Houzz Tour: A Spanish Colonial Gets Bohemian Bravado

When they moved from a midcentury modern to a Spanish colonial, writer and radio personality Abby Dees and her wife, special features producer Traci Samczyk, decided they needed new furnishings to suit the house and their personalities. But the South Pasadena, California, residents didn’t know where to start, so many of their moving boxes sat unpacked for months.

Dees looked to Houzz for some inspiration and found she loved the way interior designer Charmean Neithart had mixed modern and Spanish colonial styles to suit the divergent tastes of another Pasadena couple. Dees couldn’t believe her luck that the designer was local and gave her a call.

It’s not often that Neithart goes through boxes and boxes of her clients’ stuff. But in this case, it gave her great insight into the homeowners’ personalities, which she channeled into redecorating their new home. After getting to know the house and its well-traveled residents, Neithart came up with a design that incorporates their collections, gives them the bohemian global flair that they loved, celebrates the Spanish and subtle art deco architecture, and can stand up to the wear and tear of six beloved pets.

Photography by Erika Bierman Photography

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Abby Dees and Traci Samczyk, and their 3 dogs and 3 cats
Location: South Pasadena, California
Size: 3,400 square feet (316 square meters); 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms

“Their new home is an elegant Spanish colonial, and it had great bones, pretty details and lots of great stuff to save,” Neithart says. While sorting through the couple’s belongings, she helped them decide what no longer worked with the new house, consigned those pieces, and picked up new items that fit the house and them.


The bench and pots are new and give the women a covered spot to enjoy their front yard.


The fireplace had a giant log mantel that was driving Dees batty. “The house had a split personality between Spanish and lodge,” Neithart says. “There was too much going on that didn’t flow together, and all of the casings and baseboards were a fusty dark brown that my clients hated.”

The landscape painting is a family piece that the couple wanted to show off in a prime spot. It inspired the blue paint used on the trim. “Traci really loves blue, and they both find it uplifting,” Neithart says. They wound up carrying the blue through most of the house, which also reflects the exterior palette.


A more elegant smooth plaster mantel replaced the big log and gave Dees a spot to show off one of her many vintage radios. “Some of the trim work and bathroom details had a bit of a deco vibe, so we played that up,” Neithart says.


Speaking of art deco and radios, this amazing piece is one of Samczyk’s prized possessions, purchased from the estate of actor John Candy and refurbished by the couple to its original glory. It gave Neithart somewhere to begin in the large room. It also offered a good spot for displaying Dees’ vintage camera collection. It’s a great example of how she was able to merge both women’s personal styles, which is exactly what the couple was looking for in a designer.


Another nod to radio during the art deco era appears in the ceiling, with its thunderbolt motif mural. The wrought iron fixtures are original to the home.


Neithart divided the large living room into different seating areas, with a spot for the grand piano in the corner. The cats are not into leather, which spurred the purchase of the pair of deco-inspired leather chairs. (And don’t miss a glimpse of Sophie, the sweet Doberman, in the doorway.)


A large Persian rug defines the main seating area in the living room. The vintage acrylic coffee table keeps the rug’s intricate pattern visible; this type of weave also makes it easier to vacuum up pet hair.

Dees collects vintage issues of Life, and the coffee table is a great spot to rotate them in and out. “Abby is the collector, the writer and the musician, and she’s at home a lot during the day, so it was important for her to have her favorite things around her,” Neithart explains. Traci is at the studio most of the day and needs a relaxing place to come home to.


“These two travel a ton,” Neithart says. “In the two years I’ve known them, they have traveled to Cuba, Burma, Hong Kong and Thailand, and they love a well-traveled feel.” She brought in the global bohemian vibe through textiles and other textures. For example, she added suzani fabric to two deco-era caned chairs and embroidered upholstery tape to the custom window treatments. The table between the chairs adds more fabulous texture with its blue shagreen top.


A croc-covered chest and an heirloom brass lamp with mica shade add more eclectic textures to the room.


One of the biggest pet issues the couple had was the cats scratching the furniture. Neithart brainstormed with her upholsterer, who came up with custom covers for the corners most likely to be scratched. They simply pin into place (see lower right).





The cozy porch off the living room originally sported these beautiful wrought-iron gates. Neithart suggested moving them to the living room side, where they could be enjoyed more readily.


The owners wanted a daybed for lounging on the porch. This relic helps underscore the home’s casual Moroccan vibe.

Tip: When looking for unique light fixtures, consider having a favorite artifact electrified. When Neithart was looking for light fixtures, Dees suggested red paper lanterns the couple had picked up in Vietnam. Neithart turned them into electric pendant lights.


Tip: Don’t pass up a damaged rug. “I find great rugs that other people won’t buy because of damage,” Neithart says. She has them turned into pillows with crushed velvet on the back. Other pillows on the daybed have a block print batik look.


Tip: If you have a black thumb, get creative. The couple wanted something live and pretty on the porch, but a plant would have required maintenance or been chewed up by a cat. The solution? Very real-looking faux orchid petals floating in water.


A bathtub was at the top of the master bath wish list, but fitting one into the room presented some spatial challenges. Neithart closed off a door that led to the hallway (where the shelf now is) and found a long narrow tub that would fit.

The shelf is architectural salvage from India.

Bathtub: Toulouse, Victoria & Albert; shelf: De-cor


A sandblasted and honed hex Crema Marfil tile covers the floor. “The marble has an antique finish, which gives it a leathery, unfinished appearance and patina,” Neithart says. A little tile rug and vintage table add Moroccan flair. These accent tiles are pricey, so Neithart made sure a little went a long way.

Moroccan tile: Ann Sacks


Tip: Create a focal point with the shower plumbing wall. Because the shower fixtures were so pretty, Neithart wanted to showcase them and tie them together. She brought this section of wall 2 inches forward and covered it with accent tiles. “If you create a landing strip for the plumbing, it makes it special,” she explains.

Tile: Stone Impressions


The peace sign is a relic of Abby’s love for hippie style and holds a place of honor on the couple’s outdoor fireplace. The Moroccan furniture is teak; Samczyk loves a project and stained it herself, making it resistant to weathering and fading. The Sunbrella upholstery fabric is designed to stand up to the weather.


This speakeasy door to the right of the pool leads to the garage.


Helping her clients dig through boxes for six months paid off in some of the smallest details. The photograph on the blue shagreen table is Abby in a knight’s uniform at age 4. At the moment, the shot is also her Houzz profile photo, so go check it out if you’d like a closer look. I highly recommend it — it’s adorable.

More: 14 Ways to Bring Bohemian Romance to Rooms

URL: Houzz Tour: A Spanish Colonial Gets Bohemian Bravado http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-23680.html