A power design duo re-envisions a rare gem from the late architect Lilian J. Rice

This month, a life-size statue of the late Lilian J. Rice will arrive at the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society in preparation for its ultimate destination at the town’s civic center envisioned by the architect back in the 1920s. It will officially be unveiled in May with much-deserved fanfare. 

Meanwhile, down the street, an altogether different tribute is underway at a single-level Spanish Revival 3,900-square-foot residence built by Rice for a California-dreaming New Jersey family in 1926.

Come spring, it will get its own place in the sun thanks to a duo of San Diego design powerhouses. Del Mar interior designer Michelle Salz-Smith and Lisa Kriedeman, principal of Island Architects, are seizing a rare opportunity to expand and modernize the organic style pioneered by Rice nearly a century ago. 

“She appreciated a simple aesthetic standard, one that celebrated natural materials. We really carry that concept throughout,” says Salz-Smith, principal interior designer and founder of Studio Surface. “It’s warm, intentional, and entirely unique to the client.”  

The original footprint of the eclectic house is being maintained as a centerpiece while Salz-Smith interweaves her client’s DNA to create livability for the family of four (and their rescue dogs). An alchemist of the understated, she’s tapped local artisans to hand-trowel plaster walls for the modern art collection while recreating other design details that echo the home’s original ethos. When it comes to the culinary heart of the home, they enlisted one of the UK’s hottest design exports, Plain English, to create a new kitchen in lost Georgian hues like Coal Scuttle, Rusty Nail and Silver Polish. 

It’s all in thoughtful harmony with French limestone fireplaces, a wine room adorned in brass, and under-the-radar gems like Danish dining chairs plucked from the 1930s. Meanwhile, indoor-outdoor living and eco-conscious design are of the essence. A new pool and pool house are thoughtfully positioned to preserve a mature Camphor tree and blend seamlessly amongst the topography. Fountains, adobe tile, and original stained-glass have been restored to their original splendor.  

“Trying to enhance the landscape rather than dominate it —  that’s something Lilian would do,” says Kriedeman. “There’s a practical aspect to make it livable but there are details that make it distinguishable.”

A protégé of Irving Gil and the sole female member of San Diego’s AIA, Rice got the opportunity of a lifetime when she was tapped to design and develop Rancho Santa Fe’s civic center. In her boom years from 1927 to 1938, she was commissioned by Bing Crosby, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., and Mary Pickford. Eleven of her buildings in Rancho Santa Fe are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the La Flecha House, the current home of the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society. Her trailblazing determination was cut short when she died at age 49 of ovarian cancer on December 22, 1938. 

Her design principles were captured in a 1928 interview: “With the thought early implanted in my mind that true beauty lies in simplicity rather than ornateness, I found real joy in Rancho Santa Fe. Every environment there calls for simplicity and beauty, the gorgeous natural landscape, the gently broken topography, the nearby mountains.” studio-surface.com, islandarch.com

Michelle Salz-Smith creates her own form of minimal eclecticism, where raw materials, hand-forged objects, and distinctive shapes create one-of-a-kind homes in which people commune, contemplate, and connect. 

John Kingsmill Fine Plaster kingsmillfineplasters.com
Pat’s 1502 Glassworks 1502glassworks.com 
Plain English plainenglishdesign.co.uk
Tabarka Tiles tbarkastudio.com
Blackman Cruz blackmancruz.com
Roman and Williams Guild rwguild.com
Rose Uniacke roseuniacke.com