STYLE : ARCHITECTURE : Craftsman Lite
In 1985, Cathryn and Tom Krause and their four children ran out of space in their 60-year-old Ojai cottage at the foot of the Topa Topa Mountains. So they added two bedrooms and a bathroom to the existing 950 square feet. Five years later, they approached local architect David Bury and said they were ready for a whole new house.
Drawing on a style that is very much a part of the Ojai Valley, where there are two pre-World War I Greene and Greene homes, Bury designed a 2,700-square-foot house that he says “pays homage to the Craftsman style without being purely derivative.” Instead of being dark and somewhat gloomy, the interiors are light and airy, with unstained wood floors and walls painted a creamy chablis. In old Craftsman houses, pale colors were used only to accent darkly stained wood.
The exterior’s dark brown and green are straight from the Craftsman palette, but the prairie-style windows are more Frank Lloyd Wright than Greene and Greene. Other elements, such as copper straps around exposed trusses in the living room and angular wood trim throughout, are true Craftsman details.
Furnishings also update the look and feel of the house. Santa Barbara interior designer Genny Cummings emphasized the Oriental influence in the Craftsman style. An antique Japanese kitchen cabinet was split in half and topped with black slate, one part serving as buffet and the other as entertainment center. Other contemporary pieces blend with vintage finds: New Summit chairs surround a 19th-Century dining table from the Philippines, and contemporary armchairs and sofas, upholstered with Donghia fabrics, team up with a pair of Stickley sideboards.
The Krauses’ Mission-style bed, kilim-covered bench and Palacek wicker chairs make for a simple yet cozy master bedroom. It overlooks the new vegetable and flower garden created by Santa Barbara landscape designer Kathy Kreisler. Directly below the terrace, a deck sweeps around the front of the house and cascades down a graceful stair to bring this modern Craftsman house closer to its rustic environs.
