“My contractor knew this couple who were selling a condo and needed help zhuzhing it up,” recalls interior designer Tobe Morrow of Morrow & Co. “I agreed to the job, sight unseen, without asking who they were.” Those new clients turned out to be singer-actress Katharine McPhee (Smash, Scorpion, Broadway’s Waitress) and 16-time Grammy Award-winning music producer David Foster.
“She was just this fresh ray of sunshine,” McPhee says of meeting the designer. That condo project went so well that Morrow has now completed five homes for the pair. The trio’s latest collaboration is a one-story Spanish-style house in Carpinteria, California, located between the mountains and the beach just south of Santa Barbara.
The couple gave Morrow carte blanche on the decor. “Usually when she’s working with us, she’s presenting options, she’s sharing fabrics, there’s a lot of custom,” McPhee explains. That wasn’t the case for this project. Eager to have the house ready by spring of this year, the couple telescoped the timeline. Morrow had just two months to complete it, which meant she needed to find furnishings that were ready to go. “She showed us some ideas and we told her to have at it,” says McPhee.
In the kitchen nook, Tobe Morrow lime-washed the Jerusalem stone wall in taupe-white. Furnishings include Serena and Lily’s Larkspur chandelier, CB2 stools and a rug from Amber Interiors.
Meghan Bob
Luckily, says Morrow, “the bones of the house were great and the setting is so beautiful that everything else becomes secondary to that.” But, the designer admits, some finishes needed updating. “The walls were covered in this Jerusalem stone that made the interiors look very sad,” McPhee says. She and Foster suggested tearing it out, but Morrow had other ideas: “I convinced them that we could make it really beautiful.” She lime-washed the stone, camouflaging the material’s yellowish tinge under a coat of taupe-white. She also refinished the floors, staining them a rich variegated walnut, while the walls received a fresh coat of white paint. “When she was done, the interiors felt fresh,” says McPhee.
In the dining area, a succulent bowl from Big Daddy’s Antiques sits atop RH’s French contemporary dining table. It’s surrounded by dining chairs covered in a Perennial fabric and two vintage Jean-Michel Frank-style leather chairs.
Meghan Bob
With the backdrop in place, Morrow set about sourcing furniture and accessories. “Kat loves vintage,” says the designer, who shares the feeling. “I think that every house needs to have things that have patina and memory and age to give it some soul.” The space would also need to be welcoming for Rennie, Foster and McPhee’s 3-year-old son, so Morrow relied on durable fabrics by Perennials to upholster chairs and sofas. “My goal is always to design spaces that are functional as well as beautiful so that families can enjoy them,” says Morrow, who lives in Pacific Palisades with her husband, The Young and The Restless star Joshua Morrow, their four children and two dogs, and understands the chaos of a full house.
A guest room has a view of the pool and includes a CB2 dressing table, Lulu and Georgia chair, Anthropologie armoire and a vintage print from Miss Daisy’s auction house.
Meghan Bob
Main bedroom decor includes Crate & Barrel’s Lafayette bed (covered in linens from Soho Home), Lostine’s Ava wall sconce, and Lulu and Georgia’s Avalon nightstand.
Meghan Bob
For McPhee and Foster’s project, Morrow tapped her favorite sources, pulling artwork from The Collective Shop in Woodland Hills, planters from Big Daddy’s Antiques, pillows and throws from Amber Interiors, a bed from Crate & Barrel, stools from CB2, a wardrobe from Anthropologie, and pendants from Soho Home.
This year has been a bit peripatetic for McPhee and Foster, who have been touring with their concert show An Intimate Evening With David Foster and Katharine McPhee. They’re also set to appear at the Hollywood Bowl in November for a star-studded celebration of Foster’s birthday that will include Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Hudson, Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth, and Michael Bublé.
“We’re having a lot of fun,” says McPhee of their touring show. “I think part of why it’s so successful is that people feel like they’re sitting in our living room.” She says she’s weighing what to do next. Another Broadway show? A new series? A revival of a Stephen Sondheim musical? “I don’t know what it will be. But I think what experience gives you is knowing you want something that fills your cup up. We’re up for something new. Bring it on.”
Katharine McPhee and David Foster at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar party in March.
Michael Kovac/Getty Images
A version of this story first appeared in the July 22 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
