Having spent decades as a child living in Malibu, California, Deborah Call dreamed of owning her own home near the sea. She discovered it around 90 miles south. “Despite the green-shag-carpeted kitchen, it was love at first sight,” she states. Just blocks from the sand, Telephone loves her tranquil residence and surrounds herself with personal items and decor mainly from Indonesia, where she has made several trips as a textile designer.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Deborah Call along with her kitty, Cleopatra
Location: Dana Point, California
Size: 1,456 square feet; two bedrooms, 2 baths
That’s intriguing: A storm in December 2010 bombarded the home so badly, it needed a total overhaul to make it habitable.
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As a textile designer, Telephone respects and admires artists, designers and creative thinkers of all kinds. “I am particularly inspired by authentic craftsmanship and people who dedicate themselves to a skill or trade that works on a degree independent of mass production,” she states.
Call adores hand-me-downs and Craigslist finds, and has been fortunate enough to get beautiful hand-crafted presents from gifted buddies. Some of her favorite designers are out of the world of style, and she sees a lot of crossover between interiors and style. Also, natural materials such as stones and timber bring a sense of groundedness for Telephone. “I like to create a mood over that I like to create a look,” she states.
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A closer look in Call’s custom designed xeriscape garden. More to come later.
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This 1950s classic ikat wall hanging out of Sumba, Indonesia, is extremely dear to Phone. Her old boss bought it from a girl who paddled him out in a kayak when he was surfing the outer atolls of Indonesia.
Beside the ikat are two stylized wooden figurines from Bali representing women walking in succession whilst praying.
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The intentional white walls show off the handpicked furniture and personal art items representing who Phone is and where she has been. The earthy colour palette, timber furniture and Mexican Saltillo tiles bring warmth to the room. An antique quilt from Phone’s great-grandmother drapes over the timber chair.
Beautifully hand-crafted from classic canoe prows, a cupboard from Bali hides electronic equipment.
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Call crafted and designed this mosaic mantel and hearth made of marble and artificial granite chips. A Day of the Dead candelabra created by friend and ceramic artist Susie Ketchum adorns the mantel.
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An ikat woven textile drapes the coffee table, and on top is a publication on textiles and a wooden bare figure from the Philippines that is certainly a nutcracker.
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A funerary kayak and hand-dyed orchid-vine”skirt” hanging in the attic draws up the eye and creates visual impact. Since buying Indonesia is no longer the standard for Telephone, she turns to David Alan at Solana Beach. The tall classic hand-hewn cupboard from Java, Indonesia, has been bought there. One of Call’s most recent splurges is this leather sofa from Restoration Hardware.
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Call loves quiet meditation and incense burning while stretched out on her leopard-covered”Cleopatra lounge” off the atrium. This is only one of her favorite spots in the home, as it is filled with a great deal of sunlight.
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Shortly after moving to the home in 1989, Telephone and her ceramicist friend Susie Ketchum tiled the kitchen countertops and backsplash. The mosaic critters add vibrant personality to the white cabinetry and walls.
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From the home office, file cabinets out of Staples along with a door from Home Depot create a functional and affordable alternative to a traditional desk.
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Natural light fills the master bedroom, showing off a distinctive hand-carved headboard bought from a shop in Bali.
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What Phone loves about this headboard is its outdated appearance and muted colors from natural weathering over time. “It doesn’t have that garish appearance and bright paint that many of the new bits have,” she states. Call considers it might have been part of a entryway at one time.
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More hand-carved furniture from Bali is employed in the restroom as storage and a vanity. A bold white contemporary sink with brushed chrome fittings is a wonderful contrast to detailing at the mirror and cabinets.
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This guest room features a bold, picture, teal Tahitian bedspread that’s a garage sale locate; the good walnut headboard is out of Craigslist.
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After a storm in 2010 ruined Call’s home, she decided it was time to get rid of her backyard’s grass and messy vines, and transform it into a peaceful xeriscape garden. Since her neighborhood has water use restrictions, it was an easy choice to go drought tolerant. Telephone hired Scott Ward of White Sage Gardening to style her yard to reflect her love of the desert and decomposed granite and rocks. She states,”It was an wonderful experience working with Scott as an artist. He brought a lot of his own artistic to the undertaking and moved on things in a extremely organized and thoughtful way.”
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Ward wanted a substance that would be a stark contrast between the backyard and the trail. What is apparently sand is called DG (brief for decomposed granite); it compacts over time. The substance appears natural, such as the desert Phone enjoys.
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The aloe camperi in bloom displays stunning orange and yellow bursts of colour.
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This agave hybrid attributes intriguing leaf prints. The embossed effect is the consequence of the plant’s being tightly wrapped before it enlarged.
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Ward designed the garden to allow colour, repeat and also a variety in texture shine through. The firestick plant (euphorbia tirucalli), also known as the pencil tree, provides lots of visual attention, but the milky sap is very toxic and may be blinding.
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The Echeveria’Afterglow’ is really a beautiful and vigorous succulent that has pinkish-lavender leaves.
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Phone worked together with craftsperson Erik Vader to create this custom-made African mahogany timber entrance. Potted aloe ferox line the driveway and are backlit for added play and ambience.
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Telephone says,”Spending money on your home in a meaningful way increases not only the value of your house but also the experience of your life.” She learned this to be authentic after attaining deep into her pockets to create her home livable again following the flooding; with this significant investment came a new sense of pride and enjoyment.
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