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Editor’s Note: There’s something magical about a home that truly reflects its owner—a space that feels deeply personal, steeped in memory, and in harmony with its surroundings. That’s exactly the feeling you get entering Lily Riesenfeld’s carefully curated, furnished home A Sense of Placewonderful book by my dear friend Caitlin Flemming and her mother, Julie Goebel. Together, they have created a body of work that celebrates the art of creating meaningful spaces.
Step inside a special home that proves: our surroundings have the power to inspire, comfort, and connect us deeply with what matters.
A Home Focused on Location
When you meet Lily Riesenfeld, you can’t help but notice that she seems tied to the world by deep roots.
An advocate of eco-friendly living, Lily seems deeply comfortable in her environment. His dark 1921 home with mahogany doors and trim sits in harmony with the surrounding mighty redwood trees, and hiking trails line the backyard. Lily and her family chose this home because it is close to the slopes of Mount Tamalpais, with the canyons of the San Francisco Bay to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The Prodigal Child
Lily grew up in Berkeley, California. When he was 8 years old, his family bought a farm in Healdsburg, California, not far from their home.
“Watching mom and dad come up with a vision for the farm was special,” said Lily. Over the years, the family planted several hundred trees, built a farmhouse, restored a redwood barn from the 1850s, and eventually planted a hundred acres of French grapes. His family developed the farm with the idea that the animals, the vineyard, and the natural environment coexist. Lily’s favorite part of going to the farm is sharing it with the people who visit.
Along with the farm in Healdsburg, where they spent most of the summer, the family also visited the homes of different families for two weeks every summer in Maine. As a child, Maine was a place where she could be and be free. The furniture on the porch, as well as the porch itself, in his grandfather’s home, was painted a celadon green color that the family called “Gamby green,” after his grandfather’s name. Gamby loved the shade so much that he even had a set of Wedgwood china made in the color. Many of the choices Lily made in her home were inspired by her grandmother’s home in Maine, the family home in Berkeley, and the farm in Healdsburg.
Building Life at the Intersection of Life and Purpose
As an adult, Lily began her career focusing on her health and launched her first business venture, Lily Pad, located in Malibu. After meeting her husband and returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, Lily also founded Pad Studios, a Pilates and yoga studio. Over the years, he began creating purpose-driven events to help communities connect, launching a brand called the Kinship Experience. As those events developed, “I began to move my work to the intersection of human health and global health,” says Lily. He then presented a conference called Futurewell.
Today, Lily is an advocate for regenerative agriculture and works to develop healthy, equitable food systems. He’s raising money for a rebuilt Food and Agriculture Center, which will serve as a full-service farmers market at the Marin Civic Center. “A building with construction plans will absorb more carbon and energy than it uses.”
A Custom Designed Home
Lily designed her home in Larkspur with guidance from Caitlin Flemming. “Caitlin was a huge inspiration and the reason my home came together in the most harmonious way possible.”
The colors in the interior of the home live together in a calm harmony. Earth tones of deep green, wheat, and a light shade of blue are combined with a variety of matching patterns. All of these color choices can be found outside in the surrounding area—the golden hills, the redwood trees (one of which is in his garden), and the light blue and gray in the water.
The walls in both the entry and dining room are covered in a large William Morris pattern. Curtains and pillows use a small print combined with a touch of wooden plaid in many rooms. Two small vintage French chairs are covered in a hand-printed leaf pattern, continuing the outdoor atmosphere. Even the plates are a combination of vintage transferware patterns in various shades of green, and pieces of her grandmother’s green Wedgwood.
If there’s a heart in this home, it’s undoubtedly the kitchen, where homemade tortillas sit wrapped in a linen towel by the stove and pinto beans simmer for anyone who’s hungry. It is a place of nourishment, and Lily is ready to welcome those who need her healing powers.
10 Meditation at Home
1. What drew you to where you live?
It was definitely Mount Tamalpais and hiking here. We didn’t even look at Berkeley, even though our families live there. We also thought it would be good to be away from our parents.
2. How does the environment where you live inform your beauty in your home?
The natural colors where I live certainly inform my beauty.
3. What is your opinion about home?
A place for people to meet and feel comfortable—a place where you instantly feel comfortable.
4. What is your favorite season where you live? Why?
I would have to say late summer. Suddenly, the light changes, and there is a hint of gold in everything.
5. Do you collect anything?
Anyone can see that I have a soft spot for wicker baskets and hats. I also love anything in the kitchen, especially interesting pottery.
6. How do you spend your weekends?
We spend weekends hiking, cooking, and going to our kids’ games. If we can’t get away in the winter, I like to go to our little house in Sugar Bowl, which is very close to Tahoe, which was built in the 1930s to look like a Swiss village.
7. What can you not live without?
Maybe a latte in the morning. Yes, my children and husband, too! Also, my daily morning walk is what keeps me sane.
8. What features make your house a home?
I think it feels like home because there is a strong element of nostalgia. I also like to add layers of textures and fabrics. This home is the opposite of strak.
9. How does your home fuel your creativity?
I love making food in style and bringing people together at the table. Every Sunday, my mother-in-law comes to dinner, and I always make an effort to dress up and prepare delicious food.
10. Are there people or businesses close to home that you rely on to push your creativity forward?
I learned a lot from Alice Waters, after having the pleasure of doing a few select events around her. Alice’s direct guidance taught me how to create information about food, and how to make a good presentation. On the objective side of my work, I’m inspired by local creators like Paul Hawken, Jack Kornfield, Dr. Daniel Siegel, and my dear friend, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
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