At Home With: Linda and Shaheen Sadeghi
Get to know the couple behind Costa Mesa shopping destinations, The Lab and The Camp, where they're most comfortable – at home. And check out our Web-exclusive photos!
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Edgy is something we have come to expect from Shaheen and Linda Sadeghi, mavericks who shook up OC’s retail scene with two prescient shopping destinations in Costa Mesa, The Lab and The Camp. But at home in a two-story house with an Old World patina, they are all about one thing: a vibrant family life. When they’re not globe-trotting with their three boys, the Sadeghis hang out at their Mediterranean-influenced base camp in Laguna Niguel and entertain friends with the kind of natural and unpretentious warmth that makes visitors feel as if they’re thousands of miles away, in the south of France, Italy or Spain.
Here, Linda provides a peek at her and Shaheen’s world beat style:
AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY I guess you’d call it early eclectic eccentric. There’s just a jumble of things we have collected over the years and through our travels. For example, the dining room has a tablecloth from a bazaar in Tunisia, paintings from Peru we stuffed in our suitcases, dishes from Italy, old chairs from an Oregon flea market, a Persian tribal rug, and curtains we made ourselves.
FAVORITE ROOM For Shaheen, his rehab library facing the front garden. It’s his slice of privacy with his books, his computer, his Wall Street [Journal], New York Times. For me, that red lounge chair in the backyard when I can enjoy the ocean air while pretending to lifeguard boys in the pool.
FAVORITE CHAIR For Shaheen, the worn leather armchair in the family room. For me, any chair in front of my sewing machine.
BEST PLACE TO IMAGINE Any place in the house or yard before 7 a.m. or after 11 p.m. when the boys are asleep.
LATEST THING YOU BOUGHT FOR THE HOUSE An industrial refrigerator with a glass door. We love food. We love to look at food.
HOW YOUR BOYS AFFECT DESIGN CHOICES Any choices need to withstand soccer cleats, basketballs, chips and salsa, and general slamming and banging.
WHY YOU REMODELED We’re restless designers in search of beautiful things.
SMALL OR BIG PARTIES We really enjoy both. For the holidays, we much prefer inviting everyone we know and their kids to celebrate with music and food galore. At other times, we love to just fill the dining room with close friends and lots of conversation time.
A TYPICAL DINNER PARTY SCENE WITH FRIENDS Shaheen loves to cook, and I’m the baker and the waitress. We love to give our guests a menu, cook especially for them, and then entertain with stories all night between courses. Fresh flowers, candles and low lighting usually make us look pretty good.
WINE OR COCKTAILS Red wine is definitely the headliner in our bar, but summertime also brings the margarita mix onto the patio. I’m not a drinker, so soy lattes are probably the most consistent signature drink.
SIGNATURE SOUNDTRACK Pretty eclectic, from Marvin Gaye to Pavarotti.
EARLY FALL AT HOME It’s peaceful! Boys are in school, there’s a new level of general order, and we love big branches of leaves turning color in big vases throughout the house – reminds us of the East Coast, where we went to school.
ONE THING YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT That’s easy: the commercial barista station in the kitchen, stocked with illy coffee. If it’s unplugged, we’re unplugged.
