At Home With Catherine Masi

We are very pleased to welcome Catherine Masi to A Beautiful Mess today to share her lovely home with us! "I'm recently divorced, but it's been the best case scenario, all things considered (my ex-husband and I are still best friends, thankfully.) That said, this new home is a wide-open and positive new endeavor for me. It's a beautifully bright and creative space in a light-drenched guest house on a 1920s estate in the Montecito area of Santa Barbara, Califiornia. Neat fact: One of the first female Oscar winners lived here for a time in the 1930s! Also, the sun shines through the bedroom window in the morning and comes around to shine in my office window at the end of the day. I'm seriously counting my blessings. It's a great home for all kinds of good reasons (including afternoon tea or coffee and evening cocktails with friends—lots of that going on here these days). And I really love the colors from the accents that pop from the all-white walls.  It all just makes me feel so peaceful, happy, and blessed. It's my little haven of all things sentimental, mixed with brand new possibilities. It's a good combination, I think." "I love all the art throughout the house, but the ones in the bedroom are extra special. The dresser was built and painted by my grandfather whose father brought the family's furniture business over from Italy and into Brooklyn at the turn of last century. He and his team made this piece around the 1930s. It was with me growing up in my childhood bedroom back in New England, and it' traveled across country to be with me here. I love it so much. There are also other trinkets/artwork that were my mother's, who passed away when I was little, and a couple other thoughtful gifts from my father and step-mother. And the large ink drawing was a gift from my ex-husband who recently made it for me to remind me of the places I will go in life. See? Special stuff."
"It's still kind of surreal that I have this space all to myself. One bummer about this home, since I'm now renting, is that I can't have my most wonderful and awesome boxer dog, Mars, stay with me. So I do my daily visits with him at his dad's house 🙂 But what this means for my new home is no dog hair, no muddy paws. So I get to have white fluffy rugs, and I get to leave all my materials out without Mars sniffing around and making off with silk ribbons and gold leafing attached to him. Ultimately, this means that I can use every room to create new projects, do photoshoots, and produce my shop orders without concern for (though very adorable) dog drool. In essence, this space is really the little playhouse and art studio I had always dreamed about." "This is a fairly new space for me.  I moved in at the beginning of last Summer.  And, even though it took me longer than expected to put everything in its place, when I first stepped out of my car and saw the big old palm, pine, and citrus trees and flower gardens surrounding it, I knew it would be my home. Things are still evolving, design-wise, inside this cozy house. But every time I return back from being out and about, I feel settled and peaceful. That to me is the mark of a happy home." Thank you so much, Catherine, for sharing your gorgeous space with us! You can find more of Catherine over at her shop or on Instagram! xo.