This month’s issue of Elle Decor magazine features a romantic, cozy, and architecturally stunning home in Ojai, California. Ojai is next door to Santa Barbara. It’s a much less expensive place to live and over the last ten or fifteen years has seen many lovely retail shops move in.

The home belongs to actress Reese Witherspoon (darling nieces shown above) and was furnished by LA designer Kristen Buckingham. The decor is very subtle, very comfy and is well suited to the architecture and location–one of the things I’m forever preaching about.

Above is the living room with it’s fabulous fireplace and Juliet balcony. The ceiling has exposed beams and I wonder if at one time it was a vaulted barrel ceiling.

The dining room is very laid back with mismatched furniture. It’s a charming effect but is it practical and comfortable during meals? I love to see new uses of furniture but there’s a fine line between avant garde and “affected”. I don’t mean to be a nay sayer. It really is a lovely home.

The garden features some lovely stone work, native plants and crushed granite paths.

Above lots of faux mounted antlers, one of my current obsessions. Emphasis on the faux thank you very much.

Another shot of the living room portrays very little color, a confident move considering virtually everything right now is bright and bold. Perhaps Reese, working as hard as she does while filming, needs to be surrounded by relaxing neutrals.

Not everyone subscribes to Elle Decor and I wanted my design enthusiast readers to be aware of the article. It is a wonderful example of Spanish architecture: one of California’s more beautiful, inherited legacies. This article can currently be viewed online by clicking here- Elle Decor.