Kaweah Falls article

CALIFORNIA HOME DESIGNERS ESCAPE THE CITY FOR A MODERNIST SEQUOIA RETREAT.

GOING WITH THE FLOW

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ometimes living in a big city can feel like you’re swimming upstream. For two city-dwellers, it was time to go with the flow.

In 2002, my partner Charles Wolford and I, were ready to escape the city. Tired of the traffic, smog and the hustle and bustle of LA, we began a journey for a simpler way of life which led us to the beaches of Thailand, the desert of Palm Springs and now to a modernist retreat in the California Sierra Nevadas where going with the flow has taken on new meaning.

Let me be clear: we have nothing against people, we just didn’t want to live around so many of them.

So when the film/tv production company where we were both employed, imploded in 2001, we sold our house in the Hollywood Hills, took our severance, and headed to Koh Samui, an idyllic island paradise of coconut trees in the Gulf of Thailand. We had

planned on vacationing for three weeks and ended up staying for almost a year. We immersed ourselves in Thai culture, lived simply in a tranquil beachfront bungalow and recovered from spending so many years in big cities: Los Angeles for me; Chicago, Portland, Amsterdam and Los Angeles for Charles.

Above: Charles Wolford (left) and Chris Keller on their waterfall deck with Samui, the dog they rescued in Thailand. Clockwise from opposite page, top left: Sequoia National Park, the second oldest national park in the United States and home of the General Sherman Tree—the world’s largest tree estimated to be over 2300 years old; Lake Kaweah in winter on the way to Three Rivers; view from the backyard redwood deck; seasonal white water rafting (class 3-5 rapids) on the Kaweah River in June.

PHOTOGraPHs by DavID sWaNN. WrITTEN by CHrIs KELLEr.

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eturning to the States in 2003, with a puppy we rescued from the island, we decided to pursue our mutual passion for home design. With a keen interest in modern architecture, we settled in Palm Springs, a mecca of midcentury design, and restored two such homes bringing them into the new millennium.

Looking for our next creative challenge, we searched California real estate online, and one property stood out from all the others. Advertised with the catchphrase, “A River Runs Through It,” we were left with two questions: Is that really a river flowing through the house? And where in the world is Three Rivers?

We quickly learned Three Rivers is a cozy community tucked away at the base of the Sequoia National Park in central California (three hour drive north of LA; four hours south of San Francisco) and home to an eclectic mix of locals, actors, writers, artists and musicians. Neither one of us had spent any time in central California, except maybe to stop for gas when driving from LA to northern California.

We continued our search in areas we were familiar with—from Ojai and Carmel-by-the-Sea to Sausalito and Mill Valley—but we just couldn’t get the house with the river flowing through it out of our minds.

One weekend we went on a road trip.

Upper left: Redwood picnic table made by Old Growth Again, a company that makes furniture from reclaimed redwood, overlooks the Main Fork of the Kaweah River. This page: Living room featuring midcentury influenced wicker chairs, 24” imported Indian black slate flooring, and the iconic midcentury Peanut Planter and Bird Shelter from Architectural Pottery/Vessel, featured prominently in the 1950’s California Case Study Program.

Dining room table from Environment Furniture, made of recycled Peroba Rosa, a native Brazilian hardwood and reclaimed from abandoned buildings and barns in Parana, Brazil. This dense, richly colored, and textured wood is on average between 70 to 100 years old and fit well with the overall style of the home, which Charles describes as “modern rustic.” The Case Study fiberglass chairs at the bar and dining table, along with the George Nelson Criss Cross lamp, add a midcentury-modern touch.

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hat surprised us as we made our way around Lake Kaweah and into Three Rivers, was the backdrop of the stunning snowcapped mountains of the Sierra Nevadas; and the way we both began to decompress.

When the realtor showed the house it confirmed what was obvious, but somehow unbelievable from the pictures: a river really does run through it, under it, and around it. At first glance we knew we had stumbled onto something special and our timing couldn’t have been better. A local Three Rivers contractor, Larry Jules (L.M. Jules Construction), had rescued the home in 2003 after decades of neglect and had already spent well over two years rebuilding the infrastructure. At that point it had been replumbed, rewired and repainted, but fairly untouched from a design sense. For the most part it was a blank slate.

We bought the home from Mr. Jules, unfinished, with an agreement that he’d complete it to our tastes— a creative collaboration that proved ideal.

The 3000 square-foot home, with a very open floor plan—four bedrooms and four baths—was the perfect palette and exactly what we were looking for.

When we began the renovation, we drew inspiration from the home’s unique setting in nature as well as our travels to Southeast Asia. “Our time spent living in Thailand opened our eyes to the beauty and simplicity of natural and sustainable products like bamboo, wood and stone,” says Charles. “In keeping with that, in the dining, kitchen, and living rooms, as well as all the bathrooms, we used 24x24 black Indian

“because of its unique, rUsTIC location, we chose design elements that echo the home’s proximity to nature,” says Charles. “a way of bringing the outside in.”

The river rock pillow from manutailer HD Buttercup in Culver CIty is often confused for a real rock and right at home on the pebble-like hand-tufted New Zealand wool rug. The original fireplace is filled with lava rocks for clean burning and accented with a vintage firetool set found on eBay, a Buddhist statue from Taliesen West, and driftwood from Homescapes in Carmel. The slatted front door imported from Vancouver adds a modern touch allowing dog Samui to stare at us until we open the door. The moss green Charles sofa custom-made by B&B Italia, accentuates the nature-inspired color pallette.

Right: Custom bed built of zebrawood by Room Service in Palm Springs/LA; fish prints above the bed purchased in Hana, Maui, framed in natural bamboo; seagrass flooring, grass lamps and rock sculpture add a natural touch. Below: Master suite sitting room featuring a Balinese bench found at a local consignment store; potpottery by Architectural Pottery/Vessel, Modernica and a black Retro Bullet planter by Hip Haven; Indonesian teak chairs by KingsleyBate; carbonized verticle-grain bamboo floors complete the space.

NATURE slate—a favorite design choice of ours and a material we’ve used in our last three home renovations. It’s timeless, durable and classic. In keeping with nature, we also used bamboo and seagrass flooring in the master suite, river rock tile in one of the bathrooms, and grass wallpaper in several of the rooms.”

We also knew that we would stay true to the home’s midcentury roots in the interior design (George Nelson Bubble lamps, Case Study fiberglass chairs, Saarinen Tulip table and chairs), but to make it more contemporary, we installed Kohler Purist products in the bathrooms, stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, FLOR tiles in the bedrooms and office, and modern fans throughout from the Modern Fan Co. We sold our last home in Palm Springs mainly furnished, so when we came to Three Rivers we had a few pieces we’ll always keep (vintage Herman Miller chair, Russell Wright orange chairs), but most of the furnishings we bought in LA or San Francisco, ordered online (eBay), or found in vintage resale shops.

“It’s basically an eclectic mix of styles that fuse the past with the present,” says Charles.

Clockwise: The house today. Top right: The original structure dated 1947, which did not bridge the river. The ad dition was built at some point in the 70’s. Right: Marjorie Cord Brandon on the bridge in 1957. The butterfly chairs were popular then...and now.

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bout a year into the renovation, the past and present were introduced when Marjorie Brandon, a 96 year-old artist in nearby Visalia, showed up at our door, telling us she had lived in our home in the 1940’s and 50’s—and she had pictures.

The home’s mysterious architectural roots were unearthed when she informed us that the architect was Frank Robert, a student of Frank Lloyd-Wright and a personal friend, who after designing several modernist homes in Three Rivers, moved to Hawaii where he continued his architectural legacy.

As she marveled at the rebirth of the house she once

called home, the past and present became serendipitous when she noticed our butterfly chairs (which she also had) and the exterior paint color (that Larry had chosen after replacing rotting brown siding) which was the same khaki green color she and her late husband had selected after a renovation in the mid-50’s.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since Marjorie lived here, but inspired by her creative spirit and energy, we put the finishing touches on our interior design with a new appreciation for its architectural and creative history.

“The rustic nature is enhanced by all the different types of wood throughout the house,” says Charles.

Opposite: Alderwood kitchen cabinets, knotty pine beams, and original Douglas Fir ceilings, only discovered after sandblasting layers of paint to restore the original condition and color. The glass-bot tomed floor showcases the river flowing under your feet, teeming with seasonal schools of trout, making it a favorite eating spot.

DETaILs At top: Boulders frame the front door entrance accented with air plants and cushions from West Elm. 1. Handmade chairs from the Willow Farm.

2. Dining room, leading to master bedroom door made of bear grass from 3Form, an eco-resin material that allows light through without sacrificing privacy.

3. Guest apartment with grass wallpaper, Jonathan Adler pillow, FLOR tiles, “Red Palm” print by Hana artist C. Crow, vintage lamp bases updated with contemporary bamboo lamp shades from Seascape, and an original Saarinen Executive Arm Chair.

4. Glass-bottomed floor, a unique water feature.

5. Vintage Saarinen “Tulip” table and arc lamp in the screened “lanai” right off the guest apartment.

6. Smores around the campfire are always a hit with guests and something you just can’t do in the city.

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E “Not a day goes by that I’m not struck by how special this place is...to look out of my office window and watch a blue heron fishing on a rock is a reminder that I’m in an unusual place, a place that just doesn’t exist in the city,” says Charles.

xchanging some of our human neighbors in the city for wildlife is one of the exciting things about being here. Anytime we spot a black bear swimming in the river, deer grazing on the beach, or raccoons hopping across the rocks, this is something you see on National Geographic, not from your living room.

“We’ve been able to live outside of the big cities because we’ve found a way to work mainly from home.

The internet has made this possible,” says Charles.

Not only have homes been a part of our work (Three Rivers is our fourth home renovation in eight years; Charles restored two historical properties in Amsterdam prior that were published internationally), but Charles is the Director of Broadcast for advertising agency Modernista! based in Boston, and I’m a writer, having finally found the peace to finish a memoir.

“What most people don’t realize is that we haven’t given up anything. We have wireless internet, a Starbucks just around the lake, and frequent trips to LA and San Francisco give us our connection to overcrowding and stress when we need it,” says Charles.

One thing about going with the flow, you never know where it will lead. *

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