When Ashley Tisdale settles into her new home in Los Angeles, there are two parts of the house she thinks about most: the backyard and the office. Places have different purposes in life. The courtyard provides an oasis for the young family: abundant bamboo trees and an original circular brick terrace are the perfect starting point for creating a space that can restore everyday life and is suitable for hosting groups. The office located in the guest house represents the first time he has dedicated space to working on Frenshe's interior design business and wellness brand and being Frenshe.
“[Frenshe and being French] is all about living a non-toxic life, so to really bring that into the office theme, I just wanted to use lots of natural textures and let the green do the talking. “The plan for this office is to create a very relaxed atmosphere that will inspire everyone who works here,” Tisdale told AD . Although the office space already had a large window overlooking the courtyard, Tisdale turned it into a door to let in the beautiful greenery.” The office is part of the guest house, so it's really where I work and I think that helps me. It's great to have a place on my team and be creative."
To perfect the flora, Tisdale recruited Steven Block and Jana Feiffer of Inner Gardens, a Los Angeles-based landscape design team and patio furniture showroom, with whom she had worked on previous homes. “I'm not one of those people who likes to be green,” Tisdale says with a laugh, explaining that Inner Gardens' convenient service makes it more convenient for you to bring in the plants you're worried about caring for yourself.
It's not just their knowledge of plant life that allows Tisdale to rely on Inner Gardens to collaborate on projects. “They have the most amazing pieces,” Tisdale said, referring to Los Angeles' expansive living rooms and outdoor furniture. Phifer and Block learned that Tisdale was a fan of Swiss furniture pioneer Willy Gool, whose work was already on their premises, so they expanded the collection by adding more of Gool's work to some of the grounds.
The existing circular brick patio needed an attractive feature, and Block knew it. “This table is handcrafted from California mahogany,” Block says. “What surprised me when I bought it was that the centerpiece was a Lazy Susan and you don't see it anymore. It seemed like a perfect fit for him and his family." Pfeiffer continued: "He was a great entertainer and always invited people over, so we wanted him to feel like he was in a warm paradise, a quiet garden surrounded by bamboo and trees. Orange trees French summer chairs are chosen around the table, their swirls emphasizing the sleeping quality created by the planting.
Both in the office and in the garden, furniture and plants were deliberately chosen to interact and inform each other, rather than taking center stage, instead leading to a seamless collaboration between Ashley Tisdale and the Inner Gardens team. “Jana is very caring and sweet,” explains Tisdale. “I love creating a home where someone feels comfortable and inspired. I feel like a lot of our environment really helps our mental health, so that's how I approach it.”
This originally appeared in Architectural Digest.
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