portuguese and helps me. Then I went off to Argentina and I said “here’s the money, ship this off DHL.”

LD: Now I know you and Miguel Fairbanks (who runs a wedding, event and portrait photography business in the back studio) are old friends.

LW: Yes and I just happened to say to him, “what are you doing with this space?” And he said, “You know, I need to rent it. Do you want to rent it?” … I wrote a check.

Three days later customs went on strike and held all of my goods and they’re still down there. … All of the sudden I had an empty shop, so I thought, I’d better get creative. I had a few pieces from the previous shipment…. and then I have more art than I have wall space in my house, so I brought in a Toulouse Lautrec and a Manet and I sort of started tearing things off the walls. Then I looked for a couple of contemporary artists who were local but who weren’t really showing here, like sculptor Jim Martin (www.jimmartinsculpture.com) and mixed media artist Barbara Bouman Jay (www.barbaraboumanjay.com and Ed Lister, who is an English artist who lives in Montecito but still doesn’t show here. … And then I took some things on consignment so and I bought a few other things. But I’m still waiting for my stuff to come from Brazil.

LD: How is business?

LW: Little by little the word is getting out. It’s picking up. What is really good for me is the decorators and designers are discovering me.

LD: That’s great. It seems like this is kind of antiques area in the upper village. How does this business fit in with your writing?

LW: Well, interestingly enough, I’ve been writing for California Home for about ten years and I also contribute to Traditional Homes and I wrote years ago for Art and Antique newspaper, I was the west coast editor, so I’ve always had an interest in art and antiques and design and I spent years scouting houses and writing about people’s gorgeous houses, so that ties in nicely. I am very open if someone is either decorator or they have a beautiful home and they want to bring me a disk of photos to look at for submission because I actually sit here and write all day. I’m here with my laptop and pity the poor customer if I’m lost in reverie, I have to tear myself away and become a salesperson. But it’s really kind of like a writing studio with a lot of stuff around me for sale is what it’s kind of turned into. And it’s nice to be writing here as opposed to being home alone–here I have more human contact. People come by which is really nice. So I have a shingle.

LD: I can definitely see where that would work. Do you think you’re still going to be traveling for your writing?

LW: I kind of tied myself down here. It’s a little bit of a dilemma. All of a sudden life I went oops, but I will have to go on buying trips if and when things get here and I have to replace them so in that event I’ll either get someone to sit here or I’ll close the door for a week and say gone buying. So right now I don’t have any travel plans but probably in October I’ll go back down to South America.

I wish I could clone myself so I could travel and be here. It’s a shift. Or if I do well enough at some point I could hire someone. I’m not in that position yet.

LD: When did you come to Santa Barbara?

LW: About 35 years ago. I came here to live on a hippie farm; Lambert Farm There’s a story I wrote about it in the new Carpinteria Magazine (http://carpinteriamagazine.com/). It was about 1973.

…. I grew up in Santa Monica but I used to come here in the summers. My best friend, her grandparents had Stewart Orchids, so we used to come up and stay at her grandparents’ house in Hope Ranch and that was when I was about 11 or 12,and then I met this boy at the Renaissance Faire and he lived on a farm called Lambert Farm with Kenny and Kathy Bortolazzo, they were married, and all these other people, so I moved up to live with him on this farm. It was this really cool place and it was all artisans and everybody had their own little Hobbity houses, outdoor bathrooms.

The romance was a summer romance but I fell in love with Santa Barbara and the love affair lasted with Santa Barbara.

LD: Were you always a writer?

LW: I always wrote. When I was first here after the hippie thing I worked as a cook on this estate and I made a documentary film and tried a lot of different things and I worked in advertising, and did headline writing and copywriting and then I turned into a travel writer. … I was an art major in college. I never finished school but I always loved to write and just 25 years later here I am, journalist, girl reporter. It’s fun to be interviewed though because I know when I’m interviewing people sometimes I want to share stories too.

LD: If you could pick three adjectives to describe yourself, what would they be?

LW: Gregarious or outgoing, compassionate, and honest.

LD: If you could be invisible anywhere in Santa Barbara, where would you go and what would you do?

LW: I would probably want to be in Oprah’s house (laughs), see what she needs and see where I could fill in a few holes.

Vital Stats: Leslie Westbrook

Born: Pasadena, June 14.

Family: “Mom, sister, dad, I don’t have a husband, I’m single, I don’t have any children, however I’m a fairy godmother.”

Civic Involvement: “I like to volunteer for different organizations every year, most recently I worked with Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic and the Art Museum Council. Lately I’ve been looking into bipolar people and working with FACT (families advocating for compassionate treatment).”

Professional Accomplishments: Journalist for 25 years; owns and operates Leslie A. Westbrook, Art & Antiques at 1482 East Valley Road, Suite 36, Montecito (805-969-4442).

Best Book You’ve Read Recently: Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett

Little-Known Fact: “The men in my life all died, dumped me or went to jail!”

Originally published in Noozhawk on August 3, 2008. Click here to read the story on that site.

Down the (New) Garden Path

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This story as it appeared in Upwardly Mobile Magazine

This story as it appeared in Upwardly Mobile Magazine

Long, narrow side yards are often overlooked as valuable garden real estate, but they are especially useful as a way to make small spaces come alive and feel as is they’re part of the landscape. With planning, ingenuity, and a flair for the dramatic, landscape designer Mark Sargent transformed Judy and Rudy Escalera’s formerly confusing, underused space into a glorious side garden destination.

The Escaleras had lived in their Santa Barbara mobile home–in a senior living community next to a golf course–for about four years, when they decided it was time to redo the side yard. Judy was concerned that the gravel path might be dangerous, and she wanted to create a more cohesive, scenic look.

Sargent’s first impression was of “a garden that was semi-landscaped, but it had outgrown itself. There were attempts at little visual side paths but they didn’t really go anywhere and they weren’t inviting enough to make you want to get on them to see where they stopped.”

After consulting with the property manager about restrictions and an analysis of what should stay, what could be used but moved, and what should go in the garden, the two set a budget of $12,000, and got to work.

“We had a lot of resources, a lot of nice plantings to work with,” says Sargent. Though many of the plants were removed and placed in other areas, nothing stayed in its original place except a rose bush, hedges and some olive trees.

The first and most dramatic design change was extending the walkway out to the front property line. The Escaleras chose a “rather daring” Sedona Red flagstone tile that not only addressed the safety concerns and unified the look of the garden, it also had the unintended consequence of warming up the beige color of the house.

Initially Judy wanted to repaint the house when the side yard was done, but the reflection of the tile changed the color. “It was a clever accident,” explains Sargent. “It turns out the Sedona Red ties in so well that it made the house look like it was the right color.”

“Another thing that we did was change the steps at the side of the house,” says Judy. “We changed the design so that it had a little landing and the rail comes down like open arms, sort of saying ‘hi, here we are, welcome.’ You follow that beautiful red pathway and then on up into the different areas in the garden.”

Creating a pathway with a variety of interesting groupings of plantings–including Plumeria, Loropetalum, Aloe, Hydrangea, Jacob’s Ladder, Agave, Little Ollie, and Azalea–“helped give a sense of largeness to the garden so that the stairs didn’t just go marching straight down to the front door in a boring way,” says Sargent.

They also incorporated a birdbath, succulent rock garden, patio, an antique garden bench, and a water feature into the space. “It’s amazing that you can fit in so much and still end up not feeling overwhelmed by objects and feel that you actually have places to go,” says Sargent.

Other than trimming the olive trees and the hedges, the Escaleras are able to maintain the garden themselves, an important consideration for seniors and people on a budget. “I love to putter around,” says Judy. “It just gives me so much pleasure.”

Originally published in Upwardly Mobile Magazine

SHEAR GENIUS

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Art Luna, courtesy photo

Art Luna, courtesy photo

Designer Art Luna is planting roots in our local soil

Enhancing nature’s gifts is nothing new for Art Luna. Long before he developed a reputation as a top-notch landscape designer, he was known as a swanky celebrity hair stylist–which he still is. But more and more often these days, he’s trading his scissors for gardening shears. His formally structured, yet free-flowing creations are now gracing landscapes on both coasts, including New York City, Los Olivos, Montecito, Santa Barbara, and Carpinteria.

His passion for gardening began with the creation of an outdoor garden waiting room for his Hollywood salon, then was sparked here during a visit to Lotusland in 2002, with esteemed British gardening book author Anna Pavord. She advised Luna to always remember, “Structure first, flowers second.”

Building the structure first was embedded in his approach as a hair stylist. Suddenly it all clicked for Luna: “Think of it as if you’ve built this beautiful house out of green, and then you furnish it with furniture that is flowers.”

Here, Luna shares his expert take on our local offerings:

Favorite Places

ABE NURSERY3894 Via Real, Carpinteria, 805-684-3335.
Richard Abe has lovely material. He doesn’t let anything leave his nursery that isn’t of good quality. Also, I can buy 70 to 100 of one thing to do mass plantings–that’s really important for me.”

EYE OF THE DAY 4620 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, 805-566-0778, eyeofthedaygdc.com. “They have an amazing eye for pottery and shape. There is always really good statuary, which I think is the dying art of the garden. I think people are a little freaked out about statuary in terms of the garden. … It can be lovely if done right.”

LOTUSLAND GARDEN SHOP 695 Ashley Rd., Montecito, 805-969-3767 ext. 101, lotusland.org/shop.html. “They always have wonderful things there, such as bird feeders for the trees and bird nests for the cages.”

RUE DE LILLIE ANTIQUES 2496 Lillie Ave., Summerland, 805-695-8180, . “I go there for beautiful antique bird cages and unique things like unusual lanterns and mirrors.”

SAN MARCOS GROWERS 125 S. San Marcos Rd., Santa Barbara, 805-683-1561, smgrowers.com. “I try to buy all of my flowers from local vendors. This one is amazing. It’s all good quality, and they usually have anything that you want.”

TURK HESSELLUND NURSERY 1255 Coast Village Rd., Montecito, 805-969-5871. “If I want to buy a pot with a beautiful plant to put it on the steps of a garden, I know I’ll find something very interesting and lovely here.”

Favorite Plants
African Boxwood “I love the red vein, that it has, how small the leaf shape is, the color olive green that it is. Here in Santa Barbara, especially, the greens that are more olive and gray do well in the landscape.”

Agave “The shapes are so magnificent–it’s just mind-blowing how they can survive under the poorest of conditions and then be the focal point of a garden with their dramatic shapes and colors.”

Gardenias “You have to have the most perfect conditions for a successful gardenia–they love food. I love those glossy tropical flowers like gardenia, rhododendron, and philodendron for a border.”

Pittosporum “One of the most underrated plants ever–I love its silvery sheen.”

Salvia Waverly “I love it because it attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, but not bees.”

Originally published in Santa Barbara Magazine, 2008.

Getting Your Piece of a Beachfront Paradise

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courtesy photo

courtesy photo

A jaw-dropping view of the Channel Islands, Santa Barbara’s coastline and the San Ynez Mountains adorn the Santa Barbara Beach Club (www.santabarbarabeachclub.com), a new oceanfront estate overlooking More Mesa Beach at the end of Patterson Avenue.

Beachfront properties like this are hard to come by–especially without those pesky freeways and railroad tracks nearby–but Kari Ann and Jay Gerlach are willing to share their dream home with five other families.

“We’re hoping it’s other people’s dream house too. We’re going to find out if we have good taste or not, I guess,” says Jay, who was involved in a number of start up businesses before creating the beach club.

courtesy photo

courtesy photo

Membership in the $13 million, 6,300 square foot, New England style property, will cost approximately $2 million, plus annual expenses. This gets each owner an equity share, plus eight weeks a year in the house, which has five suites and features a private beach cove, gourmet kitchen, gym, handcrafted bar, theatre, billiard lounge, wine cellar, walk-in cigar humidor, library, sauna, pool and Jacuzzi. It even has a hydraulic car elevator to maximize parking space. Concierge services such as an on-call masseuse and private chef will be available to members, and the house will be stocked with everything from the owner’s favorite foods and soaps, to their family pictures.

“If you want, there’s no reason for your guests to know you don’t own the house outright,” says Kari Ann. “It’ll be just like it was when you left it.”

While the technical term for the partnership is “factional ownership,” Jay explains it simply: “If you and I bought a house together and both our names were on title, that’s exactly what we’re doing. It’s called tenants in common … but we will have six owners, each with a percentage.”

The Gerlach’s originally bought the property, an empty lot, to develop their dream house. But like anyone who’s ever tried to build a home can testify, development doesn’t come cheap. As the dream house got dreamier and dreamier, the financial realities became such that they rethought the investment, explains Kari Ann.

As construction progressed on local architect Robert Foley‘s design, they shared the work-in-progress with friends, “We got such great response,” says Kari Ann. “Everybody said, ‘Oh this is great. I wish we had a house like this.’ And my husband said, ‘Why not?'”

“If we can share it with other people and still manage to keep eight weeks for ourselves it would be really great investment for us and still a beach house of our dreams,” she says.

The shared ownership model allowed Kari Ann, who worked with Tuvalu Home (www.tuvaluhome.com), to furnish the house with everything she dreamed of.

Some of her favorite things include chandeliers right out of “The Little Mermaid,” made out of seashells, a settee with quilting inspired by coral, and a custom made curio cabinet. “I didn’t want to be matchy matchy. I wanted it to look more like a collected look over time,” says Kari Ann. She describes the experience of furnishing a house from top to bottom–including every single knob, knick-knack, linen and dish–as “a hellish but wonderful dream.”

“When you’re building a place that luxurious and that large, it just makes more sense to split it with more people,” says Jay. The Gerlach’s already own a beach house in town, and weren’t planning to use the new home full time anyway. They wanted a place where their extended family could come stay, and the estate, at 5277 Austin Road, fit the bill perfectly.

They did a test run over the Fourth of July. “We had multi-generations here and it was kind of fun to see how the house was used,” says Kari Ann. “Women were in the kitchen chatting, the older people were at the table having their coffee, enjoying the main room and the library, and the kids were downstairs, outside, or down the beach in the back. All the men were upstairs in the Jacuzzi (which has a flat screen television tuned to sports to compliment the dolphin and sea lion show on the ocean). … I think this house has something for everybody and something for everybody at the same time.”

When asked about what it’s like to work so closely with his wife for the past three years, Jay laughs. “It’s fun but it also can be very frustrating … everybody’s heard of the old saying that if you can survive a remodel together you’ve got a strong marriage–this was a lot more than a remodel.”

He laughed even harder when asked if he would do a project like this again. “Yes, but not immediately. We need a little time to recover.”

For more information visit www.santabarbarabeachclub.com or call 805.504.0699.

Originally published in Noozhawk