Is that arched window in the living room original?
UB: Yes, it’s one of the things that drew us to the house. After we bought it, the first thing Jonny and I did, instead of going into a deep panic, was stand around for a week and a half stripping that window. ‘Look, it used to be yellow!’ ‘Look, it used to be purple!’ The beams had to be stripped, too, because they were covered with horrid brown paint. Any surprises? UB: We opened up the living room wall and found a fireplace that had been half ripped out. We had it rebuilt, mirroring the arch of the window and keeping it simple. Our contractor found an old piece of wood for the mantel, and we copied a few tiles from the entranceway and set them into the wall. I can’t quite figure out the sofa. Is it old or new? UB: New, when I bought it. At that point, I was thinking more traditional Spanish, but slowly the room has become less Spanish and more me. I had a moment when I thought, ‘I have to get rid of this.’ But then Kathryn showed me how to salvage it. I didn’t even need to re-cover
