7 minute read
At Home: The Longs
Home at Last
Story By Rachel Trigueiro | Photos by Lifestyle Staff
Good things come to those who wait and great things come to those who are patient. Jordon and Elisha Long are no strangers to waiting in life. Surrounded by pieces and architecture that show their signature, clean minimalist style, Jordon says, “Our house has been built over the years with things we love.” Elisha goes on to say, “There’s no standard timeline to renovating your dream home, and staying focused, patient, and positive are key.” As a collector of vintage goods, Elisha is ever on the hunt for undiscovered gems. Her eye for design brought their home to life, yet she’s committed to holding out for the perfect piece, rather than settling for mediocre instant gratification.
With simple, clean lines and a midcentury vibe, the Longs created a space where their entrepreneurial minds are the only busy thing in the house. Elisha laughs as she says the house wasn’t love at first sight. After remodeling their first home, she didn’t want another fixer-upper. When walking through the dated 1977 home, she adamantly said no. But with Jordon’s natural artistic gift, he saw past the strong 70s vibes with the closed-off, separate rooms and into its incredible potential. He went home and drew up his vision. When walking through the house a second time, in her words, he talked her into it. “When we walked through again, there were a hundred business cards on the counter. Everyone walked away from the house because it literally needed to be gutted,” Elisha says.
Within a week of moving into the house, it was taped off and demo began. Inside renovations took about six months, with Jordon doing 80 percent of the work himself. Good friend and local contractor Grant Maze walked Jordon through items needing to be up to code. “He was my rock, guiding me in the whole process,” Jordon says. The renovations took place between the hours of 8:45pm and 1am. “Grant worked all day and then helped me on the side. I owe him a lot of credit.”
Both Jordon and Elisha have a love for cooking and hosting. After living in a home with a small living room, it was a priority to have a comfortable space to host family and friends. Although the 70s style house wasn’t open concept like Elisha hoped for, Jordon tore down a wall, opening the kitchen to the living room, creating the warm and inviting space she wanted. Another major desire for the home was a kitchen that opened to a large outdoor area. Because the home wasn’t originally designed for this, Jordon creatively designed the next best thing: a nine-foot window in the back of the house to bring the outside in, with natural light flooding the house throughout the day. All the big things, including flooring, were tackled within the first year before they welcomed their first baby.
Five years later, the two laugh about living with dirt in the backyard for all that time with now two small kids. Recently, the couple worked with Charter Oak Landscape to complete the home with the design of their backyard. Jordon and Elisha designed the hardscape, while Charter Oak Landscape worked their magic picking plants and rocks perfect for the space.
Jordon and Elisha share that it’s easy to see a beautiful house, but not the process it takes to get there. We live in a time where the art of waiting is underrated and undervalued. Having what you want immediately is the expectation in our instantly curated and overly filtered culture. “Everything we’ve done inside and out of the house has been a lot of hard work saving and has taken long periods of time to do it.” Living in the midst of construction takes patience. “The sacrifice was real,” Elisha says. “We lost a lot of comforts.” (Like not having a living room for six months.) Jordon began his automotive interior reconditioning business just three years prior to starting the home renovations, which meant many full days and nights. Elisha, who’s been a hair stylist for 20 years, also had a full plate throughout the renovation.
Amidst work and renovations, the two continue pursuing their passions. Jordon, a man of many talents, runs Interior Worx by day and in his off time can be found painting abstract art. While he says it all happened a little accidentally (and with a push from his wife) painting canvases is a hobby he now loves and hopes to pursue more as time and life allow.
For years, Elisha has left her home early every Friday morning for estate sales, hunting for unique pieces and vintage finds. “She is the mastermind behind the house. We think a lot alike, but she’s the vision behind it all,” Jordon says. Many of the Longs’ favorite pieces have been sourced from vintage shops or online from secondhand marketplaces, like their dining table found in Bakersfield and another used favorite, the leather couch. With a keen eye for style, the couple says anyone can have what they really want in their home if they’re willing to search for it and be patient for the find.
On road trips, Elisha is famous for asking Jordon, “Do you think this will fit in the car?” She’s even been known to have Jordon tear the entire bed out of their camper just to fit her dream credenza found while camping near San Luis Obispo. She waited over nine months, never settling for second-best or brand-new. Her patience paid off when she spotted the exact piece in a coastal antique shop for an unheard-of price. The two joke that the roof racks on their cars are more for furniture than for snowboards or luggage.
Elisha’s love for midcentury pieces and treasure-hunting has shaped their home and her business. “I’ve sold vintage for a long time on Etsy and Instagram but I have always dreamed of having a storefront,” she says. She plans to open a local curated vintage shop this year, full of unique home goods and vintage finds.
For the Longs, simplicity in the home is the key to success. Clean lines and a minimalist style translate across Jordon’s art and through their home, removing all unnecessary stress and distraction. The Longs’ meaningfully furnished home brings a sense of peace and calm to their daily lives.
The dining room before.
The yard before.
