Mary Ellen and Thom (she calls him "Vern") were college sweethearts living in L.A. when their desperate attempts to pay bills led them to design T-shirts for the 1984 Olympics. "Within 15 minutes on the first day we'd sold them all," says Thom. "Mary Ellen and I knew we had something worth pursuing."

	Vintage Makeover
	Follow the Vernons' example and make-under your new house to give it a homey, vintage feel.

That something grew into the Fresh Produce clothing line, one that's synonymous with beachwear. Based in Boulder, the company keeps the family in Colorado for most of the year, but they head to the coast as time allows. Mary Ellen, who with her twin sister designs the clothing, had specific ideas about the beach house, too.

"Vern and I really wanted an old house filled with the character in these early 1900s Montecito cottages," she says. After years of unsuccessful searching, "we decided we had to build."

Thom rented a cherry picker to scope out the view from the lot they chose. "I kept taking it higher and higher, until I got to 20 feet and realized we had water views. So I knew we needed a two-story to see over the trees to the water," he says.

The Vernons hired Pete Weber, a Boulder architect noted for his work in New Urbanism, to build the weathered house they wanted. "In the early 1900s, all of the beach cottages in Montecito were modest wooden homes, and then, around 1920, the Mediterranean look supplanted the old beach-house look," Pete says. "It was actually quite a challenge to get permits to build a modest structure in such an affluent area."

To achieve the desired effect, Thom, Mary Ellen, and Pete agreed on an important detail: imperfection. "We had to convince the craftsmen not to throw away the imperfect boards," says Pete. "Thom actually told some of the builders to try, every now and again, to not do something right, so that the cottage would be more authentic looking."

Though the house is large, Pete disguised its 3,100 square feet. "We basically created a cottage with a large wing," he explains. The expansive living area—kitchen, dining area, and den—composes the core, with bedrooms upstairs. The north wing, connected by a breakfast room that feels more like a breezeway, boasts guest rooms.

"All of the bedrooms and baths are small," says Pete. "We did that for authenticity. The board-and-batten siding, inside and out, and the wide-plank pine floors lend to that old look. The exposed framing would make you think the house isn't even insulated, though we hid layers of insulation behind the boards."

The couple saw to it that every bit of their beach house was created for living, for "spreading out with sandy feet," says Thom. "Mary Ellen and I were pretty insistent that every square inch of this house be lived in—and full of light."

Local builders thought the Vernons were crazy when they saw how many windows the couple had planned. "They kept saying, 'You're not going to have air-conditioning, and you're inviting all this light in?' " recalls Thom. "But we open all the windows most of the time, and the cross breezes keep us cool, if not chilly. We've never regretted all that light for a second."

Mary Ellen, known for her colorful, sea-inspired clothing, brought the same palette into her Montecito home. "It doesn't get more coastal than sea green and blue, does it?" she says. The couple rummaged antiques stores and salvage shops looking for accoutrements with a sense of nostalgia. "We loaded up a U-Haul with old bathtubs, hutches, and mantel pieces," remembers Thom. "Those pieces are the final touches that make this house feel like the great old cottage we always wanted."