A Hilltop Family Home at Santa Cruz
Inspired by memories of childhood houses, Enid and Jim Brock constructed their house from scratch on a carefully selected plot using an ocean view from Santa Cruz, California. “I needed every area to be cozy, with a bright corner where you can sit with a book, or a place to warm your feet facing the flame,” says Enid.
Along with Santa Cruz architect Matthew Thompson, the couple established the hot, inviting retreat they’d dreamed of, with spacious porches, cozy nooks and plenty of natural light and space for seeing family and friends.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Enid and Jim Brock, their three daughters, and their dog, Lulu
Location: Santa Cruz, California
Size: 4,000 square feet; 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, and an office
That is interesting: The couple’s master bath includes an outdoor shower.
Shannon Malone
While designing the home, architect Matthew Thompson gave Enid A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. “I was instantly amazed. It explained all the things I had always thought about homes but had never articulated — exactly what works and what does not. Why some chambers feel good and others push you apart,” she says. “Our home is the house the Pattern Language built.”
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The first idea Enid took from the publication was “south-facing outdoors.” The family previously lived in two homes on precisely the exact same street: one south facing, in which they spent a great deal of time outdoors on the steps enjoying the sun, and one north facing, which was much dimmer indoors and’d steps always covered in colour.
With all these contrasting experiences in mind, the couple wanted to do everything possible to orient each room to the south. Nearly every area, including the kitchen is enclosed by big windows and saturated with sun.” The two rooms that face north would be the dining room and guest bedroom.
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Enid chose a Madrone butcher block for the kitchen island. “When I remember to petroleum it (which I do not) it has a gorgeous rich, dark finish,” she says. “But because we all use it like a giant cutting board — trimming melon, making sandwiches and rolling pie crust — it tends to be somewhat neglected in regards to spiritual maintenance”
Growing up in a household that covered its refrigerator with history cards, snapshots and other family memorabilia, Enid wanted to do the same. The wood-framed doors are custom made with metal panels, perfect for hanging household treasures. “I know it might seem messy, but that is what makes a kitchen feel like home to me”
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Using its southwestern-facing perspectives, the hot and sunny window seat from the kitchen is a favourite spot for reading the paper, checking emails and simply enjoying the view. “You can observe the Pacific, the forest and the local wildlife as they parade across the yard,” says Enid. “We’ve seen everything from a family of quail, to bunnies, to a bunch of wild turkeys.”
Due to the sun exposure, Enid decided to pay the cushions with outdoor fabric, and she transforms out the throw cushion covers as needed.
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A side door leads out to one of many porch places.
Paint: Cloud White, Benjamin Moore; barstools: Cost Plus World Market; rug: antique from Morocco
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Many of the living area furnishings are in Enid’s household for ages. The leather seat and ottoman belonged to Enid’s great-grandfather.
Enid discovered that the brass tabletop during her journeys to Morocco and combined it with a self-designed base, made by Rich Loughridge of Loughridge Cabinets.
Rug: Medallion Rug Gallery
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The painting above the living room mantel by local artist Brian Rounds depicts Wilder Ranch State Park, just a few miles north of the Brocks’ home.
Enid’s great-uncle created the fireplace fender bench, which is perfect for enjoying the heat of the fire on cold Santa Cruz afternoons.
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This drafting desk also once belonged to Enid’s great-grandfather, who used it for drafting irrigation strategies for his orange groves. A glass mobile from SkLO hangs above the desk. “I love the way it moves in the breeze once we have the windows open, in addition to the way it reflects the light from the lamp below,” Enid says.
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This painting at the entrance of Enid’s great-grandmother once hung intimidatingly full of Enid’s grandmother’s home.
“We shot the portrait out of this enormous wooden crate it was sent in and just propped her up against the walls, and the oddest thing occurred. Once she was down at our level, when we can look her directly in the eye, Florence ceased being so intimidating and became approachable,” says Enid. “People tell me a painting that big ought to be hung well above the ground, but I don’t care. Florence and I like to see each other eye-to-eye.”
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The home’s entrance is brimming with a assortment of worldly decor, including an assortment of globes. “I am on a small mission to accumulate one that reflects every political and border transition of this 20th century — and their round shape is quite relaxing, as well as different sea blues seem so fine with the tomato crimson seat,” says Enid. The leather torso printed using a map of the world is another family heirloom.
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When designing the stairs, the couple showed Thompson photos of a stairs in Enid’s household’s Riverside home. The couple worked with Greg Howerton of Howerton Construction to design and craft the exact same quatrefoil pattern at the baluster.
Enid wanted a more casual sense for this stairs, so she chose a Japanese fabric and quirky cardboard animal busts found atStripe and Cardboard Safari for the wall. A walnut leaf cellphone, which moves when the front door opens and closes, hangs from the ceiling.
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Enid bought this statue from The Warmth Business in Aptos and intentionally put it on the entrance staircase for a warm welcome. The depiction of the Buddha sitting on a lotus flower represents rebirth and decent fortune. “We needed good tidings for the first space you input in our house,” says Enid.
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Floor-to-ceiling windows line the hallway resulting in the home’s guest quarters. The couple bought the dangling light fixtures from Om Gallery at Santa Cruz. “I love the way that they seem like pumpkins once we come from the driveway; it feels very welcoming,” says Enid.
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“I feel that the silliest thing on earth is a space with gorgeous windows however no solution to sit next to them and look outside. That is why our house has numerous window chairs,” Enid says. This built-in nook includes a partly enclosed low seat beside a window using a low sill.
Couch: Crate & Barrel; ottoman: Pottery Barn
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Enid bought this seat for $10 from the custodian in Burton-Judson hall in the University of Chicago, where she and Jim attended law school. “There was a seat similar to this in every dorm room, and I had fallen in love with the shape,” she says. She also re-covered the ripped leather seat using a rose-hued leopard print.
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The master bedroom partitions of big windows flooding the space with gentle light. Enid covered the ceiling above the bed with many different white paper lanterns. “I love the way that they look swaying above us as we lie in bed”
Bed: Hannah’s Home Furnishings
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In a small seating area away from the master bath, an heirloom seat and garage-sale-found stool complement a framed Man Ray poster out of Enid’s college dorm and an Ansel Adams Depression-era photograph.
Trim paint: Silver Sage, Restoration Hardware
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The second-floor master bath overlooks the house’s private forest, making window treatments unnecessary.
An outdoor shower in the master bath was on peak of the couple’s home wishlist, inspired by Enid’s childhood visits her aunt and uncle’s farm. “It was the most exotic, magical, flavorful experience of my young life to stand under the warm water looking out in the blackberry bushes together with the odor of the Willamette River coming around the meadow,” she says.
“My husband showers there 364 days a year. I only use it in the summer because I am a little bit of a wimp,” Enid admits.
Bathtub: Waterworks
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The hallway leading to their own daughters’ bedrooms is lined with world map background located in the SkyMall catalog. “We really had to purchase two because we did not wish to sacrifice any land masses once we papered around the doorway in the center,” Enid clarifies. “You can not see a seam or some other break in the routine of water — it just looks as though the Pacific Ocean stretched wide enough to accommodate the doorway,” Enid says. Whitewashing the background after hanging toned down the bright colors.
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Enid and her daughter worked with interior designer Suna Lock to style this particular bedroom. “She was prepared for a area that reflected her mature character and interests,” Enid says.
Paint: Adriatic Sea, Benjamin Moore
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Lock also designed and assembled this built-in platform-style bed.
Bedspread: Anthropologie; series lighting: NapaStyle
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Enid’s other girl dreamt of a bedroom that felt like a cozy barn. Not needing to overpower the space by painting it all crimson, they chose to limit the sexy color to the raised window nook.
The area is full of an all-down chaise couch, perfect for curling up and reading. “There is a massive redwood outside the window, so it feels as though you are sitting at a tree,” says Enid. “I know this because sometimes when she is at school I sneak upstairs and read a book there!”
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Inspired from the all-violet bathroom in her grandmother’s Riverside home, Enid decided to make an all-blue bathroom for her daughters. “Taking a bath at that bathtub feels like floating in the sea.”
Because corner tubs are now hard to discover, the couple bought classic. They bought the bathtub from a store in Berkeley that had recently obtained it by a San Francisco movie collection.
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One of the last thoughts Enid took from A Pattern Language has been “a link to the Earth.” “I love a house that coaxes you into the backyard, and that is exactly what this pattern is about,” she says. “People like buildings that allow them to transition from inside to outside” The few designed their home with plenty of porches and big shallow steps, allowing their loved ones to enjoy the outdoors, while still enjoying the comforts of the indoors.
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