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Erica Johnston’s Crescent Park undertaking in Palo Alto is a type of uncommon properties that manages to really feel each cinematic and deeply livable. A 1926 Spanish Colonial Revival introduced lovingly into the current day, it’s all about texture, heat, and the type of quiet luxurious that doesn’t shout—it glows.
Should you’ve ever checked out handcrafted plaster partitions and customized arched home windows and thought, “That’s attractive, however how on earth do I afford that?”, you’re in the proper place. That is your information to recreating that Spanish Revival meets California-cool look on a real-world funds.
1. The Plaster Look — With out the Worth


The Splurge: Genuine hand-troweled plaster and tadelakt in gentle neutrals.The Save: Lime-wash paint is the fashionable designer’s secret weapon. Attempt Portola Paints’ Roman Clay or Benjamin Moore’s Lime Wash End for that pure, movement-filled texture. Apply with a big masonry brush, and—this half is essential—let the comb strokes present.
Designer tip: Don’t chase perfection. Slight variation and visual strokes are what make the partitions really feel old-world and soulful.
2. The Zellige Tile Second


The Splurge: Genuine Moroccan Zellige tile—handmade, shiny, and superbly irregular.The Save: Go for clay-look ceramic tiles from Bedrosians, Riad Tile, and even Residence Depot’s artisan-style strains. What issues is tonal variation; the great thing about Zellige is in its imperfection.


Attempt stacking tiles vertically or in a broken-bond sample for a designer really feel. Even at a fraction of the associated fee, the feel and reflection nonetheless create that unmistakable handcrafted vibe.
3. The Furnishings: Mixing Tones for a Collected Really feel


Within the residing and eating areas of this Spanish-Revival house, the furnishings doesn’t attempt to match—it layers. That’s what provides it a glance that feels collected, not catalog-ordered. Right here’s how one can channel that vibe in your individual house:
Combine wooden finishes deliberately. The desk is perhaps wealthy walnut, the sideboard a lighter oak, and the accent chairs in a charcoal-stained wooden. The trick: persist with the identical undertone (heat fairly than cool) so the items really feel harmonious, even when they’re not equivalent.
Range upholstery textures and tones. One piece is perhaps a impartial linen-blend chair, one other a velvet or boucle in olive or mushroom. The distinction in texture provides richness, the similarity in tone retains it unified.
Introduce metallic and dark-toned accents. A blackened iron espresso desk, a brass drawer pull, or a dark-stained facet desk give simply sufficient distinction to maintain the area grounded.
Preserve proportions clear, however varieties approachable. The strains of the furnishings listed here are tailor-made however relaxed—no overly ornate carvings or ultra-streamlined minimalism. It’s the candy spot in between.
Use visible anchors. A big wooden eating desk or a considerable upholstered couch anchors the room, whereas smaller items (facet chairs, console tables) herald variation.
Lastly, to actually get this proper, make sure to learn How one can Combine and Match Furnishings Like a Professional —it’s going to provide help to really feel assured mixing finishes, textures and tones your self.


The rule of thumb: If every part matches too completely, the area will really feel manufactured. However for those who layer items that share complementary undertones and lets their variations present—wooden end, upholstery tone, metallic end—you’ll obtain that “time-worn, assembled extra time” look that feels timeless.
4. The Earth-Toned Palette


This home lives within the land of sun-bleached neutrals and gentle clay hues. Each room feels prefer it was pulled from a California hillside or a Moroccan courtyard.
Get the palette:
Partitions: Mushroom beige or heat putty (attempt Benjamin Moore “Edgecomb Grey”)
Textiles: Nubby linen, caramel leather-based, olive velvet
Rugs: Classic-style Turkish or Persian in terracotta tones
Artwork: Line drawings and easy wooden frames
Preserve contrasts low and tones shut. It’s about layers of heat, not high-contrast drama.
5. Lighting That Feels Collected


The Splurge: This house’s lighting story is a masterclass in quiet drama. Within the eating room, a cascading glass chandelier steals the present — layers of hand-blown glass catching the sunshine like jewellery. Over the kitchen island and within the tea room, globe prism pendants add sparkle and stability, their minimize glass and brass detailing feeling each classic and crisp. On the steps, a sculptural blown-glass pendant framed in metallic glows softly like a lantern. Even the loos have that contact of Nineteen Sixties Italian glamour, with textured glass sconces that diffuse mild within the dreamiest method.
The Save: You’ll be able to recreate the identical ambiance by mixing glass and metallic finishes that really feel artisanal, not factory-made. Search for tiered glass chandeliers, prism pendants, or frosted globe sconces in aged brass or bronze. Preserve the shapes easy, the textures wealthy, and fluctuate the size room to room so it feels collected, not coordinated.
The rule: If it gleams too completely, it’s out. If it seems to be prefer it was crafted by hand — with a little bit of air and historical past in it — it’s precisely proper.
6. The Ending Touches


On this house, the magic lies within the quiet moments — the refined gestures that make each area really feel curated but easy.
Within the kitchen, a gallery of vintage-style inexperienced and cream plates brings softness to the creamy plaster partitions. Their natural, botanical patterns echo the backyard views past the arched doorways, creating a mild bridge between indoors and out. They aren’t rigidly aligned; as a substitute, they really feel casually composed — the mark of a collected, well-loved house.
Elsewhere, restraint takes the lead. The eating desk stands nearly sculptural, anchored solely by a dramatic vase of greenery. The studying nook trades heavy curtains for a single Roman shade in textured linen, filtering daylight simply sufficient to forged that signature California glow.
The Save: To seize this look, concentrate on items that really feel storied fairly than new. Hold a small assortment of hand-painted plates or ceramic platters on the wall. Select window coverings that soften mild however don’t steal consideration — easy linen shades or natural-woven blinds work superbly. Let supplies like wooden, marble, and clay communicate for themselves, and hold styling minimal however intentional.
As a result of in properties like this, magnificence isn’t shouted — it’s whispered, via craftsmanship, daylight, and the proper, imperfect stability of restraint.
If this Spanish Revival dream has you swooning, you’ll need to see these too:
The Massive Image






What makes the Crescent Park house so compelling is the dialog between eras—Nineteen Twenties structure assembly fashionable California residing. Erica Johnston didn’t erase the previous; she listened to it and elevated it.
You’ll be able to channel that very same stability at house. Respect what’s already there. Layer textures generously. Select supplies that age gracefully. Let imperfection lead.
As a result of nice design isn’t about cash or sq. footage—it’s about how an area feels once you stroll in.
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