Hello friends and readers,
I’m finally back in New York after a three week hiatus in sunny (sort-of) California. The first week of January I spent my days hanging out at The Sea Ranch with my family. If you’ve never heard of it, Sea Ranch is an incorporated community along the Sonoma Coast, a smattering of wood-sided houses tucked into forested hills and set out on cypress-lined bluffs.
It’s a quiet little community where there’s not much to do and I spent my time walking the coast, hunting for mushrooms, reading, cooking, and playing boggle. Idyllic to be sure, though, too much downtime tends to allow for my low lying existential panic to creep in.
According to The Sea Ranch design manual, “The Sea Ranch community has continued to grow and evolve as a unique place based on the concept that people and nature can achieve an harmonious relationship – where buildings can exist in the landscape without overpowering it.” It was founded in 1964 by a group of hippie architects who wanted to create a community that honors nature by way of thoughtful design.
Sounds rad right?
But to maintain Sea Ranch’s *aesthetic* vibes, first there were rules — design details that had to be met in order to build a house there. Every home is different, but the pitch of the roof, the exterior wood paneling, the shape of windows, and the house’s location on the lot are all subject to regulation.
Each rule set in place (the design manual above has 52 pages of them) derives from the ethos of those that formed the community, and their hope to find harmony between the natural environment and the built one. Without any regulation, there would be no Sea Ranch.
My whole life I’ve shuddered at the idea of ever living in a HOA with nosy neighbors and a never-benevolent city council deciding if your grass is the right length or your trash cans were out on the curb for too long.
Sea Ranch shouldn’t be my cup of tea… and yet, and YET!
Sea Ranch’s ethos is about more than preserving home values (though sure we could argue many decisions boil down to preserving value because… capitalism), it’s about blending into the surroundings and “living lightly with the land.” I can acknowledge that in part it’s as simple as Sea Ranch is my vibe both stylistically and morally. That goes a long way in getting me to buy into the requirements assigned to the belief system.
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Still, I think it’s important to acknowledge here that there’s some irony in the fact that Sea Ranch is mostly second homes, and to purchase a home there will set you back close to a million dollars at least (recent listings here if you want to torture yourself like I do). It’s a luxury to buy into an intentional, green-minded community, in the same way that brands like Patagonia or ArcTeryx have become both moral and class signifiers that tech companies and finance institutions buy into. In sociology, it’s known as Environmental Privilege. All that being said, wearing Patagonia or staying at Sea Ranch isn’t a bad thing (clearly, I like both of them), just a privilege worth keeping in mind.
I am not one to make New Year’s resolutions, but I find it more productive to think about the year ahead in looser terms, what I want to leave behind, the person I want to be looking forward… and letting ethos lead, structuring my life in ways that put my values first is one thing I want to prioritize. I don’t want to sound trite, and I don’t think it has to be some sweeping reform. But, putting the Sea Ranch model to work makes me feel like by refocusing on what’s important to me, the groundwork (the so-called rules) will fall into place in order to maintain that.
Think of designers who have taken over iconic fashion houses and have had to find a way to apply their sensibilities to an established aesthetic. Hedi Slimane’s takeover at Celine (minus that first season, of course), or Raf Simons interpretations of Dior, Calvin, and now Prada. Or, closer to home, I think of Amy Smilovic at Tibi, who has spent the last few years focused on the idea of the Creative Pragmatist, honing in on what makes every single piece she produces a Tibi piece in ethos.
But, not all approaches have to be quite so big picture, either. I see it in the way I approach getting dressed every day. I’m never going to be the type to capsul-ify my wardrobe, but I do believe in buying less, thoughtfully. I want to support emerging designers, I value comfort and natural materials. All of these things creatively funnel me towards my aesthetic.
Looking ahead this year, I have not created a 52-page manifesto to list out the rules that define me this year, but I thought I would share a few of the tenets I’m taking into 2024, inspired by my time at The Sea Ranch.
Buy with longevity in mind, nothing should be a short-term purchase
In work, focus energy in places where I’m inspired, and let stability come second
Create time for ideas — no phone, no podcasts, no TV, just quiet (hard!)
Spend all the time I can outdoors, travel to places that connect me to nature
Buy second-hand when possible, if buying new, consider natural materials and small designers first
Now comes the hard part, sticking to them. If the end product is anywhere near as successful as the small community by the sea, which has managed to create the structure to live by its own ethos, then I’m doing ok.