“I’d never had access to my entire book collection until we moved into this house,” he says. “I calculated how many linear feet of space I needed to fit all my books, but still had to give away half.”
Beside the library, Waddie built another alcove reminiscent of an Old West-style saloon, with rich red, velvet-like walls and a Victorian-style mirror along the back wall. Across the room is the den with a home-theater system where Waddie and Lisa relax and watch TV.
Entertaining friends and family is a big part of the Mitchells’ lifestyle, especially during the holidays and the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in January, so it was important to have plenty of space for jam sessions in the living room, a dining room large enough for a 12-person table, and guest suites so visitors can have all the privacy and comforts of home or a hotel.
Lisa and Waddie both have offices on one end of the house. Painted light blue and illuminated with diffused window light, Lisa’s office is as serene as the California coast. By contrast, Waddie’s office, equipped with a recording studio, is painted in earth tones and deep shades of green, as is the rest of the home.
“I left Lisa in charge of the color palette,” Waddie says. “When she went to the paint store, she showed up with rabbit brush, juniper bark and branches, and straw. She wanted to match colors found in nature.”
To further blend the home’s interior into the landscape, Lisa had river-rock mosaics installed at each door, which serve as natural, utilitarian doormats. Rough-cut timbers and juniper posts harvested from their property serve as support beams and give the home a rustic feel. Though Waddie wanted the interior to suggest a log cabin or lodge, he wasn’t shy about using Victorian and contemporary décor, as well as items from the American West—cowboy gear, Western art and photography, and Native American artifacts, for example. Nowhere else will you see rare pieces of taxidermy and trophy mounts intermingled with a framed poem and illustration by Will James, Claude Dallas’ tapaderos and Hollywood memorabilia. Each piece is a conversation starter, from which Waddie can weave a colorful tale.
WALKING AROUND HIS HIDDEN OASIS, Waddie is like a kid showing off the toys in his playhouse. He can’t help but smile at how well things have come together.
“We’re living 100 times better than we ever thought we would off the grid,” he says. “Things are definitely starting to operate efficiently and we’re starting to have some time to do some living here instead of all work. But all our work and reasoning behind this lifestyle is justified each Thanksgiving when I see my mother, my kids and my grandkids sitting at one dinner table.”
Self-sustained living is an ongoing endeavor. Waddie still plans to build a packed-earth barn and corrals for his horses. That’s when he says he’ll be fully content living as an off-the-grid cowboy.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSS HECOX
