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The Home Page | Projects, Pillows, and a Pup on the Pier

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on March 26, 2023. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

After our recent rainy weather, I’m all about the sunshine and the springtime. There may be more rain in the forecast, but I’m enjoying every bit of blue sky while I can. I found this lovely wisteria-laden home from @lifeanddecor on Instagram, showing us that spring has sprung in London, too.

One of the most colorful homes in Santa Barbara sits at 521 Santa Barbara Street, near the Saturday Farmers’ Market. Home Page reader Corinne asked me about it recently, saying that its purple and green exterior, paneled with an array of paintings, had long piqued her curiosity. This is a Jeff Shelton–designed house known as “Vera Cruz.” Shelton explains that the home was inspired by Sanford Darling’s House of 1,000 Paintings, and is a collection of scenes contributed by hundreds of artists, representing their birthplaces or places that had influenced their lives.

Over on the Emily Henderson blog, they’re discussing a multitude of subjects, including their 10 rules of living room design (and when to break ’em). With topics such as size of rugs, distance between chairs, side table placement, and all things lighting, there’s much to consider.

Just one example: For a lamp sitting on a side table, the bottom of the lampshade should always be at about eye level. I’m typing this on my laptop looking around my living room and realizing that yep, I’m a bit of a rule-breaker.

In this week’s issue, our Style Specialist gives us some home updating trends to watch, including a home office nook like the one above.

One super quick and easy spring update is switching out couch pillows. World Market has laid out a variety of styles here in a veritable cheat sheet of mix-and-match examples. They also share tips on other spring refresh ideas, including how to style your pillows like a pro.

If you’re interested in a bigger project, here’s a before and after kitchen example from @kitchen_posts_daily that made me say “Ooh la la.” The light, bright finished product is shown above, and the darker “before” version is below.

The designer on this one was Leah Phillips Interiors. Just a quick scroll through their Instagram account will get your inspiration flowing.

Scout has been enjoying our sunny skies the past few days. We endured quite enough lightning, thunder, rain, and hail for her taste. She’s here to remind us that tomorrow is the last day to submit your pup — or any doggie friend — into our Fido’s Photo Contest.

All the news and info you need to enjoy your weekend can be found right here; don’t miss the colorful cover story about the ancient sport of pelota mixteca.