Relaxed Yet Formal Interiors Inform A California Abode
A tile roof and stacked stone give an Irvine home a classic, old-world sensibility. The new entry door is by The Beveled Edge. The landscape around the house–filled with eye-catching plantings, including bright red florals–was installed by Armando Montebello.
Designer Robin Strickler has transformative powers–she can turn a dark and dated Mediterranean-style house with heavy beams, wood paneling and stone floors and walls into a collection of bright and stylish rooms filled with layers of texture that speak to a casual California aesthetic. Evidence of this ability is the home she recently renovated. “The house felt very heavy,” says Strickler.
Strickler had a thoughtful and effective strategy. “The clients liked the Venetian plaster so I wanted to keep it,” she says. “But lightening it and making it more of a cream color changed the look.”
“Even though this house is not on the coast, it has a coastal feel,” Strickler says. “The palette is very light and there’s so much linen.” The neutral palette, the simple, classic textures and the carefully balanced mix of styles that the designer arranged for this residence are marks of her design aesthetic. But in the case of this interior, the design gestures are particularly productive.
“The home’s architecture is more formal while Southern California is more informal,” she says. “The weather is warm year-round and people want connection with the outdoors. Mixing styles and using these textures achieve those things but they also give the house a timelessness.”