“I love when spaces tell a story of who lives there,” designer Nicole Green says. For this Orange County home, that tale is one she knows particularly intimately. When her parents purchased a Spanish-style abode within a serene estate overlooking Bommer Canyon, they readily asked her to lead its interior renovation. It marks their second project together (Green handled the design of their Park City, Utah, getaway several years ago) and, while her parents followed her usual client process in the past, she admits this one came together a bit differently. “It was hard not to talk about the renovation casually over Sunday dinner,” she shares of their close relationship.
Her parents, whom Green describes as frequent travelers, avid entertainers and “a stylish, youthful couple,” brought some design know-how to the table themselves. “They’d been in their previous home for twenty years, so this was a chance to bring their interiors up to date with their current style,” the designer says. “My father is a builder with an eye for detail and my mother has wonderful taste and was very involved in the process.” While Green drove the renovation in every sense, the pair were involved collaborators and companions on sourcing trips to France and Italy, even finding a few special items themselves.
To kick things off, Green updated the taupe-hued exteriors with a warm white shade and placed a stone patio set purchased on a family trip to Provence in the front courtyard beside a fountain. The water feature’s look—and soothing sound—sets the scene for the tranquil modern Mediterranean spirit found throughout the property. Inside, the designer gutted and recast key spaces like the kitchen, opening it up to a family room and carving out a dining nook. She was able to retain the abode’s exterior French doors and windows, staining them a darker hue to create contrast, plus sanded and restained the family room’s beams. Smooth plaster was added to the walls for texture and depth. She also chose soft neutrals and earthy hues that flow naturally throughout the home, exuding a subtle elegance. “The palette is influenced by the breathtaking views of the rolling hills, which change color throughout the year,” Green explains.
Then there’s all the storytelling elements—those pieces that speak to the character of the owners. The foyer displays some of her parents’ beloved books and photographs while the piano room just off the entry features artwork, artifacts and even more of their library within distinctive coves. The dining room, also located just beyond the foyer, is drenched in cocoa-colored paint (“which just envelops you,” Green muses) setting off a distinctive Murano-glass chandelier the designer chose as an element of surprise. “I knew my parents’ style and what they would love, but I also knew when to challenge them,” she notes.
The formal living room provided an opportunity to introduce stronger colors. “The sofas are dressed in a bold but calming blue-green velvet that adds a lot of personality,” the designer says. “We wanted this room to feel very sophisticated but still loungy.” She also specified a new fireplace surround in a size that nods to a grand, old-world scale.
Quieter neutrals adorn the family room, with a cream-colored sectional anchoring the space, and continue into the adjacent kitchen. And, in her parents’ serene bedroom, Green brought in meaningful touches including an antique desk (a family heirloom) and floral artworks by Lourdes Sanchez, whose work also appears in the kitchen, to reinforce the house’s connection to its site.
To revive the large yard, the homeowners called upon landscape architect Molly Wood, who had designed their previous residence’s yard. In tandem with the interior plan, Wood chose a restrained plant palette free of distracting hues. “It’s more about texture and foliage with color,” she explains of her work. “We chose grasses for movement, white roses to keep it natural but civilized, succulents, cacti and agave for interest, and boxwood, pittosporum and dwarf olives for different mounding shapes that echo the trees on the far hillsides.” Wood also brought in strawberry trees native of the Mediterranean Basin (and which happen to be Italy’s national tree) to frame the pool and bolster the estate’s European feel. A fire pit under a graceful sycamore and a trellised seating area also create new spaces for the owners to enjoy.
Due to the personal nature of this project, Green, happily, is still able to enjoy her work during frequent visits. But, more importantly, her parents are satisfied. “They’re a little removed from the world there; it’s a welcoming sanctuary where they can rest and enjoy each other’s company, but still host grandkids and holidays,” the designer observes. “It’s fitting for this next chapter in their lives.” Which is a story they have yet to tell.
