Hearth & Home

by LAUREN LABELLE
photos by BRENDA HARTSHORN

For Emile and Celia Atwood, living in Stockton was never on the agenda. The couple spent much of their lives in San Jose, where Emile was a prominent attorney. It wasn’t until after retirement that he began dabbling in the land development business, and upon finding the perfect plot in the Morada area of Stockton, plans happily changed.

The Atwoods first moved to Stockton in 1983, and spent the next two years building their Tudor-style home on almost two acres of land. The resulting manse is an over-seven thousand square-foot home that the couple has lived in ever since.

Accustomed to frequent entertaining in San Jose, the Stockton home was designed with family and friends in mind. It boasts four bedrooms, each equipped with its own bathroom—the master bedroom actually has two, his and hers bathrooms—and there are half baths on both the first and second floor. (Yes, that makes seven altogether for those of you keeping count.) As if private guest bathrooms weren’t enough to make the spacious house feel like a cozy bed and breakfast, the Atwoods also built wood-burning fireplaces into each room as well.

The home’s décor was originally centered around a Victorian theme, but Celia has recently begun the process of a total redesign. At 70 years old, Celia wasn’t satisfied to just hire someone to come in and decorate. Instead, she has taken the project upon herself, and in order to do so, headed back to the classroom and earned a certificate in interior design from Delta College.

“It was nice,” says Celia, “because in order to [get your certificate] you have to take classes like textiles and so forth. It was very informative.” Today, much of the interior has a more modern look; not quite Tuscan, but with muted sponge-painted walls and gold curtains. “I still have some rooms with the Victorian theme,” she says. “I have my work cut out for me.”

Celia has some of her own personal favorite facets of the home, the first being the many solid oak cabinets built on-site by one of the couple’s sons, which can be found throughout the home. “They are fine cabinets,” she says. Another gem of the home is the kitchen. With granite countertops and professional culinary equipment, it is the envy of any serious home gourmand.

Outside, for fresh seasonal ingredients always at the ready, the orchard provides fruit and nut trees such as apricot, nectarine, apple, pear-apple, pecan, lemon, almond, cherry, and plum. A patio area also adds to the beautiful outdoor features of the home, where the Atwoods enjoy playing with their grandchildren and entertaining houseguests. A glass-enclosed solarium with sliding glass doors and potted plants creates a natural transition from the interior to the exterior of the property. “We thought about moving a few years ago,” says Celia. “But I just couldn’t bring myself to leave [the solarium].”

Inside and out, the Atwood home is a place built for warmth and family. SJM