The Family Tree

For this San Diego family, the phrase "putting down roots" has taken on a whole new meaning.

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The blue-tiled master bathroom stands in contrast to the muted tones of the rest of the house. The tile is recycled glass from China.

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Madeline and Gabriella check out the handprints of their grandmother and granduncle, which were cast in the original foundation in 1956.

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Gabriella swings on the rope swing hung from the podocarpus tree. The twenty-foot-tall, steel-framed, custom-built wood screen provides enough privacy to give the outdoor space the feeling of a room, with the 50-year-old polocarpus tree acting as a roof.

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Almost all of the Lees’ chairs, tables, and dressers are by the now-defunct Norwegian furniture company Peter Wessel. They were purchased from a friend whose grandfather was the accountant for the company. The friend hated the pieces and sold them all to the Lees after her grandfather passed away. “She’s a real Pottery Barn girl,” Kim says.

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Kim and Gabriella enjoy their kitchen, which spills out onto their backyard deck.

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The Lees commissioned local artist Blair Thornley to create a large painting, which Public then mounted on a slider. The painting now functions as a sliding door to close off the TV room when necessary. “Blair coated it in acrylic,” architect James Gates explains, “so they don’t have to worry about handprints.”

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