FEEL THE LOVE

TEXT SYDNEY GORE PHOTOGRAPHY JENNA PEFFLEY PRODUCTION MADELINE O’MALLEY

Creative powerhouse Justina Blakeney envisions a new home for her family in Southern California

JUSTINA BLAKENEY, JASON ROSENCRANTZ AND THEIR DAUGHTER IDA IN THE LIVING ROOM

An

unapologetically self-identified maximalist, Justina Blakeney founded trendsetting design blog Jungalow back in 2009 to bring her personal vision of beauty into the world and help others tap into their creativity by better expressing themselves inside their homes. Since then, she has continued building the Jungalow empire, launching its namesake design brand in 2014 and cultivating a passionately engaged digital community that follows her every move.While the pandemic slowed the world down, Justina was busier than ever, publishing her third book, Jungalow: DecorateWild, and expanding the Opalhouse designed with Jungalow collection for Target. On top of that, she and her husband, Jason Rosencrantz, and their now nine-year-old daughter, Ida, were creating a new home.

The multi-hyphenate entrepreneur vividly recalls the first apartment she lived in on her own at the age of 28, a botanical-printfilled space in LosAngeles that she moved into after spending seven years in Italy. ‘That was the first time I had a place all to myself, ’ she recalls. ‘ Although it was somewhat short-lived because I moved in with my then boyfriend – now husband – about a year later, I really was able to express myself in a way I felt I had never had the freedom to do before. It was really just about me. ’

While growing up in Berkeley, California, Justina lived in a modern house built by the architect Benson Ford. ‘I was five when we moved in, and seeing a Black architect at that time made me realise we can do anything, ’ she remembers.That home was an eclectic mix of antique furniture bought at auctions, cultural artefacts from her family ’ s travels, and a massive collection of PanAfrican art. Paintings with scenes from Jewish folklore were hung next to depictions of Ethiopian royalty, she notes.

‘It was a living interpretation of the different mix my household was made up of. ’

As much as she and Jason loved their starter house, a 93-square-metre 1926 bungalow located in Frogtown, the family of three had started craving more space.Their new place inAltadena is a Spanish-style abode built in the early ’30s with traditional Mediterranean details and mid century-modern flair. The 250-square-metre property is a slice of paradise that ticks all the boxes for Justine: there is an internal courtyard, a pool with an incredible view, and mature fruit trees amid the surrounding foliage. Most of all, she appreciates how the spacious house supports an indoor-outdoor lifestyle while feeling intimate. ‘It has a cosiness to it that I really love, ’ she notes, ‘ and a circularity about the flow of the energy because of how it surrounds the courtyard. ’

‘We were really intentional about creating different spaces for the experiences that we want to have, ’ Justina notes.

After closing in December 2020, the couple hoped to hit the ground running with their contractors, New Generation Home Improvements. Overall, the house was in decent shape, but they planned to create a new kitchen, redo the bathrooms and upgrade electrical work. Justina ’ s tweaks to the original five-bedroom layout to better accommodate their needs included converting the garage into a guest room that feels like one you would find in a boutique hotel and functions as a workshop for testing her new wallpapers and bedding.

The estimated waiting time for clearing the permits was initially about three months but ended up taking a year. Other obstacles

ON THE LANAI VERNER PANTON CHAIRS THAT ONCE BELONGED TO JUSTINA’S GRANDPARENTS AND AN ’80S TRAVERTINE TABLE. THE FLOOR TILES ARE MOROCCAN CEMENT, IN A NON-TRADITIONAL PATTERN

OPPOSITE PAGE

MOST OF THE ROOMS OF THE HOUSE OPEN ONTO A COURTYARD CENTRED AROUND A LARGE OLIVE TREE, WHERE JUSTINA LIKES TO MEDITATE IN THE MORNINGS

that they faced were the delays on materials, fixtures, tiles and appliances due to ongoing pandemic-related supply-chain issues. ‘It has been a real exercise in patience, ’ admits Justina, who mastered the frustration through meditation classes. Even so,

‘it has not been easy living almost a year in a construction zone. ’ (She documented many of these setbacks with humour, grace and solid practical advice for her more than half a million followers on Instagram.)

Over the past two decades, the professed ‘ vintage hound’ has amassed a huge collection of heirloom pieces and conversation-starting tchotchkes, which she has deployed throughout the residence. Many recently acquired pieces, such as the fringe chairs in the plant-friendly lanai, were found on Chairish and come from Europe, India and NorthAfrica. ‘I was excited to bring some newness in and have a different vibe, ’ she notes.

When it came to designing the home, Justina and Jason were very collaborative. She likes to think of it as a yin-yang approach that sees them going back and forth in their respective domains. ‘While I have the vision for what I want the place to look like, there are definitely gaps in my know-how, ’ she explains. ‘I can design wallpaper, but I cannot necessarily install it. ’

Justina describes her husband as a ‘ super-handy ’ person who ‘thinks about things really, really comprehensively.We are a great team because I bring the big vision like “Here is what I want the room to feel like, and these are the colours that I want to bring in, ” and he is very much dialled-in to all the tiny little details. ’ (Justina is quick to point out that Ida has definite ideas about things too.)

With every room set to evoke a different mood, it is all hyper-eclectic. ‘We were really intentional about creating different spaces for the experiences that we want to have in the home, ’ Justina notes.

She and Jason make decisions based on an energetic level. So while the kitchen is more minimalist due to the couple ’ s desire to create a clean, modern and ‘ super-functional’ workspace, the primary bedroom morphed from a bright and sunny oasis into a moody haven washed with cool blues. ‘I feel a lot of times my designs, and the spaces that we create, conjure a transformative narrative, ’ Justina says. ‘But this is the first time that we were like, “Oh, we are in a whole new biome. ”We went with the idea that the bed was our island in this ocean for us to celebrate our love together. ’

Although the renovation process persists, she does feel close to completion. Or at least as close to complete as a home meant to evolve with her family over time can be.As Justina poetically puts it,

‘the home is a wet canvas ’ , and she is approaching this ongoing adventure like a living art project.

‘I bring the big VISION like,

“Here is what I want the room to FEEL like, and these are the COLOURS that I want to bring in ”’

JUSTINA BLAKENEY

A TENTED DAYBED FROM DE-COR IS PILED WITH OPALHOUSE DESIGNED WITH JUNGALOW PILLOWS

PREVIOUS SPREAD CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT

’70S RATTAN AND CHROME CHAIRS SURROUND AN ’80S ITALIAN DINING TABLE, BOTH FROM CHAIRISH. THE RUG IS BY JUSTINA BLAKENEY FOR LOLOI; THE KITCHEN IS OUTFITTED WITH REFORM CPH CABINETS AND ZIA TILES; SYDNEY HARBOR PAINT COMPANY LIMEWASH IN BLUE REEF COLOURS THE PRIMARY BEDROOM; THE CHAIR IN THE OFFICE WEARS A BLAKENEY FABRIC

MISSONI HOME ‘3 LILIUM’ WALLPAPER, POR,

DREAMWEAVER STUDIOS

CUSHION IN SUN RED AND IVORY, R695, WEYLANDTS

MATTHEW WILLIAMSON ‘IRIS IKAT’ RUG, POR,

AMARA

‘HOLIDAY’ BEACH UMBRELLA, R2 400, REVOLVE

‘LUMIERE’ CANDLE HOLDER IN PINK GINGHAM, POR, AMARA

‘DESNA’ PATCHWORK BENCH, R5 389, KARE DESIGN

CERAMIC VASE IN ZESTY ORANGE, R479,

BLOOM SPACE