WITH ROLLING HILLS AND HORSE PASTURES AS A BACKDROP, JOANNA WHIPPED UP A CASUALLY ELEGANT SUMMER MEAL.
The Hofmanns (opposite) have found that “living small” in no way cramps their style (from top): Joanna with Luca, a 3-month-old miniature Australian shepherd; utensils at the ready; Alessandra Goycochea and Pierce Mahy smiling in the sun.
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JULY • AUGUST 2018 / 805LIVING.COM
full-time house that can hit the road or be parked off the grid and provide everything needed for an outdoor gathering with friends. Getting to that point has been an interesting creative journey for them, and it’s one that promises to continue in some intriguing directions. Matthew, born and raised in Mammoth, earned an architecture degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and moved to Santa Barbara, where he worked at DesignARC before setting off on his own. On a whim, he bought an Airstream trailer and began to renovate it. The timing—at the start of the recession and after the 2008 Tea Fire—was ironically auspicious: He could keep his overhead low by living in the vehicle on a rented empty plot of land with an ocean view. Drawing on his own experience, Matthew went on to found a company that renovated 400 mobile living spaces over the next six years; he also co-founded AutoCamp in Santa Barbara, using renovated Airstreams for travelers’ accommodations. About four years ago he met Joanna, who had grown up in Connecticut, worked in crisis counseling after college in Virginia, and ultimately pursued her dream of a culinary career in Los Angeles. When love entered the picture, she moved to Santa Barbara and worked as a private chef while the two of them charted their next move. After some cross-country travel, they sidestepped the high-priced housing market by buying a boat to live in.