My Houzz: Eclectic, Artistic Rented House in Ojai

Beth Love the outdoor light fixture out of empty wine bottles, and its a great way to recycle bottles. Looks like each as a standard light socket hook up. I assume these made for outdoor use. Also love the colbalt blue paint and how it was used.

ursula dodge design studio i think she did a great job creating an original environment in a rental. just for the record though, i think having a swing anywhere near a glass coffee table is a really dangerous proposal.

museummatt Looks great but your'e not getting your security deposit back

mrsben Now why would a Landlord not give this woman a free hand in upgrading the house? You would think he or she would. (I live in Canada, and am also wondering why does Ojai California sound so familar to me?)

Back to the subject....considering Ms. Ellwood is a tenant I feel she did a wonderful job creating a space that says 'home' for herself, two daughters and their family pets.

Sue Batson Feuer What's with the racist painting in the background? Really quite offensive.

nnicolaisen Love it, funky and colorful..and I love the art. The one piece is not racist, it's an appreciation for art history.

sailnmuffin For those posts discussing why/why not a landlord would have issues with the results of this tenant's work? I was a residential landlord for 20 years in CA & WA. The reason a landlord might not be thrilled with this tenant's work regardless of how pretty the results might be, is that when she moves out the next tenant is very likely to have totally different tastes, even might find the previous tenant's choices absolutely hideous, & legally demand that the landlord repaint everything in the new tenant's favorite colors, at the landlord's expense. This is especially true in California, a state with some very strict landlord-tenant laws. We always painted our apartments in the usual white/beige combo because those are the colors that any tenant can decorate around. Very occasionally a tenant asked us if they could repaint their unit in their favorite colors. We always offered that (1) they had to pay for the paint; (2) but only colors we approved beforehand, and (3) only ones that could be repainted and successfully covered with the original white/beige when they left - thus, no bright purples, blues, dark greens or black; and (4) we - not they - would do the painting (you'd be surprised how many tenants want to repaint but have no skills -- why would we OK someone to paint, and then get surprised afterwards when we discovered they didn't use a dropcloth or painters' tape, & we now had to replace a few thousand dollars of otherwise good carpet, hardwood floors & wood trim? You can't get a security deposit large enough to cover that kind of damage.) Plus, we offered that (5) they'd be paying for the white/beige paint we'd be using for repainting when they left.. We always negotiated that our time for all this painting & repainting we'd be doing for them would be free, they'd just have to pay for the paint.

We never had anyone accept - they muddled through with white/beige. And we always had long-term tenants, so it must not have been a great hardship for any of them.

Bette I had the pleasure to go to college that was designed by Mr.Craig Ellwood. The apple didn't fall far from the tree. A huge talent.

iseult Thanks for showing what someone can do with a smaller house and a rental. Loved the blue Adirondack chains and fence, loved the wine bottle lighting.

isntthisfun I know it's rented but I love that the wood walls are not painted over and fireplace is not replaced with everything 'new'. It's a great idea to lighten up walls with Art! The rooms have a mid-century vibe but don't live in the past. It's grown-up but playful and colourful at the same time. Love it!

ruthieq Did you not notice that her next chore was to BUY the house...and she may have some really nice landlords..

scapri2 Where can I buy that coffee table???

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel She says color is everything, but that she usually lives in bright spaces with white walls? huh?

Jan Yatsko Great idea to do a feature on a rental! This is where true creativity is put to the test. With few options available, one has to dig deep into the creativity box.

ann501 Thanks for letting us know the name of that wonderful blue color! In fact, I love all the colors.

rachaelswatek I'm pretty sure it's not meant to be a racist picture.... it's folk art.

mitchb62 I love the sense of design and original ideas. I can tell that you are a real artist at heart.

dazeerae A swing over a metal and glass table? I'm surprised no one has already commented on it. Otherwise, the house is gorgeous, just hazardous if a little one decides to jump off the indoor swing.