Home Sweet Home
A Haven of Luxury in Lodi
by JAMIE MENAKER | photos by BRENDA HARTSHORN
From the moment you pull into the driveway of this Lodi home, you can tell that the house is a labor of love. From the rainbow of colorful, perfectly manicured flowers to the individually-selected rock slabs dotting the home’s goldenrod exterior and framing the entryway and garage doors, this home embraces attention to detail.
In fact, the over-5,000 square-foot home, with a full outdoor cooking and entertaining area, swimming pool, game room, open kitchen, two living rooms, and additional in-law quarters was built from the ground up, exactly to the husband-and-wife-team’s specifications. Disappointed to leave their previous home in Morada but in need of a bigger living space, the couple decided to use the same floor plan and scale it up to the size they needed. Home, sweet, home—but new and improved.
Inside, the décor choices are where you can really see the love poured into this home. Working closely with interior designer Carmen Wenborn (both her and the homeowner have said they find inspiration in each other’s ideas; Wenborn also helped to furnish and decorate the Morada home), the women have created a style they like to call old-world cathedral meets Mexican hacienda, with a modern flair. Each room is defined by the details, the likes of custom-made window coverings from specially chosen fabrics, gold Lusterstone detail on the master bathroom ceiling (done just days before we arrive), and custom-made furniture pieces like a wood-carved tree stump turned into the base for the guest bathroom’s vanity sink. “I am constantly looking for new things to add and change,” says the homeowner. “You have to work at it and trust yourself, and find people who share in your dream.”
For the couple, everything is a family affair. Grandson Christopher Hinkle and his girlfriend, Allison Dorsey, drew up the architectural plans for the rescale of the floor plan as their final graduate school project. Son Phillip Hinkle of Paragon Pools installed the shimmering backyard pool, with its spray fountains lining the pool edges. The man of the house and his nephew built the entire outdoor kitchen from the floor up.
Where family members didn’t contribute to the home, the homeowners chose to keep it local, tapping into San Joaquin businesses C.R. Porter, Haven Home Décor, and D.G. Interiors (when it was still open) in Stockton for décor; House of Iron in Lodi for wrought-iron lighting fixtures and accessories; Lomeli Gardens in Lodi for outdoor fountains; and Yard and Garden Landscaping and Maintenance for all the home’s beautiful outdoor spaces.
Most everything both in and outside the home is luxe and grand. The open floor plan of the living room/kitchen area has exposed wood beams running the length of the lofted ceilings. The living area is all wrought-iron crosses and leather furniture. In the kitchen, the dining table is dark wood and square, with room for eight, since the homeowners entertain in their home quite often. Appliances are stainless steel, and cabinets are the same dark wood as the table, while the kitchen walls are entirely covered in travertine stone subway tiles, and plans are in the works to do faux-aging on the ceiling.
The master bedroom and bathroom have Mexican hacienda in every corner. The room’s bed linens, upholstered leather lounge chairs, and floor to ceiling drapes hanging behind the wrought-iron headboard are all rich, plush, shades of cranberry and gold. In the bathroom, a copper soaking tub, immense stone-tiled shower, and copper sinks dropped into a custom-made vanity make anyone feel like royalty. Bringing back the modern, speakers are installed throughout the entire home and the expansive outdoor entertaining area to set the mood for any occasion.
Outside, two hardwood dining tables, two seating areas with huge, cushioned, dark wicker chairs, a full outdoor kitchen with an island for cooking prep, an outdoor fireplace, flat-screen TV, and dark wood ceiling fans make for an absolutely decadent hideaway.
Each aspect of the home was thought out with friends, family, and the ultimate in luxury in mind. “Each room has doors that lead outside,” say the homeowners, “You can’t go wrong when you bring the outside in.” SJM
Local Resources
Carmen Wenborn, Interior Design
(209) 200-2403
Yard and Garden Landscaping and Maintenance
(209) 369-9071 • www.yardandgardeninc.com
Paragon Pools • (209) 334-2342
www.paragonswimmingpools.com
C.R. Porter Home Décor • (209) 956-9250
www.crporterhome.com
Haven Home Décor • (209) 467-3669
Lomeli Gardens • (209) 369-6461
www.lomeligardens.com
House of Iron • (209) 366-1900
www.houseofiron.net
