Brazil Home Inspires a Slower, Soulful Life
Lily Riesenfeld’s home in Larkspur, California, is designed to feel connected to the outdoors. The 1921 house, with black shingles and mahogany doors, sits near the trails of Mount Tamalpais. San Francisco Bay inlets are to the east, and the Pacific Ocean is to the west.
Riesenfeld grew up in Berkeley, California. When she was eight, her family bought a ranch in Healdsburg. Over the years, they planted hundreds of trees, built a ranch home, restored a redwood barn from the 1850s, and planted one hundred acres of French varietal grapes. The ranch was developed so that animals, the vineyard, and natural habitats could coexist. Riesenfeld said watching her parents develop the ranch was special. Her favorite part of going there is sharing it with visitors.
As a child, Riesenfeld also spent two weeks every summer in Maine at a family home. The furniture on the porch was painted a celadon green the family called “Gamby green,” after her great-grandmother. Her great-grandmother liked the shade so much she had a set of Wedgwood china made in that color. Many of the choices Riesenfeld made in her own home were inspired by her grandmother’s home in Maine, the family home in Berkeley, and the ranch in Healdsburg.
A Career Focused on Health and Community
In her early adult years, Riesenfeld focused on personal wellness. She launched her first business, The Lily Pad, in Malibu. After moving back to the San Francisco Bay area, she cofounded The Pad Studios, a Pilates and yoga studio. She then started developing purpose-driven events to help communities connect, launching a brand called the Kinship Experience. As those events grew, Riesenfeld said she began moving her work to the intersection of human health and global health. She then launched a summit called Futurewell.
Today, Riesenfeld is an advocate for regenerative agriculture and works to advance healthy, equitable food systems. She is fundraising for a regeneratively built Center for Food and Agriculture that will offer a permanent farmers’ market by the Marin Civic Center. She said the building they plan to erect will draw down more carbon and energy than it uses.
Designing a Home in Harmony with Nature
Riesenfeld designed her home with guidance from Caitlin Flemming. She said Flemming was a huge inspiration and the reason her home came together the way it did.
The colors in the home coexist in a calm harmony. Earth tones of deep greens, wheat, and a light shade of blue are mixed with a variety of patterns. These colors can be found in the outdoors around her, including the golden hills, the redwood trees, and the light blues and grays of the water. Walls in the entry and dining room are covered in a large-scale William Morris pattern. Curtains and pillows use smaller prints combined with a touch of wood-toned plaid in many rooms. Two small vintage French chairs are covered in a hand-printed leaf pattern. The plates are a mix of vintage transferware in varying shades of green, along with pieces from her great-grandmother’s green Wedgwood.
Riesenfeld said the heart of the home is the kitchen. There, homemade tortillas sit wrapped in a linen towel by the stove, and slow-simmering pinto beans are ready for anyone who is hungry. She said it is a place to be nourished, and she is ready to welcome those in need of its healing power.
Riesenfeld said she was drawn to the area because of Mount Tamalpais and the hiking. She and her family did not even look at Berkeley, where their families live. They also thought it would be good to be a bridge away from their parents. For her, home is a place for people to gather and feel comfortable, a place you instantly feel at ease. Her favorite season is late summer, when the light changes and there is a golden cast to everything.
She collects wicker baskets and hats, as well as anything for the kitchen, especially interesting pottery. On weekends, she and her family hike, cook, and go to their children’s sporting events. In the winter, they go to their cabin in Sugar Bowl, near Tahoe, which was built in the 1930s to look like a Swiss village. She said she cannot live without a latte in the morning, her children and husband, and her morning hike every day. She turns her house into a home by adding layers of textures and textiles. She said her home fuels her creativity by allowing her to style meals and bring people together at the table. Every Sunday, her mother-in-law comes to dinner, and she makes an effort to dress up and make a nice meal.
