california scheming

Channeling their longtime family connections to the Wild West, a design-savvy couple revives a midcentury California ranch that now takes its color cues from vintage trading blankets and the surrounding citrus grove.

- KELLY RYAN KEGANS

The crunch of car wheels on Nathan Turner's gravel driveway always sends him back to childhood visits to his grandparents' house. “As a kid, I always got so excited [upon arrival],” recalls the lifestyle expert, decorator, and shop owner (nathanturner.com). “The second we got off the main road and hit that crunch, I would think, We're officially at the ranch.”

OPPOSITE: Homeowners Nathan Turner and Eric Hughes-with one of their English Labradors, Wally-greet guests in their outdoor dining room, shaded by a mature fig tree. THIS PAGE: The warm welcome continues just inside their California ranch-style home's Dutch door with a collection of framed pet portraits.

TOP: Climbing Eden roses hug the home's gravel driveway. ABOVE: A display of ribbons won by Nathan's family members at cattle shows hangs in the living room. "I've always loved collecting," says Nathan. "I started in the design business with an antiques shop."

Those memories come alive each time he and his partner, decorator Eric Hughes (erichughesdesign.com), arrive at their 1950s ranch in Ojai, California. Both have generational ties to the state: Nathan hails from a long line of cattle ranchers near Sacramento, and Eric's great-grandparents moved to Orange County in the early 1900s. “We both grew up around this kind of old-school California vibe,” Nathan says, “and Ojai is that.” After spending time in the picturesque town during the pandemic, the couple knew they wanted to put down roots in this place that seems to have stepped back in time with its independent shops (the city bans chain stores), bountiful farmers' markets, and turn-of-the-century Spanish Colonial buildings.