Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Italian Country Cottage in California
Handmade touches, colors inspired by Italy and antique finds from around the world create a cheerful, charming home
Nestled near California's San Jose Municipal Rose Garden is Stan and Cynthia Ostrowski's 1950s home, where country casual blends with Italian influences. The homeowners had searched the market for a year and nearly given up when they stumbled upon this property, which was in desperate need of renovation. Seeing the structural potential, they purchased the house. Then, using DIY skills, inspiration from their travels to Italy, and Cynthia's childhood memories of her grandmother's home in Wyoming, the couple remodeled the home into an inviting space.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Stan and Cynthia Ostrowski
Location: San Jose, California
Size: 1,300 square feet
That's interesting: Cynthia made most of the curtains and decorative pillows in the home
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Stan and Cynthia Ostrowski
Location: San Jose, California
Size: 1,300 square feet
That's interesting: Cynthia made most of the curtains and decorative pillows in the home
The pair entertains frequently and wanted a built-in breakfast bar to serve as a dining and conversation space in the kitchen. The white and blue porcelain flour, sugar, coffee and tea jars are from Pier Deux in Carmel, California.
Bar stools: Pottery Barn; placemats and napkins: Williams-Sonoma; dishes: Anthropologie
Bar stools: Pottery Barn; placemats and napkins: Williams-Sonoma; dishes: Anthropologie
Wood-paneled drawers offer ample storage to the main cooking hub. The couple designed a custom range hood to match the soft gold wall color and selected complementary blue accent tiles. Updated dual-pane ovens are adjacent to the stove. Cynthia's collection of cookbooks from her travels in Europe are kept within close reach.
Cynthia's side-panel curtains are attached to knob hooks on each side of the sliding patio door; creating a unique alternative to a traditional curtain rod. The inviting dining space is outfitted with an understated chandelier. The fabric and rods for the curtains are from Calico Corners. The flooring is original to the home.
Chairs: Ballard Designs; dining table: Pottery Barn
Chairs: Ballard Designs; dining table: Pottery Barn
Stan and Cynthia's daughter gave them this painting, which uses her mother's favorite colors and Vincent van Gogh as the main inspiration. Accent plates frame the colorful painting, and it creates a cheerful focal point for the dining room. The couple purchased the two smaller plates at flea markets in France and Belgium.
Cynthia tied in all of their design palette colors in the dining room space by creating a custom chair and pillow in reds and blues, then adding curtains in deep yellow.
This blue chair is Cynthia's favorite furniture piece; she enjoys sitting in it to look out onto their backyard. It's an inherited antique that Cynthia reupholstered with new fabric, and she added the red pillow.
This blue chair is Cynthia's favorite furniture piece; she enjoys sitting in it to look out onto their backyard. It's an inherited antique that Cynthia reupholstered with new fabric, and she added the red pillow.
Stan wanted a neutral room in the house to function as a reading den. Cynthia found an antique settee and had it refinished and re-covered with new fabric. A tarnished golden antique lamp was restored as a lighting source for the room. Cynthia designed and made the curtains in this space with her favorite Pierre Deux fabric, and also sewed the accent pillows to match.
A collection of porcelain boxes from antiques stores visited on Cynthia's travels is on display in the family room on a reading table.
The white, soothing master bedroom offers a place of retreat. Dashes of pink in the accent pillow offer a focal point in the room, and the patterned bird curtains invite the outdoors in.
A rustic blue bird feeder hangs from a tulip tree.
What Stan and Cynthia love most about their neighborhood is its location in the South Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and that it's within walking distance to the Municipal Rose Garden, where they can enjoy seasonal blooms.
More Houzz Tours
Country Glamour in Woodstock, New York
Canadian Cottage in the Netherlands
Maine Cottage on the Point
What Stan and Cynthia love most about their neighborhood is its location in the South Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and that it's within walking distance to the Municipal Rose Garden, where they can enjoy seasonal blooms.
More Houzz Tours
Country Glamour in Woodstock, New York
Canadian Cottage in the Netherlands
Maine Cottage on the Point
Cynthia designed the space herself, and they eventually found someone to tackle the small, unique angles. She personalized the space by adding yellow fabric beneath the farmhouse style sink. See-through cabinetry shows off her collection of white dishes.