Ojai Monthly

OJAI 09 26 D I S C O V E R M O N T H LY

Real estate / home / Visitors

Cover: Patty Waltcher & Lester Cook, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services | 805-340-3774 | See Page 3

FEATURED PR0: MARIE MCKENZIE EYES ON THE STREET THE COURAGE TO SAY ‘ENOUGH!’ Visitor Information

Events

Activities

Lifestyle

Tips & Tactics. See more at the OJAIHUB.COM

MID-CENTURY RANCH IN THE ARBOLADA

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918ElToroRdOjai.com Offered at $2,775,000 BanduraHome.com serge@bandurahome.com @bandurahome (323)251-1204 DRE #02147030 ©2026 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Equal Housing Opportunity. Information not verified or guaranteed. If your home is currently listed with a Broker, this is not intended as a solicitation.

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10622EncinoDrOjai.com Offered at $2,250,000 www.pattywaltcher.com pattywaltcher@mac.com @pattywaltcherrealestate (805) 340-3774 DRE# 01176473 ©2026 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Equal Housing Opportunity. Information not verified or guaranteed. If your home is currently listed with a Broker, this is not intended as a solicitation.

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OM — September 2026

OM — September 2026 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2026

9

Editor’s Note

8

Ojai Founding Fathers & Mothers

11

Calendar of Events

12

Featured Pro: Marie McKenzie

19

Ojai’s Top Ten Hikes

22

Small Spaces, Huge Possibilities

24

Who’s Who in Real Estate

28

The Characters Among Us

Editor & Publisher / Bret Bradigan AJ Davis / Home & Garden Design Cover: Listed by Nora Davis, LIV Sotheby’s Realty Contact Us: editor@ojaiquarterly.com The contents of the Ojai Monthly may not be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

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12 14

8 OJAI

D I S C O V E R M O N T H LY

08 26 Real estate / home / Visitors

Cover: Nora Davis, LIV Sotheby’s Realty | 805-207-6177 | See Page 30

FEATURED PROS: JOAN VIRGINIA ALLEN BE A TOURIST IN YOUR HOMETOWN CURB APPEAL FOR SUMMER SALES Visitor Information

Events

Activities

Lifestyle

Tips & Tactics. See more at the OJAIHUB.COM

22 19

FOUNDING FATHERS & MOTHERS While Edward Drummond Libbey is rightfully regarded among Ojai’s chief benefactors — having been behind the building of such Ojai landmarks as the Ojai Valley Inn, St. Thomas Aquinas Church (now the Museum), Post Office Tower and the Arcade — others have been very influential in shaping Ojai’s identity. Here’s a few: Annie Besant. Free-thinker, feminist and noted Theosophist. Though she only spent a few days in Ojai, she brought Krishnamurti to Ojai, and helped buy hundreds of acres of property in Ojai, (now the sites of Besant Hill School and, along with A.P. Warrington, the Krotona Center) which she called “the smiling vale.” She is considered one of the pioneers of introducing Eastern mystical thought to the West, and was an early advocate of India’s independence. and the labor movement.

Jiddhu Krishnamurti. The spiritual teacher and writer, came to Ojai in 1922, sponsored by the Theosophical Society, though he later broke with that group (“The Leaderless Path.”) He gave talks to many thousands of people each year, in the Star Camps in the oak groves west of Ojai (now the site of Oak Grove School. He once held the Guinness Book of World Records for having spoken to the greatest number of people.

Weather in Ojai Jan Feb March April May June July Aug. Sept.

Oct. Nov. Dec.

Ave. High (°F) 67 67 70 74 78 83 89 91 87 80 73 66

Ave. Low Precip.

36 5.04 38 5.24 41 3.35 43 1.22 48 .47 51 .12 56 .04 55 .005 53 .2 47 .98 40 1.69 35 2.95 21.3

Year 2018

Population:

7,461

Valley: (est.)

21,300

Year 1990

Households::

3,176

Elevation:

745

Record Low 16°

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Sherman Day Thacher. After coming West to farm and care for an ailing brother, the Yale-educated Thacher realized that he was going to need another source of income. So he founded The Thacher School in 1887. Now one of the most prestigious preparatory academies in the country, its founding creed was “teach a boy to ride, shoot and tell the truth.” Also, in 1896, his brother William founded “The Ojai,” the country’s oldest amateur tennis tournament. Among Thacher’s more illustrious students were industrialist, aviator and film producer Howard Hughes and three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder, who wrote his first play while a Thacher student.

OJAI QUICK FACTS:

Average Annual Rainfall: Record High 115°

Beatrice Wood. The famed ceramicist’s (“The Mama of Dada”) greatest work of art may well have been her life. The irreverent, avant-garde Wood lived and worked in Ojai for decades until her death in 1998 at age 105. She inspired two classic movies, Francois Truffaut’s “Jules et Jim,” and James Cameron’s “Titanic.” She attributed her longevity to “chocolate and young men.” Her autobiography was appropriately titled, “I Shock Myself.” Many of her distinctive, whimsical, luminous luster-glazed pieces are on display at her former home, now the Beatrice Wood Center, in upper Ojai.

The name “Ojai” is believed to be derived from the Ventureño Chumash word ‘awhaý, meaning “moon.” In 1837, Fernando Tico received a land grant and established a cattle ranch. Thomas A. Scott, who had financial success with oil and railroads, bought the Ojai Valley in 1864 for oil exploration. By 1868, Scott, through his agent Thomas Bard, began selling properties to homesteaders. By 1874, R.G. Surdam plotted out the town he would call Nordhoff, renamed Ojai in 1917.

Ojai is about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 30 miles east of Santa Barbara. The valley is about 10 miles long by 3 miles wide, surrounded by hills and mountains; the rare east-west orientation with a slight southward tilt gives the valley an extraordinary sun exposure; Ojai’s citrus and avocado crops are highly prized. This orientation also gives rise to Ojai as a spiritual destination.

It was due to the resources and organizing energy of Ohio glass manufacturer Edward Drummond Libbey that Nordhoff was rebuilt and renamed Ojai, inspired by the City Beautiful Movement. By 1917, with the construction of the Arcade and Post Office Tower, the town took its present shape.

The city’s self-styled nickname is “Shangri-La,” based on the story that Ojai was the backdrop (later left on the editing room floor) from the 1937 movie as the mystical sanctuary of James Hilton’s novel “Lost Horizon.”

DISCOVER

OJAI MONTHLY THE EYES ON THE STREET "We should care about one another."

— Dolly Parton

Seventeen billion dollars is an almost unimaginable amount of money. But then again, it is a small price to put on an entire generation of children.

BRET BRADIGAN

This week Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, agreed to a settlement worth up to $17.1 billion with states that accused it of deliberately designing platforms to keep children hooked while exposing them to serious psychological harm. The agreement includes limits on teen scrolling, nighttime shutdowns, school-hour restrictions and stronger parental controls. Meta admits no wrongdoing. But clearly this is a big win for Rob Bonta and other state attorneys general.

While the settlement is historic, the numbers behind it are heartbreaking. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the suicide rate among Americans ages 10 to 24 rose 62 percent between 2007 and 2021, from 6.8 deaths per 100,000 to 11.0. That does not prove social media caused the increase; human despair is never that simple. But the dates are hard to ignore. 2007 was roughly when smartphones and social media began colonizing daily life.

Something happened during those years. We became more connected and yet lonelier. We acquired hundreds of “friends” while spending less time among friends. We learned what near-strangers ate, where they vacationed and how beautiful their children looked beneath perfect lighting, while knowing less about the person three doors down. Adolescence — already exquisitely vulnerable — became a public performance measured in likes, followers and comparison. I am so glad I didn't have to grow up in this age of the constant spotlight.

As someone who has lived nearly all my life in small towns, my thoughts keep returning to Ojai. Urbanist Jane Jacobs famously wrote about “eyes upon the street” — the informal web of people watching, noticing and participating that makes a neighborhood safe.

Ojai has always had a lot of eyes upon the street. It often feels like too many. Small towns can be maddening that way. Everyone knows your business. The barista knows you’ve been gone. You run into your therapist at the market. Someone asks why they haven't seen you at the gym lately — and then waits for your answer.

We know there is a cost to that intimacy, but also tremendous value, because the opposite of being watched is being unseen. And that may be one of the defining afflictions of our age. We have built a technological world remarkably efficient at capturing attention and remarkably poor at providing any sense of belonging. Algorithms know what frightens us, angers us and keeps us scrolling. They know very little about what makes a life worth living.

This is not to say that Ojai is an immunity zone. Our teenagers carry the same phones and encounter the same relentless comparisons, cruelty, pornography, beauty standards, tribalism and engineered distraction. The invisible world follows them into bedrooms behind closed doors.

This makes the visible world outside those doors even more important: the coach who notices, the neighbor who asks, the librarian who remembers a name, the teacher who sees something is wrong, the counselor, aunt, uncle or friend who pays attention.

Those connections may look quaint beside a $17 billion technology settlement. They are not quaint; they are infrastructure.

We spend a great deal of time wondering how to make Ojai more prosperous, efficient and modern. These are all worthwhile questions.

But perhaps we should also protect what this place already knows how to do: notice one another.

In an age increasingly defined by alienation, that may be one of the most valuable things a small town can offer — not escape from the world, but a way back into it.

OM — September 2026 9

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Bring your fur baby in for sniff tour and a little treat!

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SEPTEMBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS

OJAI FALL FEST | SEPT 11-13 | OJAIFALLFEST.COM SEPTEMBER 19

Mountain Film on Tour Date: Saturday Times: Gates open at 5 p.m.

Films start at 7:15 p.m.

Location: Ojai Valley School’s Lower Campus sports field, 723 El Paseo Road Contact: Nathan@OVLC.org The 12th annual Mountain Film brings together the best outdoor films to benefit the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. Advance tickets are $35, $25 for OVLC members.

SEPTEMBER 11–13 Ojai Fall Fest Dates: Friday to Sunday Location: St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 185 St. Thomas Drive Contact: OjaiFallFest.com Three days of carnival rides and games, more than 20 live bands, food and merchant vendors and a beer, wine and cocktail cantina. Admission and parking are free.

SEPTEMBER 18 Meltt Date: Friday Time: Doors 7 p.m.; music 8 p.m.

Location: Ojai Deer Lodge, 2261 Maricopa Highway Contact: OjaiDeerLodge.com Canadian psychedelic-rock quartet Meltt comes to the Deer Lodge for an intimate 21-and-over show. Dinner and drinks are

BIG THIEF | SEPT 19-20 | OJAIVALLEYMUSIC.ORG available before the music.

SEPTEMBER 19–20 Big Thief Dates: Saturday and Sunday Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Libbey Bowl, 210 South Signal Street Contact: LibbeyBowl.org Indie-rock favorites Big Thief play two nights at Libbey Bowl, with acclaimed singer-songwriter Iris DeMent joining the bill. Both performances are currently listed as sold out.

SEPTEMBER 20 The Great Art Theft Date: Sunday Time: 4 p.m.

Location: Ojai Art Center, 113 South Montgomery Street Contact: OjaiArtCenter.org The Art Center’s annual fundraiser turns collecting art into a game of suspense: local artists donate original works, and ticket holders get the chance to choose — or “steal” — a favorite piece. Tickets are $100 for members and $125 for nonmembers.

SEPTEMBER 23 Laurie Anderson — Republic of Love Date: Wednesday Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Libbey Bowl, 210 South Signal

OJAI PODCAST | EVERY THURSDAY | OJAIQUARTERLY.COM Street Contact: LibbeyBowl.org Avant-garde icon Laurie Anderson brings Republic of Love to Ojai, continuing a career that has blurred the boundaries among music, storytelling, performance art and technology.

— RECURRING EVENTS—

Historical Walking Tours of Ojai Date: Every Saturday Time: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Location: Ojai Valley Museum 130 West Ojai Avenue Contact: 640-1390 Come see why there’s so much historical hullabaloo about this “smiling vale.” The tour, led by long-time locals, takes about an hour, and brings you into a deeper understanding of Ojai’s rich roots and heritage.

THURSDAYS

Ojai Podcast: Talk of the Town New episodes come out Thursday evenings through the OjaiHub.com newsletter.

Guests have included Malcolm McDowell on the 50th anniversary of “A Clockwork Orange,” and Sergio Aragonés on his 60 years as a cartoonist at Mad Magazine.

More than 300 episodes and counting.

Sign up at OjaiVortex.com for a free weekly newsletter.

OM — September 2026 11

MARIE MCKENZIE

BY BRET BRADIGAN

BENEATH THE SURFACE Marie McKenzie Was Afraid of the Ocean. Then She Learned to Free Drive — and Found Inspiration For Her Most Ambitious Paintings Yet

There was a moment during Marie McKenzie’s first free-diving course when every instinct told her she was in the wrong place.

She was in the deepest water she had ever entered when her heart began racing and the fearful stories started coming.

The panic gave way to what McKenzie describes as “wonder and awe” — a chaotic moment suddenly transformed into something serene and beautiful.

“What’s lurking underneath me?” she remembers thinking. “I’m from Kansas. What am I doing here? I don’t belong here.”

“There was a moment where I wanted to bail,” she says.

That movement from fear toward surrender is at the heart of Ocean Garden, McKenzie’s newest and most ambitious body of work. It also helps explain how an artist raised hundreds of miles from any ocean became so immersed in California’s underwater world that she now swims through it for inspiration.

Instead, McKenzie remembered what her instructor had told her: relaxation is key to free diving. She put the snorkel in her mouth, looked beneath the surface and let herself float rather than fight the movement of the waves.

McKenzie grew up in the Kansas City area, first on the Missouri side and later in Kansas. She was the second-oldest of five children born within six years, in a household where there was rarely much quiet and almost always something happening.

Then a school of fish passed below.

Behind the family’s one-acre property were roughly 20 acres their neighbor allowed the children to explore. There was a creek, plenty

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OM — September 2026

of room to wander and a mother who rang a bell when it was time to come home.

“It was incredible,” McKenzie says. “I feel really grateful for that.”

Art was equally woven into childhood.

Her parents encouraged her from an early age, and her father built an easel for her when she was about seven or eight.

It held a large roll of paper operated by a crank. Father and daughter would play a game: one would make a scribble and the other would turn it into something recognizable.

McKenzie thinks about that game now.

“I feel like my dad, by doing that, he really instilled imagination,” she says.

There is something of that childhood exercise in the painter she has become — making a mark, responding to it, allowing one gesture to suggest the next.

McKenzie studied painting and sculpture at the University of Kansas, eventually becoming fascinated with sculpture and processes such as steam-bending wood.

But even while living in the Midwest, she felt drawn westward.

“I always knew I was destined to move West,” she says.

The landscape she was leaving had already given her a visual language she would rediscover years later beneath the Pacific. She remembers standing above a prairie and watching tall grass move in the wind.

THE MCKENZIE FAMILY AT HOME IN KANSAS CITY ON MARIE’S BIRTHDAY. LEFT TO RIGHT: ADAM, DAVID, CHRIS IN MOM’S LAP (MARILYN MCKENZIE), MARIE AND JASON

had not yet made her own.

“And then it became real,” she says.

But admiration for the ocean did not mean comfort inside it.

As recently as 2021, McKenzie says, she largely preferred staying on shore.

“I would enjoy it from the sidelines, let everybody else get in,” she says. “I was good just dipping my toes.”

By then she had moved to Ojai, arriving

just before the pandemic. W hen shutdowns disrupted the work she had been doing for another artist, McKenzie decided to make a serious attempt at supporting herself through her own paintings. She began producing small oils and posting them on Instagram with prices — an act she remembers as frightening in its own way.

Then something unexpected happened: People bought them.

One painting led to another. A customer base grew. So did the scale and ambition of her work.

Then research changed the subject.

In 2021, while preparing work around water and the species connected to it, McKenzie began learning about kelp forests. She encountered reports of the massive decline of kelp along Northern California’s coast and felt what she describes simply as “a call.”

“It felt like waves,” she says.

She was drawn to that movement then. Today she recognizes the same quality in giant kelp swaying beneath the surface.

McKenzie moved to California in 2017. Before coming west, she had already painted seascapes from imagination — fog, cliffs and MARIE MCKENZIE WITH THREE ‘OCEAN GARDEN’ PAINTINGS. water belonging to a coast she PHOTO BY JEN LUCE

Previously, kelp had not seemed especially beautiful. Like many beachgoers, she knew it mostly as the stuff that washed ashore surrounded by swarms of seaweed flies.

OM — September 2026 13

"ANYTHING THAT MADE ME UNCOMFORTABLE, I WANTED TO GET COMFORTABLE WITH." MCKENZIE FREE DIVING OFF ANACAPA ISLAND

She also began spending time near the river, gradually going farther into the water — first getting her feet wet, then going deeper.

Eventually she began taking cold plunges in the ocean.

“Anything that made me uncomfortable, I wanted to get comfortable with,” she says.

That summer she enrolled in a free-diving course. Her goal wasn’t competition or extreme depth. “I just wanted to be the mermaid twirling around in the kelp forest,” she says.

Free diving demanded something more useful than fearlessness. It demanded calm. Underwater, McKenzie learned that panic worked against her. Struggling and kicking harder consumed energy and intensified anxiety. Allowing herself to relax and rise more gently could actually make the ascent easier.

The lesson followed her back onto land. “The free diving was transformative in so many ways,” she says.

It also transformed her painting.

The more she learned, the more enchanted she became.

Giant kelp forms towering underwater forests supporting extraordinary webs of marine life. McKenzie found herself fascinated by their scale, their growth and the diversity surrounding them.

There was only one problem. The painter drawn toward this underwater world remained afraid of the water.

That began changing in 2023, during what McKenzie calls a “season of deep change.” A relationship of more than a decade ended. She experienced severe anxiety and panic attacks and began questioning some of the assumptions she had carried about herself.

“What else did I think I couldn’t do?” she asked. Cold water became one answer.

During that difficult summer, members of Ojai Studio Artists helped her as she moved between house-sitting situations and looked for a place to live. McKenzie says people in the artist community “opened up doors for me, literally.”

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McKenzie now takes a GoPro into the water, but she does not generally try to compose photographs while diving. Doing so pulls her out of the experience. Instead she lets the camera run while she watches light move through the kelp and marine life pass around her.

Later, back in the studio, she searches the footage for fragments that might become paintings.

At the same time, her process has become less literal and more intuitive. Earlier works might begin with a carefully prepared sketch projected and traced onto canvas. With “Ocean Garden,” McKenzie increasingly allowed paint to obscure those initial plans.

“There’s this balance of control and then letting go,” she says.

The evolution accelerated after a solo trip to France. At Paris’ Musée de l’Orangerie, McKenzie sat surrounded by Claude Monet’s monumental “Water Lilies” and was struck by the harmony and peace of an environment in which painting becomes almost architectural.

She began imagining an underwater equivalent. The first “Ocean

MCKENZIE AT WORK ON HER “OCEAN GARDENS” SERIES

Garden” group became six paintings, each roughly four feet by six feet — works meant to surround the viewer rather than simply hang politely on a wall. McKenzie says the goal was an immersive experience: to make someone walking among them feel, for a moment, as though they had entered the water with her.

In her studio, the project represents six months of layering paint, intuition, attention

and experience. It is not simply a record of what McKenzie saw underwater. It is what happened after she stopped standing safely at the shoreline.

Perhaps that is the deeper subject of “Ocean Garden”: not conquering nature, but relinquishing the illusion that everything can be controlled.

She is still afraid of the ocean. She considers some of that fear appropriate. The ocean is powerful, unpredictable and deserving of respect.

Sometimes the way through fear is not to fight harder.

But fear no longer gets the final word.

Sometimes you put your face in the water, breathe, let yourself float — and wait to see what swims past.

MCKENZIE’S “SEASON OF DEEP CHANGE” IN 2023 LED TO HER PAINTING PROCESS BECOMING LESS LITERAL AND MORE INTUITIVE, FREEING UP BRUSH STROKES TO BE MORE DYNAMIC. OM — September 2026 15

There's no place like home. Let me find yours.

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Welcome to this charming cottage in the Historic neighborhood of Taormina. Hidden on a cul-de-sac this three bedroom, three bathroom home oozes with charm at the same time offers modern amenities throughout. Lovely living room with large fireplace opens to the dining room. Updated kitchen and bathrooms, light-filled rooms with views from nearly every window. You will enjoy spending time in the enchanting gardens while listening to the birds in this private sanctuary. This neighborhood has direct access to wonderful trails and Ojai’s nature preserve; yet minutes to downtown Ojai. Private and peaceful.

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OM — September 2026

DevoFoto Arts Portraiture as narrative.

Portrait commissions & inquiries: DevoFoto Arts 323 E Matilija Street – Suite 202 Ojai, CA 93023 devocoaching@gmail.com (310) 498-8619

OQ | HI KI NG MA P 1

SHELF ROAD 3.5mi EASY | Elev. Gain: 200 ft | Overlooks downtown Ojai.

2

3

4

RIVER PRESERVE 0-7mi VARIES | Elev. Gain: ≤ 520 ft Wills-Rice Loop is the longest trail.

PRATT TRAIL 8.8mi STRENUOUS | Elev. Gain: 3300 ft | Goes to Nordhoff Peak.

GRIDLEY TRAIL 6-12mi MODERATE | 3 mi to Gridley Springs (Elev. Gain: 1200 ft) 6 mi to Nordhoff Peak.

5

6

7

HORN CANYON 5.5mi STRENUOUS | Elev. Gain: 1600 ft | Goes to the Pines.

COZY DELL 2.2mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 740 ft | Cozy Dell Creek & Ridge.

MATILIJA CANYON 12mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 1200ft | North Fork.

8

9

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ROSE VALLEY 1mi EASY | Elev. Gain: 100 ft Rose Valley Falls.

SISAR CANYON 22mi STRENUOUS | Elev. Gain: 4800 ft |Topa Topa Bluffs.

SULPHUR MTN. 22mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 2300 ft | Sulphur Mountain Road.

OM — September 2026 19

FIRESTICK POTTERY Creative Workspace Open to Public OPEN 10-6 DAILY 1804 E. OJAI AVE 805 - 272 - 8760

Krotona Institute of Theosophy Serving the Ojai Valley and beyond for over 100 years.

An international center dedicated to understanding, harmony, and peace among all peoples, comparative studies in religion, philosophy and science, altruism and the ideals of a spiritual life.

GALLERY

"Everything will give up its secrets if one loves it enough."

WORKSHOPS

--George Washington Carver

POTTERY PARTIES FREE TOURS

Library and Research Center: 2 Krotona St, Ojai CA 93023 Quest Bookshop: 47 Krotona St., Ojai CA 93023

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School of Theosophy: 46 Krotona St., Ojai CA 93023

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OM — September 2026

DONNA SALLEN

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EAST END MASTERPIECE

Views, Views, Views. This private, gated, home nestled amidst the trees and the mountains, radiates modern elegance with its thoughtful upgrades, abundant natural light, and seamless flow between indoor and outdoor living spaces. You are welcomed into the large living room with vaulted beamed ceilings, a fireplace and picture windows showcasing the mountains perfectly. Flowing into the dining room and open to the modern, remodeled kitchen with top of the line appliances and gorgeous cabinetry. Open and spacious, you and your guests will love to gather onto the large deck off the kitchen. This three bedroom, two bath home has gleaming hardwood floors throughout and brilliant light in all the rooms. There is plenty of room for your guests with the detached, guest studio. You will enjoy relaxing on the patio amongst the trees and the breathtaking views. The Santa Barbara smooth stucco finish adds to the modern elegance of the home. Bring your family

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donna4remax@aol.com OM — September 2026 21

THE THINGS YOU CANNOT, AND CAN, CHANGE ABOUT A HOUSE — By Aimee Jo Davis-Varela — There is a funny thing that happens when people walk into a house for the first time.

The things that are easiest to change are often the things they notice first.

willing or able to live with or change.

The paint color is wrong. The flooring feels dated. The kitchen cabinets are not their style. The bathroom tile looks like it has been there since 1987.

An unattractive light fixture is easy to replace; a floor plan that simply does not work for the way you live may be considerably harder to solve. Significant repairs, anything to do with major systems, insurability, and just how big your renovation budget would need to be all need serious consideration.

Sometimes those things do matter, but sometimes they matter far less than the things buyers cannot change at all.

You can replace a countertop; you cannot move a view of the Topa Topa Bluffs into the backyard.

A dated bathroom is one thing; a crumbling foundation is another.

the feel of a room, oversized furniture can make a perfectly reasonable space seem much too small, heavy window treatments can block beautiful natural light, and a kitchen that has not been updated in decades can make it difficult to imagine anything else.

That distinction is especially worth This is where a little imagination can be remembering here in the Ojai Valley, where helpful. so much of what makes a property special may have very little to do with the finishes What would the room feel like without inside the house. the furniture? Would lighter paint change it completely? Are the cabinets actually a A home may have an enormous oak problem, or are they simply not a color you tree that has been growing there for would have chosen? Is the house itself dark, generations, wonderful afternoon light, or is it hidden behind curtains, overgrown unexpected privacy, a mountain view landscaping, and dark finishes? from the patio, or a location that makes it possible to walk to the farmers market.

Natural light is a particularly good A backyard may already feel like a retreat example. You can change curtains, trim because someone spent the last 20 years vegetation, repaint the walls and even creating the landscaping that surrounds it. install larger windows, but the direction Those things are much harder (or a house faces, its position on the lot, impossible) to add later. nearby buildings, and the way sunlight moves through the rooms are largely an Cosmetic problems, on the other hand, unchangeable part of the property. can be remarkably attention grabbing. An unusual wall color can completely change Of course, there is a limit to what you are 22

OM — September 2026

Not every flaw is easily or affordably fixable.

Still, when a buyer finds themselves immediately rejecting a house, I think there is one useful question to ask: Am I reacting to the property, or am I reacting to the way it looks today?

Sometimes the answer makes it clear that the house really is not the right one for you, but you might instead realize that once you mentally remove someone else’s paint colors, furniture, and decorating choices, you realize that what is left is the part you were actually hoping to find: the setting, the light, the location, the mature trees, the privacy, the view, or simply the feeling of being there.

In the Ojai Valley, those are the features to focus on when looking for your next dream home, because those are the things that cannot easily be created or replaced.

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WHO’S WHO

IN OJAI REAL ESTATE?

TO BE LISTED HERE, PLEASE CALL BRET @ 805-798-0177

Ross Falvo Keller Williams Realty “The Ojai Real Estate Guy” RossFalvo.com 805-207-5094

Dennis Guernsey LIV Sotheby’s International Realty

Nora Davis LIV Sotheby’s International Realty OjaiValleyEstates. com 805-207-6177

Therese A. Hartmann is a local loan consultant affiliated with C2 Financial Corporation, and is a Licensed Broker, California BRE #01048403.

NMLS # 298291.

Call Therese today at (805) 798-2158.

Jessica McRae Ojai Valley Real Estate 221 E. Matilija St., Ste J (805) 699-8645 jessica@ojaivalleyrealestate. com

Patty Waltcher Berkshire Hathaway Home Services California, Call me for your Real Estate needs.

805-340-3774

24

OM — September 2026

805-798-1998

Logan Hall Logan Hall Photography 805-798-0337 loganhallphotos. com

Amy Hall | Realtor® LIV Sotheby’s International Realty Amy.Hall@SothebysRealty.com direct+1 805.444.7874 554 E Main Street | Ventura, California 93001 Cal DRE 01957427

Vivienne Moody LIV Sotheby’s International Realty 805-798-1099 vmoody10@ sbcglobal.net OjaiLifestyle.net

Larry Wilde LIV Sotheby’s International Realty Wilde-Wilde. com 805-640-5734

Donna Sallen Remax Gold Coast Realtors Donna4Remax@aol.com DonnaSallen.com 805-798-0516

Bob Kemper Broker, MBA Kemper Realty of LIV Sotheby’s International Realty Bob.Kemper@ sothebysrealty.com DRE# 01356802 (805) 551-5121

Erik Wilde LIV Sotheby’s International Realty Wilde-Wilde.com 805-830-3254

Team Deckert Keller Williams Realty Ray Deckert, Broker Associate ContactUs@ TeamDeckert. com 805-272-5218

Dale Hanson Ojai Valley Real Estate 211 E. Matilija Street, Ste. J, 206 E. Ojai Ave. 805-646-7229 dale@ovhl.com

Anne Williamson LIV Sotheby’s Anneshomesinojai.com 805-320-3314

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Integrity Wealth Advisors. is a Registered Investment Adviser. This material is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Integrity Wealth Advisors and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.

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OM — September 2026

AGAVE MARIA Fresh, wholesome Mexican food & drink 106 South Montgomery Street (805) 646-6353 agavemarias.com AJ’S EXPRESS CHINESE EXPRESS Gourmet Chinese food to eat in or to go 11566 North Ventura Avenue (805) 646-1177 ajchinesecuisine.com BOCCALI’S Pizza & Pasta, from our farm to our tables 3277 Ojai-Santa Paula Road (805) 646-6116 boccalis.com BONNIE LU’S COUNTRY CAFE Traditional American breakfast & brunch 328 East Ojai Avenue (805) 646-0207 THE DEER LODGE An Ojai legend since 1932 2261 Maricopa Highway (805) 646-4256 deerlodgeojai.com THE DUTCHESS 457 East Matilija Street (805) 640-7987 thedutchessojai.com FARMER & THE COOK The best of organic Ojai 339 West El Roblar Drive (805) 640-9608 farmerandcook.com YUME JAPANESE BURGER 254 East Ojai Avenue (Arcade) (805) 646-1700 JIM & ROB’S FRESH GRILL Mexican-American & regional favorites 214 West Ojai Avenue #100

(805) 640-1301 jimandrobsojai.com HIP VGN Vegan sandwiches, salads & bowls 201 North Montgomery Street hipvegancafe.com (805) 669-6363 HOME KITCHEN OF OJAI Breakfast and lunch in a warm space 1103 Maricopa Highway (805) 646-5346 HomeKitchenofOjai.com JOPLIN’S Classic Barbecue with Sides 715 East Ojai Avenue (805) 798-9053 JoplinsOjai.com MANDALA Pan-Asian Cuisine 11400 North Ventura Road (805) 613-3048 THE NEST 401 East Ojai Avenue (805) 798-9035 thenestojai.com OAK GRILL @ THE INN Al fresco dining under vine-covered pergola 905 Country Club Road (805) 646-1111 ojairesort.com OJAI COFFEE ROASTING COMPANY Salads, sandwiches & superb service 337 East Ojai Avenue (805) 646-4478 OJAI PIZZA COMPANY 331 Ojai Avenue (Downtown Ojai) 545-7878 TheOnlyGoodPizza.com

OJAI PIZZA COMPANY (Oak View) The go-to place for food & sports 820 North Ventura Avenue OJAI ROTIE Rotisserie, sourdough, winebox 469 East Ojai Avenue (805) 798-9227 ojairotie.com PAPA LENNON’S Family owned, original & Italian cuisine 515 West El Roblar Drive (805) 640-7388 papalennons.com

traditional

RAINBOW BRIDGE A community gathering place 211 East Matilija Street (805) 646-6623 rainbowbridgeojai.com THE RANCH HOUSE An Ojai culinary destination for more than 60 years 102 Besant Road (805) 646-2360 theranchhouse.com SAKURA OJAI A locals’ favorite for Japanese food 219 East Matilija Street (805) 646-8777 sakuraojai.wix.com SEA FRESH Serving Ojai for 30 years 533 East Ojai Avenue (805) 646-7747 seafreshseafood.com ZAIDEE’S BAR & GRILL Patio & indoor dining with Ojai’s most tranquil views 1033 East Ojai Avenue (805) 646-5685 soulepark.com

OM — September 2026 27

HOW MINIMALISM ADDS MORE TO LIFE

THE COURAGE TO SAY ‘ENOUGH!’

By Therese A. Hartmann

We live in a culture that worships square footage. A culture where “dream home” often means a sprawling estate with rooms you’ll never enter and closets you’ll never fill.

His message is simple but radical: A good life is built, not bought. And it’s built through intention.

Minimalism isn’t about owning less. It’s about being more — more present, more grounded, more connected to what actually matters.

I know someone right now who’s considering buying a 20,000s quare-foot home on the East Coast — a house so enormous it practically needs its own weather system.

And while there’s nothing wrong with wanting beauty or comfort, it makes me pause. It makes me ask: At what point does a home stop being a sanctuary and start becoming a burden?

Because I’ve lived the opposite.

Years ago, I spent one of the happiest chapters of my life in India, tucked into a 20by-20 room with two other women. Three grown adults. One tiny space. A year of shared living that could have felt cramped or chaotic — but didn’t. It worked because we were intentional. We stayed organized.

We owned almost nothing. Our belongings fit into corners; our joy filled the rest.

We laughed, studied, cooked, dreamed, and slept in that little square of concrete, and somehow it felt expansive. It felt like enough. More than enough.

That year taught me something that no mansion ever could: space doesn’t create 28

OM — September 2026

Therese A. Hartmann has more than 25 years’ lending experience. She is a Licensed Broker, California Dept. of Real Estate #01048403, NMLS # 298291, affiliated with C2 Financial Corporation. For a free consultation, call Therese today at (805) 798-2158.

freedom — clarity does.

Here in Ojai, we’ve had Marie Kondo, who wrote the book about organizing your home and your life, “The Magic Art of Tidying” where she outlined the The Kondo Method.

We also have a local voice who has been reminding the world of this truth for years.

Joshua Fields Millburn, bestselling author, speaker, and documentary filmmaker, has become one of the most recognizable champions of intentional living. He doesn’t preach minimalism as a trend or an aesthetic. He lives it as a philosophy — a way of stripping away the excess so life can finally breathe.

Choosing a smaller home — or even renting a single room — isn’t a downgrade. It’s a declaration. It’s saying: • My time matters more than my square footage.

• My peace matters more than my possessions.

• My life matters more than the image of my life.

Smaller spaces demand that we choose deliberately. They force us to confront what we truly value. And in doing so, they give us back what clutter steals: calm, clarity, mobility, financial breathing room, and the ability to pivot when life calls for change.

A smaller home can mean fewer chores, fewer repairs, fewer bills, fewer distractions — and far more freedom. It can mean evenings spent living rather than maintaining.

It can mean mornings that feel lighter because your environment isn’t shouting for attention.

Minimalism isn’t about deprivation. It’s

“Space doesn’t create freedom — clarity does.” about liberation. It’s about refusing to let your home become a museum of unused things or a monument to expectations that were never yours.

My friend’s 20,000s quare-foot dream home represents one version of success — the version our culture sells. My year in India represents another — the version our hearts often crave. And Joshua Fields Millburn’s work reminds us that the right-sized life isn’t about the size of your home at all. It’s about the size of your intention.

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In the end, the bravest thing you can do is choose a home — and a life — that fits you, not the world’s idea of you. A life that feels spacious not because of its walls, but because of its purpose.

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A life that is, finally, enough.

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Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties’ Artists | 238 East Ojai Ave. Ojai, CA 93023 | (805) 646-5682 | OVAArtsgallery.com OM — September 2026 29

We know Ojai.

Royal Oaks - 5 Bedrooms, Upscale Finishes Throughout, Media Room, Wine Cellar, Tasting Room, Gym/Massage Room, Pool & Spa, Putting Green, Well, Six-Car Garage, Bocce Court, Views, and So Much More RoyalOaksRanchOjai.com

Corral Canyon Ranch - 277+ Acre Ranch in Cuyama Valley with 5 Recently Renovated Houses, Equestrian Facilities, Fenced Pastures, Hay Fields, Riding Trails, Stunning Views Surrounded by Los Padres National Forest.

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IN ESCROW

Hitching Post Hideway - Three-bedroom, two-bathroom condo with large primary suite with two closets and dual-sink vanity, two private patios, fireplace, wood floors, and community pool and clubhouse. $924,000

IN ESCROW

1.25-Acre Lot in East End Ojai Bordered by Seasonal Creek with Topa Topa Mountain Views, Paved Road to Property, One Share of Senior Canyon Water, and Room for Horses or Hobbies $795,000

Nora Davis

BRE License #01046067

805.207.6177

nora@ojaivalleyestates.com

We’re lifelong residents.

Casa Vista Linda - Set amid serene grounds, this Marc Whitman-designed home blends Old-World charm with modern comfort. Custom fireplaces, walnut finishes, expansive terraces, and resort-style amenities only begin to describe this beautiful Ojai retreat just minutes from the village.

CasaVistaLindaOjai.com $9,850,000

Ferrara Oaks - Oaks West 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom home with vaulted ceilings, natural light, mountain views, large primary suite, Saltillo tile, guest bedroom with en suite, and large patio minutes from downtown Ojai, Lake Casitas, and hiking trails. $1,259,000 FerraraOaks.com

This downtown triplex with two units completed in 2024 offers a rare opportunity for an investment property, sharing the property with family or friends, or living in one unit and renting the others for rental income. $1,695,000 509NorthBlancheStreet.com

Three-bedroom Cape Cod-inspired home one block from Ojai Avenue close to farmers markets, shops, restaurants, wine tasting, spas, hiking trails and more. $1,100,000

The Davis Group ojaivalleyestates.com

THE GLASS HOUSE 1465 FOOTHILL ROAD, OJAI • $6,500,000 Perched along Ojai’s iconic Foothill Road, this glass-walled architectural sanctuary is defined by light, serenity, and expansive 270° views. Built in 2017 and thoughtfully re-imagined in 2022, the 3,154 ± sqft single-level home pairs minimalist design with seamless indoor-outdoor living. A 1,117 ± sqft pavilion with showcase parking, wellness studio, and sauna—along with additional creative retreats—completes a private compound set on 1.87 ± acres with pool, spa, and unforgettable Pink Moment sunsets.

520 FOOTHILL ROAD • OJAI • $4,750,000

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© 2026 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHHS and the BHHS symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information. If your home is currently listed, this is not a solicitation for your listing. Awards based on 2024 production of approximately 50,000 sales associates in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Global Network.

1104 FOOTHILL RD • OJAI • SOLD — $5,200,000