Sunlit Sanctuary: A Ranch-style Home in Santa Barbara by Corinne Mathern.

Corinne Mathern remembers feeling a psychic gravitational pull the first time she visited the Los Olivos, California property that would become her next canvas. “When I drove the hour up to the valley to visit the place and meet the clients, it was a breath of fresh air,” says the Santa Barbara-based interior designer, whose admission, evidently, doesn’t only allude to the abundant countryside oxygen.

The home, a 1980s ranch-style estate with a rambling ranch-style layout, was nestled deep inside the Santa Ynez Valley, a charming region in Santa Barbara County, known for its vineyards, wineries and bucolic locale. It was set on acres and acres of land and dotted with olive trees, horses and emus. Just a 3-hour drive from Los Angeles, it was a magical retreat in the heart of wine country, although as Corinne recalls, some of that magic was in need of reconjuring.

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Corinne was mindful about what to add and what to not. “The clients’ existing collection of objects, some of which they’d designed themselves, and their passion for creating a home that was layered with history, stories and a collected feel was easy inspiration for us,” she explains of the homeowners, who own wineries and have a passion for art and travel. She didn’t just make room for owner-made novelties, she gave them pride of place too. Exhibits A, B and C: the lamp and coffee table in the living room, and the carved rock sink in the powder room, all three of the clients’ own design. She also introduced other eclectic finds, chief among them a vintage George Nelson pendant, a 16th-century refectory table, a chair by Shiro Kuramata, and a Foscarini Fork Lamp for Diesel.

The surroundings sowed the seeds for the design language, which Corinne imagined to be peaceful and placid, something that would act as an inspiring backdrop to the homeowners’ lives. In a bid to dial up the calm, she dialled down the colour, curating a palette of natural wood tones, hushed cream plaster and layers of brooding black stone and tile. The only exception to the no-colour rule? The Michael Taylor sofa, which she reupholstered in a sky blue Pierre Frey mohair that holds a mirror to the sky.

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In making room for the future, she also took cues from the past. “The house had incredible, original pine floors that established a base, a soul, and a jumping off point for the design,” says Corinne, who brought them into the present with a bit of repolishing and a tactful juxtaposing of new oak doors, plastered walls and leathered stone surfaces.

Corinne says that the attention to detail led the project to run past the anticipated deadline. Not that client or designer were in any rush. “The homeowners had a contractor called Maestro who deemed no detail too small and was fastidious about his work. The additional time investment was completely worthwhile,” she admits. On her part, Corinne considers the project a perfect fit in more ways than one. “I felt the ‘spark’ that I often do when I know my team and I can bring a home to life,” she says. In the end, she didn’t just restore the home, she also restored its magic.

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[Images courtesy of Corinne Mathern Studio. Photography by Nicole Franzen.]