Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Why Tom Strickler Painted His Venice Beach Craftsman House "Safety Cone Orange"

Why Tom Strickler Painted His Venice Beach Craftsman House "Safety Cone Orange"

A lushly landscaped Venice Beach Craftsman house boasts an orange paint job and a trio of upgraded recliners, bucking conventional design wisdom in the most refreshing way.

They say fortune favors the bold, and Tom Strickler is living proof that there’s truth to the adage.

In the mid-’90s, after years working as a talent agent at two of the world’s leading agencies, he took a chance and co-founded Endeavor, which grew from four employees to become one of the largest talent agencies in the world. A little over a decade ago, after retiring early, he founded Extera Public Schools in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of east Los Angeles that currently educates 1,000 children. This board member of SCI-Arc, an independent L.A. architecture school, also helped purchase a massive ranch in Chile with the Tompkins family (the founders of beloved California brand Esprit) that eventually became Patagonia National Park.

A roomy, gray custom sectional and Sergio Rodrigues vintage leather chairs share space in the well-lit living room. The wool and silk rug is from Amadi carpets. The floor lamp is Hans Bergstrom ca. 1940.

And while his list of accomplishments implies a certain gutsiness, none of Strickler’s bold moves have been riskier than his approach to house paint. It was Strickler’s idea to cover the exterior of his Venice vintage Craftsman house in a shade of orange typically reserved for detour signs and traffic cones. The shade, made by Fine Paints of Europe, is actually called “Safety Cone Orange.”

Carter Design sketched out the airy kitchen island, painted in Farrow and Ball All White, and suggested zinc countertops to simplify a potentially dark kitchen and create light and space. The metal light fixture is by Plein Hein Eek.

“Tom just has funny takes,” says Cy Carter, the interior designer and partner (alongside his wife, Genevieve White) at Carter Design who collaborated on the renovation of the house with architect John Winston and Dirty Girl Construction. “He’s been in the house since 1995, and really believes in living with a small footprint. The house was originally painted black. He did it back in the ’90s before it was a trend, and then he wanted something different. He grew up summering in coastal Sweden, and all of the houses there are painted in really bright colors. We sampled loads of options. Then Tom said, ‘What do you think about orange?'”

The vintage Bar Harbor wicker painted in cobalt (Evening Blue by Benjamin Moore) matched the intensity, creating an unpredictable palette that turns a few heads.

While the home’s color hints at a wild interior, the rooms are mostly quiet—save for the owner’s contemporary art collection, displayed in every room. A custom dining table is painted in Studio Green by Farrow & Ball. The vintage dining chairs are from Orange Furniture.

Carter describes the kitchen as “fresh and simple,” saying that it was designed without stone or marble at his client’s request. The custom zinc countertops by La Bastille were surprisingly affordable and will patina nicely with age.

The interiors are more subdued than the exterior, save for a few key pieces from Strickler’s modern art collection.

A Gajin Fujita modern graffiti mural takes center stage in the primary bedroom.

The art work that wraps around the primary bedroom is called “Southern Cali” by Gajin Fujita (2001). The bed is by Maine Cottage and the side tables are Tingstroms.

A custom vanity, Heath tile in Chalk and exposed wooden trusses in the second floor primary bathroom.

Strickler gave Carter a short but determined list of things he wanted in his house: Versatile guest rooms to accommodate a revolving crew of house guests from around the world, generous wall space for his art collection, and a trio of “the most comfortable chairs you’ve ever sat in.” Carter was up for the challenge, and threw snobby design convention out the window, when he agreed to commit the No. 1 interior decorating sin to achieve this goal.

He bought La-Z-Boy recliners.

By stripping away all of the plastic and synthetic fabric from a standard recliner, Carter Design gave the “Dad chair” a makeover.

Then he tore them apart, stripping off the original fabric, and having them upholstered in a luxurious Italian wool.

“We took off all of the plastic parts and replaced them with oak,” says Carter, clearly delighted by his own ingenuity. “He wanted a comfortable place to watch sports on TV with his pals, and he got what he wanted. “

Fine Paints of Europe Safety Orange 2074 covers the siding of this modernized Craftsman house. The owner was inspired by the bright hues of houses in Northern European fishing villages.

Outside, the rare double lot in Venice was landscaped by Jay Griffith to feel like a retreat in the tropics. The metal Rheinzink roof reflects heat and is built to last. You’ll find a VW bus in the driveway ready to roll onto the next adventure.

Secret shelves and color that disappears when the bed is stowed away are fun ways Genevieve and Cy Carter livened up this Venice guest room/office combo.

Back in a guest room, a wall bed stows away into a shiplap paneled wall, and is clad in a custom paint blended to match the pink of an Oxford dress shirt. When the bed is up, it’s Strickler’s preferred home office Zoom background. And it’s caught the attention of fellow SCI-Arc board members, including Barbara Bestor.

“They’ve been Zooming a lot to prepare for the school’s 50th and people have been noticing that pink wall behind him. They’ll say, ‘Tom, where are you?’ But he likes to play it cool, and just smile, like it’s totally normal,” says Carter, acknowledging that it’s anything but. “He’s adventurous and fun and he just loves to play with color.”

Antique stick wicker gets a modern makeover with several coats of Evening Blue by Benjamin Moore.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
×