How Lila Glasoe Francese, Co-Owner of OHI HOME,
Spends a Sunday in Ojai, CA
Since founding OHI HOME, LLC with her husband Dines in 2009, Lila Francese has become one of Ojai’s go-to voices on style. The design house offers interior design, home staging, custom window treatments, bespoke mattresses, and full vacation-home outfitting—all executed with that intent that local clients don’t have to leave the Ojai Valley for fine design.
“Ojai is a small town, but a complex one,” Francese says. “Some residents treat it as a weekend or holiday retreat, while others are multigenerational locals who form the valley’s backbone. That range means the idea of home is wildly different from client to client. We might design around a Blue-Chip art collection one day and a cherished third-generation quilt the next.”
Architecture here is just as varied, she adds, from original Greene & Greene craftsmen to mid-century masterpieces by Rodney Walker and Kazumi Adachi, alongside Spanish Revival gems by George Washington Smith and Wallace Neff. “Ojai has been a playground for creatives for a century. It’s part of what makes us unique.”
A life woven into local art
Design is only half of Francese’s résumé. In 2016 she and her family founded the Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation (CGBF) and its public-facing initiative, The Ojai Institute, named for her late sister—a celebrated art dealer who made Ojai her refuge. The foundation supports residencies, exhibitions, and arts education, bringing visiting artists to the valley and sending local talent outward.
“CGBF is as much about community as it is about fine art.”
~Lila Francese
“The gallery space often turns into a salon,” she laughs. “A board member’s architect spouse might drop by, and suddenly we’re in a three-hour conversation about the intersection of art and architecture.”
Sunday, Ojai-style
Breakfast pastry or golf-course brunch
“If traffic into town isn’t crazy, I’ll brave the line at The Duchess for a passion-fruit danish. When it’s too busy, we steer to brunch at Soule Park Golf Course—all locals, gorgeous views, and the best huevos rancheros.”
The farmers’ market ritual
“Ojai’s Sunday market is my source for flowers and produce. I’m hooked on the locally grown Japanese sweet potatoes. Whatever I can’t find there, The Farmer and The Cook, our local farm to table restaurant and grocery, will have.”
Late-afternoon errands
“After the tourists clear out, I head to the foundation to take the last gallery shift as a volunteer. En route I might pop into Noted—Vanessa Hill Rogers curates the perfect card or gift selection—or pick up a bottle of wine from local Sommelier Bob Huey at Point De Chene or across the street at Ojai Vineyard. Their tasting-room events are legendary; earlier this year we enjoyed a Pinot Noir tasting paired with a cello concert.”
Spontaneous evenings
“Plans here are wonderfully last-minute in Ojai. We might end up at a friend’s house for the best meal in town—fresh garden tomatoes from Tomatomania founders Scott and Sam, a quick sauce, or pesto and maybe a board game as the famous Ojai ‘pink moment’ sunset paints the mountains. Great art often happens in Ojai’s small corners in the evenings. Recently we heard folk musician Jonatha Brooke perform with Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls at a private benefit for the Ojai Playwrights Conference.”
A picture-perfect playhouse
“The historic Ojai Playhouse has reopened with an eclectic lineup -designed by owner David Berger – classic films, new releases, filmmaker Q&As, and concessions that include unique finds like local Beto Chocolate – Whoops, which I love. If our daughter Florence is home from Berkeley, we’ll catch a screening together.”
Lights-out under dark skies
“By 10 p.m. Ojai feels later than anywhere else: restaurants dark, streets quiet. The 2014 Dark-Sky Ordinance limits light pollution, so the night is truly black and star filled. Arriving home, I let the dogs out, and slip into bed. I sleep better here than anywhere in the world.”
OHI HOME STYLE 