ENGLISH CHARM

Richard and Nancy Cole own this Tudor-style property in San Rafael.

ENGLISH Charm THIS SAN RAFAEL TUDOR IS FILLED WITH CHARACTER AND MEMORABILIA

BY KAMALA KIRK

After living in San Marino for nearly 27 years, Richard and Nancy Cole were ready for a change. While looking for a new home, they drove through Pasadena’s San Rafael neighborhood and a He’s returned numerous times and, on those trips, he brought back various items to display, including a collection of 16th and 17th century maps that hang on one of the living room walls. Tudor-style property caught their eye.

“Our Realtor said that the home might be for sale soon and I knew I wanted it,” Richard says. “I had always wanted a Tudor house. It was built by an Argentinean for himself, and while he didn’t capture all of the Tudor details, I loved the bare bones of the home. We’ve been working on it over the years to make the inside and outside fit together.”

The Coles redecorated almost every room in the house, replaced the carpet with hardwood floors, painted the windows to match the wood, and updated the living room ceiling with wood beams that resemble an old English pub.

They added more half-timbering to the exterior. That’s a signature aspect of Tudor design that features exposed wood framing.

“The key features of our Tudor are the half-timbering in the brick, the pitched roof and the overhang,” Richard explains.

“We’ve painted and paneled almost every room in the house but stayed true to the home’s charm and character. I sent a picture of our home to one of my friends in England and he said that we did a great job achieving the Tudor look.”

The home’s front door was updated to feature reproduction linen-fold panels of proper Elizabethan oak from the Crown Guild of Master Woodcarvers in England. The couple also replaced all the fireplaces in the home and custom designed the living room fireplace with Tudor roses.

Richard has been an Anglophile since he visited England in 1973. “I really love the English countryside and culture,” Richard says. “I’m also a real fanatic about antique items, almost all the antiques we have are of British origin. “Our late friend owned an antique shop in Pasadena and we sourced a lot of our items through him. Some of our furniture and items are from our previous residence, which was a Williamsburg home, so we brought them over because they fit this place. The rest we got specifically for this house.” In their home, the Coles have custom-made items, including their wood bed frame that was shipped over from the Crown Guild of Master Woodcarvers in England. Richard has designed and created many pieces, such as the Tudor arch over the front entrance, as well as wood carvings created in his garage workshop from British oak. The circular carvings depict scenes such as people dancing and a shepherd with his dogs. Other design touches include an antique pub sign, 18th century wine glasses, enamel boxes, armorial porcelains and 300-year-old tiles from Portugal, England and Holland. The walls of Richard’s home office are also half-timbered and complemented with decorative accents like wood carved furniture and historic paintings. Richard worked closely with Doug Gibbs of R.D. Gibbs & Co. to design authentic stained-glass windows that depict symbols of English heraldry like a medieval coat of arms and a Germanic crest. They are in almost every room, including the library, which houses Richard’s collec-

The backyard includes a Renaissance garden with brick pathways, symmetrical boxwood hedges, fountains, statues, and topiary plants in various shapes.

Richard and Nancy Cole were ready for a change when they bought their home.

tion of books and Chinese porcelain.

“Our library is one of my favorite parts of the house,” Richard says. “I like to sit in there and look at the stained-glass windows. It’s been fun to put the windows in this space, they are beautiful.”

Aside from her study, Nancy’s favorite spot is a cozy reading nook in a corner of the living room.

“I love relaxing and reading a book in that corner while enjoying views of the backyard and garden,” Nancy says.

The spacious backyard includes a Renaissance garden with brick pathways, symmetrical boxwood hedges, fountains, statues and topiary plants in various shapes, like rabbits. A pergola offers shade and additional space for entertaining. On one side of the backyard is a wood bench that bears a small English crest design in the center. Richard designed it himself.

“It’s so beautiful and peaceful,” Richard says. “I love to enjoy the view of the backyard while sitting here.”

The couple is looking forward to hosting an English tea for friends at their home. They’ve been planning this since just prior to the pandemic.

“We had invitations created with Old English script and were getting ready to send them out when COVID hit,” Richard says.

“Hopefully sometime in the near future we’ll get to have people over and do that. Whenever people come to our house, they enjoy the homey and friendly atmosphere.”