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Kirsten Blazek would never pick favorites. In the years since she became the founder and creative director of a1000xbetter, she’s worked with many clients to transform their homes into a shared vision. But the owners of this Ojai, California, property said something at the beginning of their renovation that made this partnership a highlight of Blazek’s career. “They said, ‘If you like it, we like it,” she remembers. “Basically, there were no questions asked.”
Their 1926 Spanish-style bungalow is situated in the quiet town between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles and serves as a warm escape from their home base in Canada. The owners liked that it was close to the main drag and had two bedrooms and two garages—one attached and another out back. And while they didn’t exactly love the myriad of unpermitted DIYs that complicated the layout and its materials, the couple trusted Blazek to simplify it all. And she did, down to the studs.
“After they bought it, there was a lot of work they found out had to be done: new electrical, new plumbing, fresh stucco, a new roof,” Blazek says. “This was not their first renovation, which is why I think it went so well.” Once all of the essential updates were done, the owners passed the baton to their designer, who was able to choose everything, including the linens and flatware. Here’s how Blazek called the shots.
Let the Landscape In
While this property resembled a classic casita on the outside, Blazek says that the inside felt more like “a disaster” when the three-year project kicked off. Rooms were strange sizes—for starters, the main bedroom was smaller than its secondary counterpart—and the dated finishes didn’t speak to the area or its architecture. The construction team changed the layout by creating a primary suite and turning a multipurpose room into the second bedroom. They kept the kitchen, dining, and TV room at the front of the house but better defined them by putting up larger walls.
To unite the new floor plan, Blazek looked out the window to find a cohesive palette. “The landscape in Ojai is second to none. Being outside, famously at sunset, has a spiritual quality,” she says. Using a floral wallpaper by House of Hackney in the TV area as a jumping off point, Blazek relied on a handful of earthy shades (mustard yellow, terracotta pink, agave green, sandy beige, chocolate brown) to give each space a grounded feeling. “The archway we installed became the perfect way to contain that wallpaper,” she says. “Opting for dark wood flooring throughout makes the home feel more grounded, too, and also speaks to its Spanish style.”
Don’t Overload the Island with Storage
In the main kitchen, Blazek focused on building a banquette in the corner with plenty of storage and seating. She thought a run-of-the-mill island with loads of drawers would be superfluous, so she worked with furniture builders Bananas + Hammocks to create a custom piece with beaded legs and an airy open shelf. “There’s not a lot of natural light in that space, so I didn’t want it to feel heavy,” Blazek says. “But giving it a dark stain made it seem more established, too.”
Give the Garage a Purpose
The standalone garage at the back of the property was probably not going to get a lot of use from its new owners, so it was given a modern update: The three-car space was turned into a one-bedroom ADU for future guests. Blazek wanted the design to feel distinctive but related to the main house, like a sibling off doing its own thing. The best place to make that clear was with a dynamic kitchen backsplash.
Blazek chose an unlikely combination of Clé tiles for the job—blue, purple, and yellow squares—and surrounded them with terracotta-hued cabinetry to tie back to the project’s earthy palette. “If you want to do a checkerboard pattern, make sure that the colors work with the surrounding areas and think about whether you want it to be more of a bold statement or more subtle,” she says. The latter was the obvious answer here.
Use Tile to Unite a Tetris-Like Layout
The new primary bathroom was a win, but Blazek still had a lot to fit within its relatively tiny footprint. She positioned a double vanity along the wall with a sole window and put a tub on the opposite side. The shower—fabricated by Bananas and Hammocks in a golden huethat matches the color of the living room sofa—made the most sense on the back wall: its full enclosure created a natural nook for the toilet. As soon as the layout was set, deciding on the design direction was easy: Small space, big mood.
“We chose complementary green tiles for a checkerboard layout, and decided to not only use them in the shower but also as a wainscoting around the entire room to maximize the effect,” Blazek says.
Prioritize Cohesion with Every Decision
Blazek never chose a color, fabric, or furnishing in isolation, and always made sure to see her options in the intended natural light. “Color can be very nuanced, and going one shade too gray or too green can throw the rest of the room off,” she advises. By being so attentive, Blazek says that it became easier to achieve her ultimate goal. “I want people to walk through the front door and immediately understand a home—who the owners are, and what the location means,” she says. “It has to feel intentional, but also, it can’t look like I tried too hard.” That’s care, with a side of California cool.