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The media and guest room has playful touches including a fringed lamp and Lion King wall hanging, just some of the fun aspects of the unique plywood paradise on display at Saturday’s Hospice Spring Home Tour. |
Plywood paradise: Square home far from square on SCVH Home Tour
May 04, 2016
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
A plywood paradise designed by an engineer to reflect the dimensions of his main building material won’t evoke thoughts of pocket pen protectors but will probably bring you dozens of smiles at Saturday’s Santa Clara Valley Hospice-Home Support Group’s Spring Home Tour!
The May 7 tour features a historic ranch, an eye-popping garden overlooked by a lavish kitchen, two unique airport locations where women flyers hang their goggles as well as the plywood paradise, all open to visitors for the Hospice Spring Tour: Homes, Hangars, Garden and a Barn.
The unique tour to benefit the Santa Clara Valley Hospice-Home Support Group will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are only $40 each ($45 at the door) for the tour.
The unique plywood paradise in the Oaks is home to Doug Green and Brian Kiesow, an abode designed in the mid-1940s by a square-thinking engineer with a wild streak mixing maximum utility with strong touches of fun.
The home and many of the original touches — a plywood clock as well as a plywood radio — mix well with the furniture and accessories ranging from mid-century modern to antique, set on a large lot with plenty of seating areas and courtyards amid flowers and succulents.
Located at 1009 Holly Road, the Green-Kiesow home will bring a smile to your face as soon as you step on the tile-inlaid staircase to the entry door. The door itself, original to the home, has different colored glass inserts that the domestic partners say reminds them of “The Partridge Family” bus! It catches the eye and the light, letting the visitor know they’re in for a treat before they even enter the home.
Inside numerous accents and collectibles twinkle as if enjoying their own company; whether pillow, tray, photo frame or whatever they all seem perfectly placed to shine in the sunlight or let subtle shadow be their best highlight.
Doug says he discovered the house in 1990 when returning from visiting Cristo’s Umbrellas in Tejon — it was purchased by Doug and Brian 14 years ago.
Unaware of the home’s pedigree Doug said at lunch with the late Roy Wilson Jr. he told the couple “ ‘You’re the boys that have the plywood house!’ ” and told them the house had been designed and built by an engineer working at Limoneira Co.
And, Wilson told the couple, it was all plywood that had been milled in Santa Paula with rooms designed as 16-foot-square to accommodate the material.
“Everything,” said Doug, “is super-square, even the plywood clock is square…once we bought it we figured we’d change it but within six months we fell in love with it!”
And that love shows in every room, even the much larger add on created by a former owner, one of three that have lived in the home.
Not that the couple has not made their own renovations noted Brian: “We had the tile in the back for 13 years,” an 8 foot stack of flooring on a garden table now perfectly laid and polished to a gleaming black porcelain.
That process was hectic, as “When getting ready for our annual Christmas party we’d be wiping grout out and cooking, wiping grout out and cooking!”
Said Doug, “Every review I read about porcelain said don’t do it!”
The one playful touch added by the designer is cherished by Doug and Brian as well as their guests: a rounded wall with a bar atop painted squares peaks into the living room and overlooks the den beckoning those that know it’s always 5 p.m. somewhere.
“My favorite part of the house is that round wall with the bar,” said Doug.
Brian agrees noting the den just off the kitchen holds two easy chairs that offer a view of the bar, the patio and the great outdoors of the 1/3 acre lot.
The furnishings and art are a diverse combination of antique, mid-century, modern, fine pieces mixed with some not quite kitsch camp accessories such as the fringed lamp and Lion King wall hanging in the parents’ guest bedroom/television watching room complete with antique chest and a Victrola in case the stereo goes down.
A strong sense of family permeates the home: an antique and beautifully carved secretary between the living room and den belonged to Doug’s grandfather, “An intellectual without portfolio, super smart and super compassionate.”
A mid-century chair that belonged to Brian’s mother has a place of honor in the den, a piece of furniture that was on the verge of being discarded but was finally partially reupholstered in Santa Paula.
“It’s still a little threadbare,” said Doug, “but we love it…”
Their son Tyler’s room is off limits and daughter Sally is always welcome to stay with the couple.
There is original Catalina tile in the master bath off the bedroom with combed wood paneling still covering the closets. A John Kelly signed lithograph covers one wall and a standing wine rack cleverly acts as a stand for a variety of hats near the king sized sleigh bed. A dresser holds a series of family photos, bright colors that pop in the room under a wide widow.
There are three bedrooms and two baths in the home with plenty of storage tucked away including under the breakfast nook built and upholstered entirely by Brian just off the laundry room that has been converted to an office.
The kitchen is a cook’s delight with original tile counters hugging an oversized stove. A Keurig coffeemaker used often by the thoughtful hosts matches the stainless steel refrigerator in the L-shaped kitchen.
The house lets in the outdoors from every room with wide windows and doors: a hammock beckons for lazy summer relaxing, accessories are fun and funky, a Buddha guards the outside fireplace. Landscaping ranges from lawn to patios, succulents to fruit trees and flowers.
Said Doug, “We’re incredibly lucky to be here, it’s more interesting and beautiful to us than we could have imagined, but I’m horrified people want to see it!”
Other stops on the Spring Home Tour feature the Joanna & Randy Axell home and barn located at 14732 W. Telegraph Road, the best in ranch living, dating back to 1867. The house and barn are a treasure trove of history, art, handcrafted furniture and turn-of-the-century machinery including an antique fire engine.
The garden of Dr. Jon Schrock, a labor of love by his late wife Jane, is celebrated throughout Ventura County. The hillside home overlooking the wide expanse of the Santa Clara River Valley is located at 508 Glade Drive where views are breathtaking from sunrise to sundown. Visitors will be able to pop into the kitchen to enjoy the garden view and the heart of this home.
Guests will be flying high with a rare look inside the Santa Paula Airport hangars of Judy Phelps, whose CP Aviation is located at 830 E. Santa Maria St. and Wilma Melville (Hangar #7) offering a glimpse into the lives of two remarkable women. Phelps is an acclaimed Master Certified Flight Instructor-Aerobatic, CFI – Instrument, specializing in Tailwheel, Spins, Emergency Maneuver Training and Aerobatics. Melville, a retired schoolteacher, is the founder of National Search Dog Foundation who spearheaded the drive to train the nation’s most highly skilled search dogs after she responded to the domestic terrorism bombing of the Murray Building in Oklahoma.
Presale tickets for $40 each are available at the Hospice Office, 113 N. Mill St.; Santa Paula Times, 120 Davis St.; and the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce, 200 N. 10th St. Tickets will be available at the door for $45 each.
For more information call 805-525-1333.
