Warm Welcome
 .gif) It's easy to smile when climbing the set
of steps leading to Tom and Judy Nilsen's Spanish Colonial
bungalow near Pueblo Street. Colorful tile adorns the winding
stairway and alongside, fruit trees and unique garden
artifacts line the four-tiered front yard. At the top, the
entry offers a warm welcome in shades of green, red, yellow
and blue.
"Visitors are not sure what to expect at the bottom of the
stairs and get a surprise when they reach the front door,"
says Judy, a retired art teacher.
The inside of the white stucco building is just as vibrant.
Furniture and textiles are patterned in apple green, golden
yellow and paprika red in accordance with Monterey style,
spurred by the Spanish Revival movement of the 1920s and
'30s.
"We've done a lot of research on Monterey furniture and
wanted to convert our home that way," says Judy, explaining
that celebrities like Will Rogers, Clark Gable and Bela Lugosi
were great Monterey collectors. "The furniture is really
expensive, but we have crafted most of the things you see in
here ourselves."
Adds Tom, who did the brilliant tile work on the front
stairway and in the couple's bathroom, "We didn't really have
to spend much money at all."
In the corner of the well-lit living room, the borders of a
pine cupboard with wrought-iron strapping were hand-painted by
Judy in a green, yellow and red floral pattern. Flipping
through the pages of a book on Monterey furnishings, she finds
the corner cabinet she modeled hers after, and the resemblance
is striking. Apparently, the only major difference is the
price: authentic cabinets sell for several thousand dollars;
Judy spent about $650 on the entire piece. Across the room,
Judy also transformed a Mexican stereo cabinet and a once
plain-looking lamp base in the same theme.
Above the dining table hangs
an early California antique chandelier, the first Monterey
piece Judy bought.
"It's perfect for the casual
Spanish style of our home," she says, pointing to its
traditional floral pattern as well as the leather and metal
accents. The artist says she's still searching high and low
for the perfect piece for the stucco wall that separates the
dining area from the bar-style kitchen. "There are so many
windows and niches in this house that we don't have room for
much art," says Judy, who has a masters degree in folk art.
"The piece I get for this wall has to be very special. But I
will find it some day."
In the bathroom, Judy
brightened up a tall bookshelf and adorned it with multihued
artifacts, painted the wall lamps (she got them plain at
Pottery Barn) and transformed the window trimmings with a
joyful mix of purple, turquoise, yellow and blue. Here, the
couple also tiled the walls and a drain shelf behind the tub,
creating the perfect ledge for plants and candles just beneath
the windows.
Outdoors, the couple made the
fence that encloses the left side of the house match the front
door (even the outdoor pipes are covered in bright tones).
Originally, Judy wanted to add Monterey colors to the exterior
trim as well, but after Tom had finished painting the entire
interior and all the windowpanes, he was adamant they repaint
the outside trim in its existing blue tone.
The back patio
also takes on a Mexican theme with tall palm trees, a palapa
and a barbeque area. Along the back fence, Tom, a retired
school administrator, has put up his impressive collection of
license plates, all from 1939 (his birth year) while another
side of the fence holds one of the "TO BEACH" signs you find
all around Santa Barbara.
 "Tom is the one who manufactures these
signs," reveals Judy.
The couple, originally from the San Fernando Valley, bought
the house five years ago after having rented a Riviera home
for seven and a half years (the first five years they only
visited Santa Barbara on weekends). At the time they were
looking to relocate permanently, very few Santa Barbara homes
were for sale, and both Judy and Tom say they feel fortunate
to have found this charming bungalow close to downtown, yet in
a quiet neighborhood.
"It was built in the 1930s, but it has very good bones,"
Tom says, pointing out that most of the upgrades the couples
have made are aesthetic rather than structural.
Tom admits he loves to sit in the living room with the
front door wide open, looking out over the garden and the
red-tile rooftops below.
"The breeze makes this room
so comfortable," he says, adding that another thing he
treasures about the home is the many parties the couple has
thrown here since they moved in. Most recently, the Nilsens
celebrated Judy's birthday with a big bash on the back patio.
"All the guests brought paper lanterns that we hung across
the back. It was so beautiful," says Judy, who confesses that
the one thing she does miss is a more spacious living and
dining room for larger get-togethers. "Tom disagrees. He says
we're fine throwing small parties," she smiles.
Tom's probably right.
Regardless of how many people the Nilsens invite over, guests
will always receive a warm welcome from the moment they climb
the stairs to reach the multicolored front door.
Photos: Isabelle Gullö
If you are interested in having your home
featured in "Our House" please call The Santa Barbara
News-Press at 805-564-5160 or email: [email protected]
| 
