Name: Penny, Petra and Sydney Cortright
Location: The Mesa — Santa Barbara, California
Size: 2,600 square feet (including a 600 square foot attached studio rental)
Years lived in: 20 — owned
Never have I turned a corner to face a staircase that literally reads, painted on the stairs, "And I'll Buy You a Stairway to Heaven." This detail leads to many more creative twists and turns, as I toured this unique home on the top of a hill in Santa Barbara.
Penny and her two daughters, Petra (seen in the tour photos) and Sydney, have lived in this remarkable spot for about 20 years. Each of these ladies is an artist, working in a different medium, so their combined efforts and styling is vibrant, eclectic and enchanting. The house is so 'them,' so effusive with personal details and flavor, they don't even notice the effects; it's an extension of their heart, soul and interest in art. The real pleasure is to go into this home with someone who's never been there and see the smiles and awe wash over their face.
The layout is simple — most of the bedrooms are downstairs, where it stays nice and cool and the upstairs is where the living room, master bedroom, kitchen and outdoor deck are located. The view from this deck of the Santa Barbara foothills is unrivaled, the opposite windows are ocean–facing. Much of the artwork was purchased or traded locally, or found on frequent trips to Mexico. These ladies love Mexico and the bright colors, textiles and aesthetics compliment their sensibility beautifully. Penny has found most of the furniture from thrift stores over the years—she has an uncanny knack for walking out with the best things from even the most dire of shops! The bold, irreverent sense of color and play, as well as the infusion of personal history/experience, make this a truly special home. Thanks ladies for letting us peek into your world!
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Our Style: Eclectic, hippie crash pad
Inspiration: The beach
Favorite Element: Concrete counter with inlayed found sea glass
Biggest Challenge: Indoor dryer vent
What Friends Say: "OMG you can see the ocean and the mountains?"
Proudest DIY: The stairs where I painted "AND I'LL BUY YOU A STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN"
Biggest Indulgence: Pebble entry (outside entrance)
Best Advice: "Tear it down." (original house that was on property)
Dream Sources: Mexico, markets abroad
Resources of Note:
ENTRY
- • tile floors: Tile Co.
LIVING ROOM
- • green couches: Alpha Thrift Store
• artwork: traded with friends
DINING ROOM
- • concrete poured table, with sea glass I found on the beach
KITCHEN
- • appliances: Sears
• flatware: inherited and thrift stores
BEDROOMS
- • bedspreads: Mexico
• artwork: friends
Thanks Penny, Petra and Sydney!
Images: Leela Cyd Ross
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I love the staircase. Clearly, it is the stairway to a heaven of sorts.
I like most of this, but what was the point of Photo 24? And while the rest of the house is colorful and eclectic, the room with the black and white bedspread just looks incomplete. I love the view, though. I'd spend a lot of time outside if I had a view like that.
I'm not sure what to say on this one. I mean the location is wonderful as are the views. It's quirky and colorful and has some really cute points but overall design...not sure if it is there yet.
how about a better pic of the poured concrete table? i think i see the seaglass.......
Wonderful, personal home. I love the quirky use of color and the casual light feel that comes across through the beautiful photography. I would love to see some captions in the gallery tour explaining some of the close-ups and vignette shots so I could get a better sense of what things are.
the ikea bed looks great with the paint stripped off
An amazingly bright, colorful, and comfortable-looking home. Especially like the outdoor space and the stairway to heaven!
This tour is a lovely little photo shoot, but doesn't offer much in terms of seeing the actual home.
are we supposed to be looking at the house or the people? or the dogs?
I am gaga over Petra's bed - any ideas on where it is from?
its from IKEA :) :(
Love the textiles in that bedroom.
I remember this kitchen from Leela's kitchen tour, and I'm so delighted to see a full tour. I love homes that are abundant of life and character, un-staged, "lived in"-- though I admire the polar opposite (modern, over stylized, pristine) a home such as Penny's shows us a different type of living. I think the photos look wonderful and give us a nice glimpse into what details make this home complete.
I really like the teal/gold/flowered rug and the blue rug. :DDD And the kitchen cabinets and counters.
Stairwell. Bed frame. View. Puppies. But what I really want to know about are - the BOOTS! Where from? By whom???
Please_please_ let me know :) They are the most perfect comfy everyday every outfit looking pair ever. They'd last me forever!!!!
Thanks!!!!
I was going to ask if there was a kitchen tour, and apparently there is! I'm just LOVING this kitchen......
Omg, I love how fun your place is with the quirky style. That kitchen is my favorite. I like the cabinet colors and the backsplach and the counters are really neat; I almost put in concrete counters in my home. The sloped ceiling is interesting too. I dig the green velvet looking sofas and what appears to be a floating desk. The lights on the bed are cute too!
"Artwork traded with friends"... that is a Francis Alys drawing in photo 5! Worth major bucks. I wish I had famous artist friends with which to trade work. Beautiful house. I would love a shot of the exterior. Any house tour with chihuahuas in it is good enough for me!
I agree. I really like those boots.
Wow - you know you're doing something wrong when even the Apartment Therapy commenters complain that there are too many pictures of dogs!
Petra's website is... interesting. Very meta, of course, but surely art should have more of an end to it than that?
I am loving this house and yes, you do have the stairway to heaven and Santa Barbara is its own heaven with the mountains and the beach being right at your doorstep, this house is decorated beautifully for the area :)
Oh, wow. I love it all.
Love their style, would appreciate more concentration on the actual space than the knick knack paddy whacks. Thanks.
Any chance you could tell us where the bedspread in the master bedroom is from? I know it says "Mexico", but is there a label of any kind?
Lovely home, thanks for sharing. Great collection of pressed glass a nice surprise.
Love the Led Zeppelin excerpt on the stairs. Great house and view. It feels very California to me.
This is one of the most beautiful, soulful house tours I've seen. Clearly this home is inhabited by artists! Thank you for sharing.
Your place is lovely! It's so fun. Those green couches are killer. :) Love the views too, of course. And the art.
I love their cabinets! I wish mine looked like that. I'm renovating through lookintheattic. I am so thrilled.
To the right of the bed, there is a folk art painting of the long-legged person with pants and hat that looks like paintings displayed recently at the Art Museum in Ann Arbor by Mose Tolliver who made many paintings using 'sweet mud'.
LOVE your home - truly inspirational. I love the layout and the personality that shows through. I love how you've used a colorful, glass cabinet/hutch to display an assortment of your photos. Thanks for sharing your home. I love your doggies!
I LOVE the rug. Mind sharing where it came from?
Oh, do I wish I could get that fabulous green couch! It's exactly the size and style and fabric I have been searching for! I'd even take it in green, and yes, I'm green with enthusiasm over this ;-) Wonderfully artful abode, too!