Santa Barbara Life & Style Magazine
PERMANENT VACATION
JODI GOLDBERG’S MAGIC TOUCH WEAVES FACETS OF SELF, FLOW, AND FUNCTIONALITY INTO EVERY SPACE SHE DESIGNS
Jodi Goldberg designs the home you’ll never want to leave.
Who wouldn’t want to feel like they’re on vacation all the time? Encapsulated in majestic vistas, gleaming ocean and noteworthy resorts, living in Santa Barbara is basically vacation living year-round. Now, to bring that resort-like sentiment into our homes. Jodi Golberg, design visionary and Santa Barbara local, creates resort style living in the interiors and landscapes she graces with “The Jodi G. Effect.” Think outdoor showers, luxurious soaking tubs, and custom oak vanities. Every project she touches becomes a vacation-like living space. She lost her home in the Montecito mudslide and battled cancer this past year, yet Jodi’s resiliency, positivity, and collaborative spirit radiates through into her client’s homes. I called up Jodi to learn more about her design process and how she transforms homes into permanent vacations.
How did your design career begin?
I started in fashion and by the time I was 20 I had my own company, Visuals. We did album covers, magazines, and clothing campaigns. I remember driving on Sunset Boulevard and seeing a billboard our company styled for the first time. This was a monumental moment in my life—it fed my ambition and made me trust that I was an artist.
In 2001, my husband and I moved our family to Montecito from Los Angeles. We bought a house, and instead of doing the standard upgrades, I turned the ranch style home and property into a Balinese getaway. The tropical environment gave us a sense of being on vacation everyday. That was a pivotal point for me—I realized how important living environments are to peoples' felt experience. I am passionate about each client feeling as blissful in their space as I did in mine.
What does your design process look like?
My first goal is meeting with the client and truly listening to how they want to feel in their home. This may be different for each area in the house; how one wants to feel in their office is different than in their living room, kitchen, or bedroom. As I listen, I come up with an overall style, concept, and flow that encompasses both form and function. I want people to get the most joy out of what each space has to offer. Once finished, the individual spaces have their own purpose and seamlessly flow with the house as a whole, evoking a sense of peace and ease while moving throughout.
One of my specialties is connecting interior and outside spaces. I believe that life and nature are meant to be interwoven, and help foster a connection with oneself, others, and purpose. Beauty is a difficult word to define, yet I wish for the finished space to be beauty at its highest potential, and aligned with the client’s individual taste.
What is a design trend you're loving right now?
I like wabi-sabi design a lot. “Wabi-sabi” is a Japanese term that essentially means finding beauty in imperfection. In the context of interior design and decor, a wabi-sabi home is one that embraces authenticity, finds value in the lovingly weathered and lived-in, and promotes an overall sense of peace and tranquility using simplicity. I am also into natural textures with plaster walls, clay tiles with uneven edges, reclaimed wood shelving, and combining true vintage items with brand new.
“I want people to get the most joy out of what each space has to offer. Once finished, the individual spaces have their own purpose and seamlessly flow with the house as a whole, evoking a sense of peace and ease while moving throughout.”
Are there any local creators you work with closely?
I shop local as much as I can to support community businesses. My go-to person for custom furniture is Blaine Taylor from Taylor Fine Furniture. He and I are always able to make incredible designs for my clients. To get that Santa Barbara, California feel I like to use artists who live in the area, for everything from painting and photography, to feather art, pottery, and glass art.
What are your favorite things about being a designer?
I feel blessed that I get to design spaces that my clients get to live in. On top of working with amazing clients on incredible homes, being close to LA allows me to collaborate with top people in this industry. Also, owning my own interior design firm gives me flexibility in my day to day life. In one week I may be in LA shopping for a client, in Santa Ynez looking at a new project, onsite having meetings with a contractor, and on a zoom call with an architect designing a client's new kitchen remodel. It's so fun and I wouldn't change it for anything.
What elements do you incorporate to make your projects feel resort-like?
When I am doing an outdoor space around a pool, I like to give my clients numerous areas to hang out and entertain. This includes spaces with fire pits, a BBQ, and dining areas, which come alive when the landscape lighting comes on. If my clients have kids, I give the adults areas that feel a little detached from where the kids play. I love putting chaise lounges by a pool on a different hardscape element, like coral pebbles. Lighting, landscaping, hardscapes, and anything that anchors the different spaces will make it feel like a resort. Indoors, I like creating an outdoor shower area off the master bathroom and a private outdoor lounge area outside the primary bedroom. A few other elements that bring that resort feeling: high-end shower fixtures, bedding, and bath towels. Don’t forget candles and plants around the house to complete the whole feeling. *