The Mysteries of Berkeley: A Literary Couple at Home - Remodelista
My friends Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon live in a shingled Berkeley Craftsman bungalow that reminds me of my days as the child of local radicals. The roof had fallen in; there were squirrels nesting inside. Photography by Aya Brackett for Remodelista. She would show me an idea, and I would be on the phone a few hours later ordering two chairs from some warehouse in LA. I am the most decisive person in the world.” Ayelet and Michael at home with Mabel, the family’s Labradoodle. The window seat is covered in blue velvet from Slips; a pair of George Nelson Cigar Sconces ($375 at Y Lighting) gives the nook a modern lift. The framed photo is of Ayelet’s grandfather’s furrier union in New York City. “When I discovered the story of the Hungarian gold train of looted Nazi valuables, I thought of my grandmother’s candlesticks,” she says. The original wood paneling was mostly intact throughout the house, but the sitting room was already painted white when the couple moved in. They added the Arts & Crafts Natural Fir Tree Frieze from East Bay art wallpaper company Bradbury & Bradbury. Comic book legend Chris Ware created the poster for Untold Tales from Kavalier & Clay, published by McSweeney’s. “This corner of the living room has meaning. Michael and I went to Budapest when we had just met. It felt like the Jews had been packed up a week ago. We bought the spice box for Friday services. I like to think it’s old. The metal rocketship symbolizes the baby we lost.” “Everyone bangs around on the piano,” Ayelet says. Alameda-based furniture designer Christopher Loomis built the cabinetry in the kitchen. The kitchen island is half Carrara marble, half bamboo. The kitchen counters are sheathed in zinc, inspired by the Zinc Cafe in Laguna Beach, a favorite hangout of the couple when Michael was studying for his MFA at UC Irvine. “The German figurines tell the story of a woman catching on fire; we got them at Jutta’s Flowers around the corner from our house,” Ayelet says. In the hallway, books stacked on a Sapien Bookcase ($198 at Design Within Reach) form a literary totem pole. A family portrait by Mimi Vang Olsen hangs in the stairwell. The first-floor office was a doctor’s consulting room in a former life. The cast iron enameled corner sink is original; the clock is from the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., which lures unsuspecting children into 826 Brooklyn, an outpost of 826 National, the nonprofit writing center founded by Dave Eggers, Vendela Vida, and Ninive Calegari. Books everywhere, even scattered on the stairs (we didn’t stage this, promise). The Haiku Ceiling Fan is from Big Ass Fans. In their bedroom, Ayelet and Michael spec’ed custom-built two-tiered bookshelves with risers to allow for an accessible back row. “I have a sheet fetish,” Ayelet says. They are horrifically expensive. Ayelet found a gilded mirror in an antique store and give it a coat of black paint. The house seen from the street (look closely and you’ll see that the window sashes are painted a very Berkeley shade of purple). And to see Ayelet and Michael’s writing studio, go to The Ultimate Writing Studio, Berkeley Edition.