Seller Story: Debbie Gruber, Los Angeles, CA
Match Made In Mail Room Heaven
“I met my husband in the mailroom of William Morris Agency. I was a literary agent and he was a talent agent. We both are born-and-raised New Yorkers, but we’ve had this home in Los Angeles for over 20 years.”
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Louis Vuitton Mini Sac HL Handbag in Monogram Canvas
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Waterford Crystal Millennium Collection Champagne Bucket Featuring Five Wishes
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Douglas “Bumo” Johnpeer Landscape Oil Painting, 2024
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Robert Riddle Baker Landscape Acrylic Painting "Last of the Day," 2023
Little House In The Hamptons
“My father lived next door to his twin brother in the Hamptons in this perfect little beach shack. It felt like a boat on the water, complete with a view of the most amazing sunsets you’ve ever seen. Then when Hurricane Sandy hit, my little beach shack was swept away.”
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Stained Glass Window Panel With Floral Motif
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Faino Oil Painting of Still Life with Flowers
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
14K 1.70 CT Sapphire and Diamond Navette Ring
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Oil Painting of Spring Landscape, Mid-20th Century
The Early Bird Gets The Chinoiserie
“I’ve been collecting since before I moved into my current home. I would wake up at dawn to go to every flea market in Los Angeles. While I’m not a designer by trade, I’ve decorated homes of friends, and have traveled to France to source some of my most treasured pieces. I met an English gentleman who took me through L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and various places in Provence where I started buying things. I took two containers back from France to my home in Los Angeles and in The Hamptons!”
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Offset Lithograph After Claude Monet "Le Bassin des Nympheas"
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Impasto Style Landscape Offset Lithograph, 21st Century
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Pair of Faux Leather, Brass-Tacked and Ebonized Wood Club Chairs
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Fulper Pottery Earthenware Amphora Vessel With Drip Glaze, Early 20th C.
On Being A Modern Traditionalist
“My mother (an interior designer) is a modernist, so I grew up in a contemporary home, but now live in a 1937 traditional. It’s rare that someone my age has grown up in a contemporary home, so I’m sort of caught between having a modern sensibility but in so many ways am a traditionalist. My taste is eclectic that way.”
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
W. LeNoury Maritime Oil Painting of Ship at Sea
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Hollywood Regency Style Brass and Blue Velveteen Upholstered Stools
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Southwestern Desert Landscape Oil Painting, 1987
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
7'11 x 11'3 Machine Made Oriental Weavers "Nirvana Collection" Area Rug
Where Does Hollywood Meet The Hamptons?
“I would like to consider myself a bit of a hipster, mixed with a conservative, preppy element. My fashion style reflects my design approach in that it’s a mix of traditional and modern. You know that scene in the movie Chinatown, ‘She’s my daughter, she’s my sister?’ It’s like that. A little bit of both.”
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Michael Kors Everest Two-Tone Wristwatch
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Mechanical School Speed Limit Sign
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Jack Meanwell Abstract Figurative Watercolor Painting, 1978
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
5'6 x 7'3 Hand-Knotted Persian Kurdish Area Rug
Her Favorite Finds
“I have two big paintings from Rachel Ashwell’s original Shabby Chic store. They feel so quintessential L.A. to me. I love those pieces. The French leather chair I brought back from France is one of my favorites – it’s from 1910 and is so classic and special.”
Room For Dogs
“Now you’ve touched on something very important. In my home, I have an entire room of dog art. I’m a dog lover, on the board of a local rescue group, and have been buying dog art at a New York auction that coincides with the Westminster Dog Show. I’m sort of obsessed with anything dog-related, so of course the dog etchings are really special to me.”
On Family-Friendly Interiors
“I entertain a ton. While I like to keep my house neat and beautiful, I believe every room, every dish, every piece of furniture should be used and loved by the entire family – including the dogs!”