The Materials That Make ‘The Blue Parrot’
My son playing with his “puzzle pieces” - arranging Zia Tile samples on the subfloor of the guest bathroom under construction at ‘The Blue Parrot’ in Joshua Tree, California.
The Materials That Make ‘The Blue Parrot’
A room-by-room guide to the tile and finish selections of our Joshua Tree remodel, and the thinking behind each one.
I have been obsessed with tile from as far back as I can remember, likely around the age of four, stepping through the doors of the beautifully restored 1928 Stanford Theatre to watch a double feature of classic films. That obsession grew through years of open houses as a Realtor and came fully alive when we started our first condo remodel. I lived and breathed it.
Approaching that first remodel, I had catalogued certain design decisions that "sell": the black hexagonal floors, the white subway walls. I thought, okay, I'll do that, but a little different. I'll arrange the subway tiles in a herringbone pattern and then it will be unique. I even ordered those tiles from a big box store. They arrived and I looked at them and knew immediately: these aren't me. I think I wanted to see myself as a minimalist. Turns out I'm a quiet maximalist who just hadn't given herself permission yet. I like color. I like bold choices. I like materials that feel like something when you touch them. The big box tiles went back.
That first remodel taught me something I've carried into every decision since: I want to enlist all the senses of the person walking into a space. We think about how a room looks, sometimes how it smells, but how does it feel? The cool of stone under bare feet on a hot day. The grooved texture of leathered granite where you can feel the valleys and divots of the veining under your fingertips. I want people to walk through The Blue Parrot and feel things they can't quite name, and then slowly realize why.
The tile selection for this remodel was the same kind of joyful obsession. Samples arriving in the mail, spread across every surface. My son, who is three, calls them his puzzle pieces. He lays them out in his own particular order, very serious about the whole process, beaming with pride that he's helping. The plumbing line trenches are open in the yard and he loves running through them calling them his creeks, climbing in and out. He doesn't know yet what we're building. He just knows it's his too.
Why These Materials
‘The Blue Parrot’ is named for two things. One is the competing bar in Casablanca, the one up the way from Rick's Café Américain. It's the film my father raised me on during our many visits to the Stanford Theatre, and the one that lives in my bones. The other is my parrot, whom I loved for almost fourteen years, an eclectus with a bright red head, maroon wings, and the most vivid blue chest I've ever seen. I named the house for her before she passed, when we first launched it on Airbnb before the remodel began. She's woven into this place in more ways than one.
My husband and I had an intimate wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. I didn't need a big crowd or a fancy venue, but I wanted to be surrounded by the Spanish architecture I love so much. We went to Morocco on our honeymoon. I had dreamed of going since I was a child, drawn to the architecture, the tilework, the way old cities are built around courtyards and shade and the sound of water. We brought rugs home. I bought more than we had space for. We found fixtures. I bought even more of those. I came back with a visual vocabulary I didn't have before and a certainty that I wanted to build something that carried that spirit, not a replica of Morocco, but something that could only exist here, in this high desert, in this particular California light.
Every tile in this house is being chosen with that in mind. And every room tells a slightly different story about the desert we're sitting in.
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While Kimberly’s passion for travel and interiors runs strong, nothing compares to the passion she has as a mother. After becoming a mom, her drive and motivation to create something meaningful and impactful grew. She is deeply inspired to show her son not only the importance of hard work but also the importance of finding something that fulfills, inspires, and challenges you. She is working hard to live her daydream every day while having the freedom to spend time with the people she loves most — her family.
With a nomadic soul and a yearning for travel, It Was Moonglow founder Kimberly has always been inspired by the beauty of traveling, the feeling of restoration it brings, and the way a good trip inspires her to live the life of her dreams.
In 2017, inspired to get her real estate license, Kimberly started turning her dream into a reality. She was soon hooked on property acquisition and simultaneously inspired by the beautiful homes she was selling in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2022, she decided to take things a step further. Motivated by her love of interior design and passion for travel, she and her husband embarked on their first remodel. After her first experience with remodeling and design, there was no turning back.
Following the remodel, Kimberly continued creating design-centric spaces to share with others. Her goal became to breathe new life into older properties through creative interior design inspired by worldly architecture. Drawing inspiration from some of her favorite places — Morocco, Spain, and the Mediterranean — Kimberly loves creating intentional spaces that provide her guests with an opportunity to escape the ordinary, stay inspired, and find themselves in a place of gratitude and reconnection.
