Venice Home and Garden Tour 2014 - 3 Weeks Ago Already!

To me, the theme of this year's Tour was: PERSONALITY.

In fact the Tour has become so successful, that it has branched out a bit.

i.e., It has an earlier sister tour these days that is called the "Architecture Tour".  Which, I'm having to guess, since I did not take it, is more about well, architecture.  Architects, spaces, volumes, materials, situations.  

And less about interiors, and owners, and styles.  Like this lovely, faithful Craftsman style home.

And this gorgeous new build garden shed style house with it's artichoke-planted front yard

(with it's ingenious and visually pleasing plant supports not sure quite how effective though)...

Someone said to the lady who owns this house:  "How lovely, it looks like it was hand-made for you!"  (It has a lot of chunky, crafty finishes, surprising negative spaces, unusual tippy angles - as above - and plywood finishes thinly varnished or au naturel.)  The owner responded with a fairly classic snort of indignation:  "Well I hope not!  Considering all the money I spent on it!"

I AM talking about "Personality".

Which - I am so happy - extended to keeping, or incorporating, this vintage stove in her kitchen.  (They are actually very much more common in Los Angeles than in other places that I've lived in America.  I would love one.  They seem to work just fine and to be going STRONG.)

Another house was much more about positive VOLUMES and voluptuous curves

LOVE those encaustic tiles, the dark contrast colors and the chunky IPE countertops!

It was a garden tour after all, too.  Plants have their own architecture and styles, yes?

This smart lady only wanted to let us see part of her house.  But what we saw was very pleasing.  I loved the textures and patterns so delicately woven into her space.

The following two houses were not on the tour

but both good examples of Venice's evolving personality.

And yes, some of those personalities were a little more than others, all about:

Well, STUFF.

This house was lived in by Eric Clapton before the current owner got a hold of it.  The revamp was done by a name architect.  (Yeah, I think it was that one.)  Meh, this was a very guy place.  Maybe that's why I could take it or leave it.  Or, I was just jealous of his easel!

This house was more my style.

Oh look at all those windows!  The kitchen reminded me of my kitchen in Hawaii.

I love tribal rugs in red and have always wanted to be brave enough to do a room in mostly red and green.

Whereas geodesic rooftop dome?  Maybe not so me!  You?  With a bed in it?

And now, a house with more personality than most could manage.

I loved it.  It was magical.  Not sure I could live with it but I just adored the way all the color changed the quality of light in the rooms.  

It might surprise some of you who are not American, but it is unbelievably hard to find appliances in color of any kind here.

Give me this painted door!  PLEASE!  I WANT IT!

So to sum up.

Venice is a very colorful place.

And, I'll say it again, full of people with personality.

It works for me.  Truly.  Does.  You at all?