When Empty Nester Kathryn M. Ireland Downsized, She Gained A Whole New World
Words by Kathryn M. Ireland
With our Book Club series, we hand over the proverbial mic to our Experts—letting them share their work, their thought process, and their best tips, all in their own words. The following is an excerpt from Kathryn M. Ireland’s A Life in Design, published this month with Cico Books.
Reprinted with permission from A Life in Design: Celebrating 30 Years of Interiors by Kathryn M. Ireland, CICO Books. Photography © Trevor Tondro/OTTO.
My current home on the flats of Santa Monica is very close to where my family lived for over 20 years.
My three boys, Oscar, Otis, and Louis, were able to skateboard to school, only getting in the car to go to the beach. Although this property doesn’t hold the same memories as their childhood home, it has very much the same sort of feeling. The pieces I brought with me—art, furniture, and rugs—give the place the sense of our previous home, but it has the advantages of up-to-date plumbing, an abundance of light, and a floorplan that our Spanish Revival farmhouse couldn’t achieve without adding a wing.
When I downsized from our original family home, I was able to open a print studio and start printing. Every decorator now thought they could become a textile designer, and the few hand-print shops operating in Europe and the US were overwhelmed. Lead times had become prohibitive, and I realized that printing my own fabrics would keep showrooms happy and timings on track.
Reprinted with permission from A Life in Design: Celebrating 30 Years of Interiors by Kathryn M. Ireland, CICO Books. Photography © Trevor Tondro/OTTO.
Reprinted with permission from A Life in Design: Celebrating 30 Years of Interiors by Kathryn M. Ireland, CICO Books. Photography © Trevor Tondro/OTTO.
All three of my boys had moved to New York, and I was up for a project. One day, my son Otis called me. He had got his real estate license and was scouring LA for properties of interest. He spotted a project for me on the Santa Monica flats, situated on a street that was still up-and-coming. It was a Spanish-style bungalow with an interesting history. In the 1970s, the previous owners had obtained permission to build a studio in the garden. In the early ’90s, their son inherited the property and hired Mexican architect Ruben Ojeda to enlarge the original house.
On my first visit, I walked into what appeared to be a little cottage then through into what could be a small addition to London’s Tate Gallery, with west-facing windows and soaring ceilings. Through the French doors was a yard that I could see in my mind’s eye as the courtyard of a Moroccan riad. A detached garage had been semi-converted into a home gym and could be redesigned to make a guest cottage. But what really sealed the deal was the modern two-story structure at the back of the plot. This space, with its polished concrete floors, sliding wooden doors, and vast windows would make an extraordinary home office. It was love at first sight, and I jumped through every hoop to acquire what would become my new home.
Reprinted with permission from A Life in Design: Celebrating 30 Years of Interiors by Kathryn M. Ireland, CICO Books. Photography © Trevor Tondro/OTTO.
Renovations started, and I became project manager, architect, and landscaper—having over-spent to acquire the property, I had to wear a lot of hats. But the fun of doing this house was that I could renovate it in one fell swoop and bring my vision to life. Having three boys (and six of their friends over on any given afternoon), one thing I was determined to have was a generously sized kitchen and family room where eight large men could sprawl on the sofa watching the ball game while I cooked supper on my ever-loyal AGA. In fact, this house, with its two bedrooms, has ended up with two kitchens.
The finished house draws together all the separate strands of my life: family, creativity, travel, and motherhood.
Reprinted with permission from A Life in Design: Celebrating 30 Years of Interiors by Kathryn M. Ireland, CICO Books. Photography © Trevor Tondro/OTTO.