Text by Kim Ratcliff • Styling by Sunday Hendrickson

It isn’t often that one gets Al Gore’s stamp of approval on one’s interior decorating, but when he visited Rebecca Vitale-Mandich’s home for a fundraiser, the global warming guru was delighted by her culturally adventurous style.

With help from friend and designer Suzanne Miller, Rebecca has transformed her Northern California Craftsman-style home into a rustic yet sophisticated haven filled with an eclectic mix of objects. “It’s stuff my family and I have collected during travels to exotic locales all over the world, including Morocco and Tanzania,” Rebecca says. “I like to create different moods in different rooms so guests feel as if they’re inside a travel book, where something lovely or thought-provoking always awaits.



(1) Sparrow’s hoop roses plucked from the garden. (2) Rebecca, here with her golden lab, Shaba, prefers an overgrown, informal yard. (3) A 16th-century wooden angel evokes recollections of a trip to Spain. (4) Painted a buttery hue, rough-sawn pine planks add instant character to the bedroom walls.

(5) The salon is elegant without being overly formal, thanks to starched canvas light fixtures (once candleholders in a Paris hotel) and a silk-linen sofa. The carved temple on a nesting table (far left) is a Turkish delight. Window treatments with both horizontal and vertical stripes add optical pop.

(6) Works of art that celebrate women are scattered throughout the Mandich home. An oil painting by renowned California artist William Wolff graces the fireplace mantel. Rebecca is keen on using recycled materials, including reclaimed wood ceiling beams. (7) Rebecca was drawn to the old French mailbags (above the piano) because of their texture and shape.

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