Step Inside: A Dreamy California Farm Getaway
Many people head to the Santa Ynez Valley in California with one thing in mind: wine country. With beautiful landscapes that stretch for miles, it’s exactly the kind of place to enjoy a glass of pinot while soaking in the sunshine. But we can think of one more reason to visit the area, and that’s for a stay at Rancho Clancy.
Once an art gallery that housed an eclectic collection, the home is now a dreamy farm getaway, thanks to the DIY efforts of wife and husband Maggie and Tripper. When they aren’t making memories in the space with their two girls, guests are invited to stay for some rest and relaxation of their own.
Below, we asked Maggie to tell us more about how she and her husband turned this house into a home. See the space for yourself, with photos captured beautifully by Nicki Sebastian.
Tell us about your home! How did you know it was the right one for your family?
We bought the house in December 2020. We'd visited the Santa Ynez Valley over the years to go wine tasting and attend weddings, but we didn't know exactly where to look. It was a bit of a goldilocks real estate adventure: some too neighborhood-y, some on too much land. This house was just right on 10 perfectly manageable acres.
The only hitch: It was previously an art gallery. There was art everywhere — carved into the hillsides, sticking out of concrete stands all over the property, and in every room.
What were some challenges you saw from the get-go?
The home’s first owner was David Bermant. Pieces from his collection still live in public spaces all over Santa Barbara County, but this gallery kind of got everything else. Everything was kinetic — 65 plugs were installed in the floor so the pieces could come alive. At one point on our tour, the agent turned them all on at once. Instead of running from the funhouse vibe of things ticking, tocking, and making noises, all we saw was potential.
What was renovating your home like?
For the last few years, we've thoughtfully and intentionally rebuilt every single thing to create a cozy single-family vacation home. We didn't have architects, and we didn't end up hiring designers either. Instead, my husband created a lot of “plans” for our contractors, and I put my Pinterest boards and Instagram follows to good use. I even taught myself how to wallpaper.
We set out to make something inspired by the beautiful surroundings — a place that could grow and change with our family. The upside of it taking so long is that we got to see how we were using the place as it was happening and make small tweaks as we went.
How would you describe your interior aesthetic?
I'm really drawn to clean lines, cozy textures, interesting uses of patterns, and pieces with a story. And clearly I love color! When we were first imagining all the possibilities for the space, all the architects' initial renderings kept coming back looking really cold, stark, and monotone. My youngest daughter had discovered a huge geode on the hillside, and when we decided to take the house plans into our own hands, that geode became our design guide for the entire process.
We were also inspired by the brightness all over the Santa Ynez Valley, so when it came time to choose paints and finishes, we brought all that outdoor color inspiration inside, adding layers of unlacquered brass and pops of shine throughout.
What are your favorite parts of your home now?
We sourced a ton of vintage finds and leaned into new items that had great stories behind them. So while it's literally all new, somehow none of it feels new. I could not be more proud of every last touch, including a salvaged art piece or two from the hillsides.
Mostly, I love seeing how we use it when it's just us — and how it grows when family and friends come to visit. As we've opened it up for people to rent, the most rewarding feedback is that the house has everything you need but doesn't feel overdone or stuffy.
To you, what makes a house a home?
The memories you make. We've had lazy weeks, epic adventures, and everything in between there. We witnessed our goats giving birth to so many babies; invented a ping-pong/baseball hybrid game that could be an Olympic sport; grown our meals and become preserving pros; cut enough flowers to open a small floral shop; and also had so many plants that just couldn’t quite survive. It's all been awesome and humbling.
We've given our kids and ourselves a space to get away, turn off devices, and just be with nature, and I can't imagine a better home than that.
Last but not least, tell us about a few Schoolhouse favorites and why you chose them for this space.
Our girls are big readers, but their bedtimes are slightly different. We knew they'd be sharing a room here, so the Radar Sconces were a must-have for the bunk room.
I also fell in love with all the quilts and blankets at Schoolhouse. The colors are spot-on, the styles are un-fussy, and they all incorporate heirloom design elements to achieve a vintage look and feel.
