In the living room, a coffee table from William Laman (with two gold figurines from the Jaffes’ 30th wedding anniversary trip to Singapore) is edged by two black-and-white 1960s chairs; a vintage metal ladder adds a sculptural element to the space. PREVIOUS PAGES: The dramatic open-air atrium entrance of the Jaffe home leads to the panoramic view beyond the edge of the dining room. OPPOSITE:
T
Jann and Michael Jaffe were featured in Santa Barbara Magazine was in the Winter 2001 issue; Jann was on the cover arranging flowers in their newly built New England-style antique-filled home in Riven Rock. Flash forward to 2015: Jann’s flower arrangements are more abstract as is her home—a restored mid-century post-and-beam Riviera masterpiece. Designed by Santa Barbara architect Wallace W. Arendt (1917-1975) and built in 1964, the glassenclosed house is a stunning example of the primary goal of California modernism—to bring the outdoors inside. Unfortunately, by the time the Jaffes purchased it in 2007, the home was in complete disrepair. But the couple agreed “it had good bones,” was perfectly sited to take advantage of expansive ocean and mountain views, and, after the surrounding overgrown landscape was removed—at the suggestion of Jann’s good friend/sounding board Kyle Irwin—also included a city view. (Panorama aside, eliminating the original landscape had another fortuitous effect—it saved the home from the 2008 Tea Fire, which destroyed at least seven homes in the surrounding neighborhood.) The two-year renovation included installing new windows throughout and upgrading the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems. Critical architectural changes were achieved with the assistance of Los Angeles architect Mark Rios of Rios Clementi Hale Studios, whose enlightened input resulted in raising the door heights to meet the existing 12-foot ceiling, enhancing the soaring nature of the interior spaces. Rios also reworked the dramatic open-air glass entrance atrium by removing an unremarkable fountain (which disrupted the view to the opposite end of the house and ocean beyond), substituting a sleek wooden bridge suspended over a gurgling reflection pool in its place. But the original footprint of the house remains intact, a testament to the integrity of its modernist design. “Every room stayed the same size except the kitchen, which we expanded by three feet,” says Jann. Three feet might not seem like much, but for Michael, a seasoned cook, “the important thing about the kitchen is not to have to move around. You want to be able to turn around and prep and if you need something in the fridge, you want to be able to take two steps,” he says. The Jaffes also retained the kitchen’s original sliding frosted glass pocket doors that are overlaid with intricate fretwork. When closed, these monumental doors screen the kitchen from the rest of the house and emanate a soft light not unlike Japanese shoji screens. Michael credits Jann for overseeing the home’s transformation to its current pristine condition. “Jann is responsible for everything. The only thing I have input about are my work space and the kitchen,” says Michael, who recently retired after a successful career in the film industry, having produced more than 120 films, including Emmy-nominated The Rosa Parks Story starring Angela Bassett and the Nero Wolfe mystery series starring Timothy Hutton. Jann, also an entertainment industry veteran, admits she HE LAST TIME
103
SPRING15.house02.indd 103
3/25/15 5:38 PM