Inside Caroline Diani’s Santa Barbara Home

Many say, “home is where the heart is” and as Jeffrey and I travel back and forth to the Hudson Valley, I couldn’t agree more. In my last blog post, I gave you an update of our upstate New York farmhouse, and, so as not to play favorites, this week I thought I’d give you a little walk-thru of our 1950’s ranch-style home located in the canyons of sunny Santa Barbara.

The one aspect of this house that I love, is the natural lighting that illuminates every room. The light from the windows and glass doors, leave our home feeling airy and bright at all times, creating an outdoor ambiance inside. It’s one of the many elements that led me to purchase this home in 1999. 

So where to begin…I guess the best place to start is the dining room. It’s the first room through the front door, and one of our favorite gathering spaces. In the center of all the happenings is my beautiful Victorian-era communal table that I inherited from my parents. On each end, I have a cane arm chair (see similar here) to bring in texture and natural cane elements to the space. I like how the texture of cane adds depth of character to varying wood dining and side tables. For pops of greenery, I added a fiddle leaf tree in the corner and usually adorn the table with a long succulent centerpiece from our botany bar at DIANI Living. 

Hosting and decorating in this room is always playful for me – I set the table differently for every occasion, adding throw blankets for comfort like our Tribu Throw blanket or mixing in my curated collection of glassware for a full table-setting. In everyday life, this becomes the space that I like to work, either alone or with Jeffrey. The length of the table allows me to spread out with my laptop and papers, conquering my daily to-dos in a quiet, peaceful spot.

We also added a sitting area with two reupholstered 17th-century Flemish chairs around the wood burning stove. During the colder seasons, we like to light a warm fire while enjoying a home-cooked meal around the table. The sounds of the crackling flames fill the room with our very own dining room soundtrack.

Hanging behind our assortment of liquor and glassware, we hung a photo of a vintage Middle Eastern plane taken by Santa Barbara local, Jeff Clark. I was drawn to the metallic hues and shortly after, found the cabinet to compliment.  

Due to limited space, our kitchen mixes functionality with design, and we aim to make the most out of every square inch. This is one of Jeffrey’s favorite places in the house, and he can often be found trying out new recipes like the salsa he made regularly this summer! 

The main focus of the living room is the comfy, white linen couches, and the canyon breeze that comes in through our dual sliding doors. I like to layer the couches with a variety of my custom designed pillows. They are made from one-of-a-kind vintage fabrics and add the perfect print or color pop to the space. The centerpiece of this room is the coffee table I made from a walnut tree root that I came across on the beach. Nature has its own way with design, and I just love collecting unique pieces that bring the outdoors in.

For our guest bathroom, we salvaged a wooden park bench to create our vanity, and use a vintage stool for extra shelving space for bath oils. The mirror was created by Jeffrey using an antique Indian window frame we found and a metal Moroccan lamp that we brought back from our souk foraging in Marrakech.I believe the space you lay your head at night to drift off should always feel like a cloud. We layered our luxurious linen sheets with the Rem Quilt made from a beautiful froissé linen and topped it off with a selection of vintage pillows. Having our space be a no-phone zone has created our own little oasis, and helps make our nightly routine that much more peaceful. 

As you can see, Nala loves our bed just as much as we do! 

A portrait of our late dog, Raisin was a very special birthday gift this year from Jeffrey and painted by our friend and local artist, Peter Horjus. 

As for our master bathroom, we mixed stone, ceramic and marble together to create a cohesive and light beige look while alternating the textures. A hanging rack holds all our cushy, Turkish towels. 

Thank you, as always for following along. For more home inspiration, stop by DIANI or shop online. Email care@dianiboutique.com, we are happy to help you find everything you need for your very own dream home.