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© Noah Webb
© Noah Webb
© Noah Webb
© Noah Webb
© Noah Webb
© Noah Webb
© Noah Webb
© Noah Webb
© Noah Webb
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
By Nancy Keates of The Wall Street Journal
Many people choose to live in Ojai, Calif., because of its arts scene, which includes many galleries. After designing and moving into their home in this mountain town north of Los Angeles two years ago, Jeffrey Weinstein and his wife, Wendy Wilson, went one step further: They turned their home into an art gallery.
The couple are shown here with their sons Elijah, 12 (in the tree), and Josh, 13.
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
Living-room gallery
The gallery idea came when Weinstein and Wilson were looking for someone to paint a mural in their kitchen and for some paintings to hang on the walls of their newly built home. They met local artists and heard them complain about how difficult it was to get good exhibition space in town.
About 50 paintings and 10 pieces of pottery were recently displayed in the living and dining rooms of the couple's three-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot contemporary ranch house, which is close to the center of town. Open since November 2011 and named after their street address, Ojai Gallery 353 focuses on the work of established local artists and is open every day by appointment. The couple also host receptions every few months; Wilson, a personal chef, caters the events.
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
Custom kitchen
The kitchen has a 10-foot-long custom-made stainless-steel hood hanging over the middle of an oval-shaped island. The ceiling is barrel-shaped, and the top of one curving wall is covered by a 12-by-7-foot mural of orange fields and mountains painted by Ruben Franco, a well-known Ojai artist originally from Mexico.
The kitchen opens up at one end, through sliding glass doors, to a wood deck, an outdoor fireplace and a large yard with lots of trees.
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
Canvas of canvases
Although the art is mostly traditional landscapes, the house -- with its pink-brown wood shingles, stone base and pitched metal roof -- is a blend of Craftsman and industrial-modern styles.
Its open spaces and materials have made it a good place to view art. The large windows provide sufficient light, and the walls are white. Tile floors can handle the foot traffic and hide dirt.
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
Dining room with art for sale
The gallery doesn't generate much income. The couple take a 40% commission from the sales of the paintings, eight of which they sold between January and Sept. 1. The works are priced from $500 to $2,500.
"It's a labor of love," Weinstein says, adding that one side benefit is that he has befriended several artists with whom he drinks beer, plays tennis and talks.
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
Private collection
The art in the master bedroom, shown here, isn't for sale.
Weinstein began drawing the house plans in 2002, and it took him four years to get it right. Some of the delay related to practical changes: He originally made it two stories but eliminated one when construction costs went too high.
The home was completed in 2008 for about $750,000, and the family used it as a second home until they moved in 2010. A four-bedroom, four-bathroom contemporary home nearby on 4 acres recently was listed for $1.3 million.
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
Barn doors
Large, rolling, barn doors can be closed, shutting off the private wing of the house when an art event or cooking class is taking place.
Shown here is a large playroom that leads to the master bedroom and two bedrooms for the couple's children.
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
Yard view
The front door opens into the living room, where the sloped Douglas fir ceiling rises from 9 feet to 20 feet.
Floor-to-ceiling windows -- including a panel in blue, yellow, purple and green squares -- look out to a yard with eucalyptus and Chinese elm trees.
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3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery
Artful windows
The panel of colored windows gives a view that's slightly hallucinogenic.
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