Live beyond your walls

Justina Blakeney’s home is California dreaming defined

What does it actually mean to design for indoor/outdoor living? And for that matter, how can you do it in your home? Step inside artist and designer Justina Blakeney’s LA home to see for yourself. 
Justina Blakeney stands outside her stucco Spanish Colonial Revival home in front of an open E-Series Hinged Patio Door surrounded by potted plants, a chair, and a giraffe statue.
When Justina Blakeney and her husband, Jason Rosencrantz, bought a new LA home, they got the California dream. With its terracotta roof set against a stucco exterior and low-slung silhouette full of expansive glass openings, their home combines the best of Spanish Revival and Mid-Century Modern architecture. Not only that, but the house was “designed for indoor/outdoor living” with an interior courtyard, a swimming pool, and a lanai. There was, however, a problem: The windows and doors that made the home so charming, livable, and connected to the outdoors simply weren’t functional anymore. Here’s how Blakeney made updates to those features while also aligning it with her signature aesthetic. 
An after photo of a new E-Series Hinged Patio door, on the left, and a before picture of the same opening with the old French door, on the right.
After
An after photo of a new E-Series Hinged Patio door, on the left, and a before picture of the same opening with the old French door, on the right.
Before
Before Blakeney replaced the French doors in her home (right), they would blow open in the wind. For the new doors, she chose new E-Series Hinged Patio Doors in olive (left). Of these doors, she said “[they] fit beautifully with the Spanish Revival architecture of the home.” Photography by Max Wanger. 
“The pop of olive green on the trim really brings me a lot of joy. It’s elevated but fun — my vibe!”

“Mirror” the outside with color and materials

Blakeney has a certain knack for bringing the outside world into the home. She is, after all, the author of three home design books celebrating a distinctly bohemian aesthetic. She’s also the creator behind the Jungalow home decor line — recognizable for its exuberant use of color, pattern, and plants. So, it should come as no surprise that as she set out to update her own home, she found all sorts of ways to make connections with nature, including through “mirroring” colors and materials found outside. “We picked olive green as a celebration of the olive tree in our courtyard — it felt like kismet!” she said. The hue coats the exterior of all her new E-Series windows and doors, creating a kinship with the leafy landscape that surrounds her home. In contrast, she chose an understated, stained pine for the interior of her windows and doors. The natural material and narrow sight lines allow these features to recede into the background so other aspects of her home’s interior design can take center stage. 

Justina Blakeney sits on an outdoor sofa underneath a set of two E-Series Casement Windows.
Selecting olive green for her new E-Series windows and doors is one way Blakeney chose to connect her home’s design with its surroundings. Photography by Max Wanger. 
Products used in this image
E-Series Casement Windows
E-Series Casement Window

 

Justina Blakeney and her cat lounge on a rose-colored couch on her lanai which connects to the courtyard outside via an E-Series Gliding Patio Door.
A stained pine finish on the inside of the windows and doors focuses attention on the view outside and other elements of the interior design — like the fun floor tile and vivid red walls of the lanai. Blakeney’s windows and doors are from the E-Series product line, which offers more than 50 standard color choices and the ability to choose one color (or stain) for the interior and another color for the exterior. Photography by Max Wanger. 

“Invite in” the elements with the right selections

Leaning into the natural elements — earth, wind, air, and fire — is another way Blakeney brings the outside in. For example, she chose casement windows not just for the “unobstructed views, but also the ability to open up and invite fresh air into the house,” she said. Her casements align with the home’s more mid-century vibes since they feature a clean design with narrow sight lines and expansive use of glass. By letting in fresh air, they help “bring in the magic of the natural world,” as she put it, and then there are the functional benefits, too. 

When Blakeney and her family first moved in, they weren’t so much living with nature as living in nature. Their patio doors would blow open in the wind, windows were painted shut, and none of the openings were equipped to keep the elements out, making their home hot in summer and cold in winter. They also worried about keeping their cats inside. “Since we live in the foothills, there is quite a bit of wildlife up here — including bears!” she said. “Having doors that didn’t close properly was giving me anxiety!” Now that their openings function again, they have control over how they let in the elements — key to maintaining comfort, of course, but also to simply living their best lives. 

One of their favorite ways to use their new doors is to facilitate entertaining. “We just open [the gliding patio door] and the courtyard becomes an outdoor living room,” she said.  

Justina Blakeney stands in front of the E-Series Gliding Patio Door on her lanai, on the left, and an exterior shot showing an outdoor seating area with couch, coffee table, footstool, and potted plants, on the right.
Justina Blakeney stands in front of the E-Series Gliding Patio Door on her lanai, on the left, and an exterior shot showing an outdoor seating area with couch, coffee table, footstool, and potted plants, on the right.
This four-panel E-Series Gliding Patio Door creates easy flow between the lanai and the courtyard thanks to its bi-parting opening — the two center panels slide for a double opening. Photography by Max Wanger. 
“We just open [the gliding patio door] and the courtyard becomes an outdoor living room.” 

“Living in concert” with nature

Adding new windows and doors, of course, improved the family’s ability to access the outdoors. But they also feel the benefits of this access on a deeper level as they go about their everyday lives. “Research consistently demonstrates the profound benefits of living amidst and near nature on both mental and physical well-being,” Blakeney said. “But you don’t need to delve into scientific studies to grasp this truth intuitively.” She grasps it when the sunlight streams into her home or when she looks out at the trees, squirrels, and birds. “When I wake up in the morning and look out the window, it honestly looks like a beautiful painting,” she said. 

A seating area in a corner of a brick courtyard with two chairs and potted plants outside a set of two E-Series Casement Windows in olive green.
The home’s orientation around the courtyard enables easy outdoor access, spotlights views of nature, and captures an abundance of natural light. And Blakeney’s design of the courtyard has created lots of cozy corners for enjoying the space. Photography by Max Wanger.  
“Living in concert with nature is good for body and soul.” 

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