Lunch is usually served out in the front yard so they can soak in views of the ocean in the distance and watch hawks fly overhead.
The couple are longtime fans of English artist Peter Strausfeld’s movie posters, which often feature graphic writing on one side and a hand-drawn illustration on the other.
“Stephen has a deep obsession with light quality,” says Aly. Isamu Noguchi, Paavo Tynell, Böhlmarks—he keeps an eye out for all the greats when it comes to shopping for fixtures and he prefers everything on a Buster + Punch dimmer.
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Loveseat, Business & Pleasure Co.
The experience made the couple look at the objects in their home in a different light: What was truly important? For Aly, one of those things was a plate fixed in the traditional Juci (or stapling) method. Their new surroundings gave the piece even deeper meaning for Aly and Ringer. “It’s like our house is this broken plate,” says Ringer. “We’ve tried to put it back together, and not perfectly. But there’s beauty in our effort.”
When the fires broke out in L.A. in January, they opened up their house to parents in their community who needed a safe place to retreat with their kids. “We were feeling grateful we were in the clear, but a lot of our friends lost their homes or their businesses. It was devastating,” says Aly.
Now, with Jack having just turned one year old and a 32-city headlining tour coming up this fall, the road will be the family’s home for a little while (yes, the baby will be along for the ride!). “We’ve done a week or two here or there of playing shows with him, but this is going to be a whole new adventure,” says Aly. As she and AJ sing, “I don’t know what it is / Yeah, I’m taking it one day at a time.”
In those early hours, Ringer whipped up smoothies and soups for Aly in the comfort of their freshly navy blue kitchen. After painting the cabinets and removing two of the doors to create makeshift open shelves, the couple came around to the original retro brown tiles that cover the countertops, backsplash, and even the island. “It reminds me of a Northern California kitchen. It's utilitarian, it's not fancy, but it's nice to be in,” says Ringer.
When it came to purchasing the tufted settee that now sits in the adjacent dining space, Ringer had to sway Aly. “I was like, a leather couch with a big dog…that’s going to get destroyed over time,” she says. She’s not wrong—it quickly became Bixby’s domain and they’ll probably have to reupholster it in a few years. And yet it’s hard to regret such an iconic mid-century design. Besides, “there’s no seat that’s really off limits. The only thing Bixby hasn’t tried to get in is the crib,” says Ringer with a laugh.
I just remember feeling so scared to make this leap in this new space, but we did it. We just dove in.”
Ringer and Aly had known for a while that they’d end up in a place that required some TLC; a psychic told them so. Luckily, that same psychic also had good news for the pair: “She said, ‘I'm seeing this big front yard where your child is happy and your husband is happy,’” Aly remembers. It was just what the songstress needed to hear at that time.
For Aly, the track was a chance to air her (very relatable) frustrations with the realities of homeownership. “The house was not cared for in the way that it should have been: the cabinets were dinged up, a baseboard was missing… ” she recalls. “I thought, how does someone live in a home like this?! This should be your sanctuary.” At the time the couple got the keys, Aly was four months pregnant with their son, Jack. All she wanted to do was jump straight to organizing and getting everything in its proper place, but they had to paint the kitchen, add a patio out back, put the lights on dimmers—the list didn’t stop. “It was very overwhelming. I needed to write about this home and this fight that I was having with it,” says Aly. “I've
never been good at change / The more I give, the more you take.”
In the midst of home design plans, there were also home birth plans. Aly’s doula and midwife suggested she find some things about the new place that she could connect with, which was tricky given there was so much she wanted to change. The nursery was the logical place to start. A daisy-themed wallpaper, gifted by AJ at the baby shower, set the scene for a cheerful space. In came a rug the couple inherited from Aly’s good friend and business manager, Michael, who had passed away in 2023, followed by another, smaller one they picked up during a trip to Tangier. While the convertible ash wood crib was an early brand-new purchase, between the rocking chair, the hippo stool from the 1970s, and the trunk that once belonged to actress Lauren Bacall, there’s no shortage of old, soulful treasures in the space. “I think it may be one of my favorite rooms in the house because we put so much energy into making it feel really special for him,” says Aly.
So, the couple sold the mid-century home in Los Angeles’s Laurel Canyon that they’d loved for a decade—their “dream house,” as Aly puts it. “I remember feeling so scared to make this leap in this new space, but we did it. We just dove in,” she says.
Also on the get-done-before-baby punch list: Building a substantial bookcase in the living room and filling the shelves with favorite photographs (a good number of them taken by Ringer). “It was this space that gave us a beautiful birth that was filled with so much love and joy,” says Aly. On the morning of Jack’s birth, the fireplace was crackling, as it is most days, and Bixby—the larger of their two dogs—sat curled up on the couch. “It was like he was guarding me during the whole thing,” she says. Where her birthing pool once sat, there’s now a vintage coffee table that Ringer bought soon after the delivery. The flower tilework felt like kismet—there’s a song dedicated to Jack on the album called “Dandelions.”
Aly was in a dark place mentally—the couple were trying to conceive and the adjustment to pregnancy-safe anxiety and depression medications had been rocky. “Stephen suggested maybe we need to move to help clear my head. I thought it was a great idea,” she says. They seriously contemplated relocating to Rome, one of their favorite cities. “And then of course, I get pregnant,” she continues. The Eternal City turned into Santa Barbara—they wanted to be closer to Aly’s parents.
That white bar mounted above the sliding glass door isn’t a high-tech window treatment, it’s a projector screen that only comes down when they're ready to watch something.
Brown Accent Chair, Percival Lafer for Brazil Industries; Speakers, Tannoy; Credenza via By Design Modern; Table Lamp, Eny Lee Parker.
Wallpaper, Lake August; Pendant Light, Noguchi Shop; Crib, Kalon; Hippo Stool, Renate Müller; Floor Lamp, Paavo Tynell for Gubi x Pierre Frey; Rocking Chair, Hans Olsen via Modern for All; Stool, Alvar Aalto for Artek; Florals, Heidi Rosenfield.
While traveling through Texas for the Luck Reunion festival, Aly stopped in Round Top. Her score? These vintage Willy Guhl planters.
Chair, DWR.
Above left: Bedding, Morrow Soft Goods; Curtain Fabric, Jennifer Shorto; Lamp (right), Caprani; Lamp (left), Lawson-Fenning; Florals, Heidi Rosenfield. Above right: Wall Paint Color, Sulking Room Pink by Farrow & Ball; Mirror, Rejuvenation; Sconce, Paavo Tynell for Gubi; Florals, Heidi Rosenfield.
Sconce, Paavo Tynell for Taito Oy; Vase, Ceramics by Danielle; Florals, Heidi Rosenfield.
Above: The cotton-cord and wood bed frame was custom made by friend and furniture maker Jonathan Boyd of Boyd & Allister. Duvet Cover, Merci; Blanket, Melin Tregwynt for Toast; Custom Pillows, Bode; Lamp, Paavo Tynell for Gubi; Nightstand, Charlotte Perriand for Les Arcs; Armchair, Cassina.
Top left: Moroccan Rug, Les Nomades de Marrakech; Dining Table, Hay; Pendant Light, Paavo Tynell for Gubi; Sofa, Jean Gillon for Probel; Stools and Table Lamp, Lawson-Fenning; Floor Lamp, Noguchi Shop; Bar Cart, Furniture Fosters; Vase, Roger Capron and Ceramics by Danielle; Florals, Heidi Rosenfield. Above: Cabinet Paint Color, Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball; Lamp, Paavo Tynell; Florals, Heidi Rosenfield.
Top: Rug, DWR; Coffee Table, Roger Capron, Pendant Light, Paavo Tynell for Gubi; Sofa, Lawson-Fenning; Green Accent Chair, Afra & Tobia Scarpa; Stool, Lumber Club Marfa; Brigitte Bardot Prints by Ghislain Dussart. Above left: Wood Bookcase, Kalon; Built-ins Paint Color, Beverly by Farrow & Ball; Florals, Heidi Rosenfield.
Deliverer, is not some kind of metaphor or hidden message. The pop-rock sister duo are indeed referring to a real-life home—the one that Aly and her husband, writer, director, and creative director Stephen Ringer, own in Santa Barbara.
“Why won't you just let me in? / I'll make it easy on you, friend / I'll fix the leaks / And paint you up real good.” The house Aly and AJ Michalka allude to in the first verse of “I Don’t Know What It Is,” on their new album, Silver
VIBRATIONS
GOOD
GOOD
GOOD
GOOD
Styling by Merisa Libbey
Photography by Jenna Peffley
Words by Lydia Geisel
Aly Michalka of pop-rock sister duo Aly & AJ has found her rhythm in Santa Barbara.
Aly Michalka of pop-rock sister duo Aly & AJ has found her rhythm in Santa Barbara.
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1972 Pendant by Paavo Tynell for Gubi, Lumens
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Ventana Flatweave Rug, DWR
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Beverly Paint by
Farrow & Ball
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Roger Capron Ceramic Floral Coffee Table, 1stDibs
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Cassina Capitol Complex Office Chair, DWR
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Melin Tregwynt Welsh Blanket, Toast
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Sika Design Swing Chair, Lumens
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Rugosa Bookshelf,
Kalon
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Woodard Furniture Company Sculptura Chair, DWR
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Willy Guhl Planters, Olive Ateliers
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Hay Balcony Dining Table, DWR
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Al Fresco Loveseat, Business & Pleasure Co.
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Above: Dining Table, Hay.
