Inside a Soulful California Home That Inspires a Slower Way of Living

Editor’s Note: There’s something magical about a home that truly reflects its owner: a deeply personal space, rooted in memory and in harmony with its surroundings. That’s exactly the feeling you get when entering Lily Riesenfeld’s carefully curated home, featured in Sense of placea breathtaking book by my dear friend Caitlin Flemming and his mother, Julie Goebel. Together, they have constructed a body of work that celebrates the art of creating meaningful spaces.

SEnter a special home that proves our surroundings have the power to inspire us, comfort us, and connect us more deeply to what matters.

A house rooted in place

When you meet Lily Riesenfeld, you can’t help but notice that she seems earthbound with deep roots.

An advocate of an eco-friendly lifestyle, Lily seems deeply at ease in her surroundings. Its 1921 black-shingled home with mahogany doors and trim blends with the surrounding mighty redwoods, and hiking trails lead into the backyard. Lily and her family chose this home because it is located near the trails of Mount Tamalpais, with the coves of San Francisco Bay to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

A childhood spent outside

Lily grew up in Berkeley, California. When she was eight, her family bought a ranch in Healdsburg, California, a short drive from their home.

“Watching my mom and dad develop a vision for the ranch was special,” Lily says. Over the years, the family planted several hundred trees, built a ranch, restored an 1850s redwood barn, and eventually planted one hundred acres of French varietal grapes. His family developed the ranch with the idea of allowing animals, the vineyard and natural habitats to coexist. Lily’s favorite thing about going to the ranch is sharing it with the people who come to visit her.

Besides the Healdsburg ranch, where they spent most of their summers, the family also visited various family homes for two weeks each summer in Maine. As a child, Maine was a place where she could be wild and free. The porch furniture, as well as the porch itself, in the house owned by her great-grandparents, was painted a celadon green that the family called “Gamby green,” after her great-grandmother. Gamby loved this shade so much that she even had a set of Wedgwood china made in this color. Many of the choices Lily made in her home were inspired by her grandmother’s house in Maine, the family home in Berkeley, and the ranch in Healdsburg.

Building a life at the intersection of wellness and purpose

During her early adult years, Lily began her work focusing on personal wellness and launched her first entrepreneurial venture, The Lily Pad, located in Malibu. After meeting her husband and moving back to the San Francisco Bay Area, Lily also co-founded The Pad Studios, which is both a Pilates and yoga studio. Over the years, she began developing targeted events to help communities connect, launching a brand called Kinship Experience. As these experiences evolved, “I began to direct my work toward the intersection of human health and global health,” Lily says. She then launched a summit called Futurewell.

Today, Lily advocates for regenerative agriculture and works to advance healthy and equitable food systems. She is raising funds for a regeneratively built food and agriculture center, which will provide a permanent farmers market near the Marin Civic Center. “The building we are planning to build will consume more carbon and energy than it will consume. »

A house designed in harmony

Lily designed her home in Larkspur with advice from Caitlin Flemming. “Caitlin was a great inspiration and the reason my house was built in the most synchronized way possible.”

The colors of the house coexist in a calm harmony. Earthy tones of deep greens, wheat and a slight undertone of blue are mixed with a diversity of complementary patterns. All of these color choices can be found in the nature around her: the golden hills, the redwoods (one of which is in her backyard), and the light blues and grays of the water.

Walls of the entrance and dining room are covered in a large-scale William Morris pattern. Curtains and pillows use smaller prints combined with a touch of wood-toned plaid in many rooms. Two small vintage French chairs are covered in a hand-printed leaf pattern, continuing the spirit of the outdoors. Even the plates are a combination of vintage transfer designs in different shades of green, as well as pieces of her great-grandmother’s green Wedgwood.

If there was a heart in this house, it would undoubtedly be the kitchenwhere homemade tortillas are wrapped in a linen towel by the stove and slow-simmering pinto beans are ready for anyone hungry. It’s a place to be nourished, and Lily is ready to welcome those who need her healing power.

10 thoughts on home

1. What attracted you to where you live?

It was definitely Mount Tamalpais and the hike here. We haven’t even looked at Berkeley, even though our families live there. We also thought it would be nice to be a bridge away from our parents.

2. How does the environment where you live influence the aesthetics of your home?

The colors of nature where I live definitely influence my aesthetic.

3. What is your idea of home?

A place where people can gather and feel comfortable, a place where you instantly feel at ease.

4. What is your favorite season where you live? For what?

I should say end of summer. Suddenly the light changes and everything takes on a golden hue.

5. Is there anything you collect?

Everyone can see that I have a weakness for wicker baskets and hats. I also love anything related to cooking, especially interesting pottery.

6. How do you spend your weekends?

We spend our weekends hiking, cooking, and attending our kids’ sporting events. When we can get away in the winter, I love going to our cabin in Sugar Bowl, just outside Tahoe, which was built in the 1930s to look like a Swiss village.

7. What can’t you live without?

Probably a latte in the morning. Of course, my children and my husband too! Plus, my morning hike every day is what keeps me sane.

8. What elements make your house a home?

I think it feels like home because it has a strong element of nostalgia. I also like to add layers of textures and textiles. This house is the opposite of austerity.

9. How does your home fuel your creativity?

I love styling meals and bringing people together at the table. Every Sunday my mother-in-law comes over for dinner and I always make the effort to get dressed and prepare a nice meal.

10. Are there people or businesses near you that you rely on to fuel your creativity?

I learned so much from Alice Waters, having had the pleasure of organizing a few events alongside her. Alice’s specific direction taught me how to create an experience around food and how to execute the presentation perfectly. For the final side of my work, I draw inspiration from local creators such as Paul Hawken, Jack Kornfield, Dr. Daniel Siegel, and my dearest friend, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.