breathing rooms

A FAMILY OF FIVE WELCOME FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS

TO KICK BACK AND RELAX IN THEIR CASUAL COTTAGE

by JODY GARLOCK photos REED DAVIS produced by CHAR HATCH LANGOS

Jill Soderlund remembers feeling a special pull when she first drove by the 1950s

California cottage that’s now her family’s home. “It just looked so warm and inviting,”

she says. Her initial reaction was telling. In the five years the Soderlunds have lived

there, the 1,800-square-foot home has become a social hub. Neighbors come through

the side gate in the evenings to chat with Jill and her husband, Clark, on the patio.

Inside, the compact yet open layout gives the couple and their kids, Sophia and twins

William and Audrey, lots of together time. And from the kitchen, Jill “sees the world

unfolding” through the big windows and French doors on the front of the home.