Profile: Natasha Gregson Wagner

I met Natasha years ago when I started dating Richard – longtime friends, they have known each other since they were teenagers. She is an actress turned mother to a beautiful baby girl named Clover who just turned 1, and lives in Venice with her boyfriend Barry and his two sons, Oliver and Felix.

On the weekends and for many summers over the past 17 years, Natasha has spent her time in the most amazing whitewashed beach bungalow in Malibu. Situated right on the sand, it is a serene yet vibrant space filled with memories and beautiful energy. Her use of color and seemingly effortless pairing of old and new make for a wonderfully clean, eclectic, and comfortable retreat that anyone would love to call home. I hope you enjoy. XXJKE

 

Beauty

R+T: What are your go-to beauty products? Why?

My go-to products are Rescue and Eye Believe by CosMedix and Crème Luxe by Luzern. Rescue is a balm that just seems to heal and nourish my skin. Eye Believe is an amazing eye balm that leaves a glowy, dreamy quality around your eyes. I love it. Whenever I feel exhausted and sleep deprived – which is a lot these days – I slap some Rescue and Eye Believe on my face, soak myself in the tub, and go to sleep super early, like 7:30 pm!

Crème Luxe is a newish discovery of mine, it’s pricier than other moisturizers but I think worth the extra bang. I don’t share it with Barry, I’m sorry to say. Also, I love Chantecaille Rosewater facial mist. I keep it by my bed to spray my face and sometimes even my pillowcases.

R+T: Is there anything special you would like to share about your beauty routine?

I totally believe in facials. I used to get them every 4-6 weeks. In this last year, however, it has been more like 4-6 months, but I feel a turnaround happening. Also, I love Thai massages. We live in Venice and there is a great place nearby called Lamai Thai. If I need a pick-me-up and can spare an hour, that is where you can always find me.

R+T: What are the 5 products you couldn’t live without?

Weleda Skin Food, Shiseido Eyelash Curler, a great moisturizer (Crème Luxe), the prettiest pink lipstick the season has to offer, and a highlight stick (mine is By Terry). Oh, and hair color – The Lea Journo Salon. Barry and I actually met getting our hair cut there. I guess that makes six!

R+T: Bath or Shower?

I am equal parts bath and shower – bath in the winter, shower in the summer.

R+T: What do you sleep in?

The softest things I can find in my closet.

 

Health

R+T: Do you have any health tricks?

Coffee and ground cinnamon in the French press every morning with lots of half and half.

R+T: What do you do to stay healthy and balanced?

I do yoga, I walk my dog, I stroll the streets with Clover, I do Pilates. I love dessert and hamburgers and wine, so I try and remember to eat salads and vegetables a couple of days a week and drink lots of water. This summer I have been drinking a lot of hibiscus flower water. I meditate. I have an attitude of gratitude.

R+T: Do you workout, what do you swear by?

So, I swear by yoga. I have been doing it since I was 17. You know, the yogis say you are as old as your spine, and I believe it. I have been seeing the same yoga cowboy for a dozen years. His name is Chad Hamrin and he teaches both at YogaWorks and privately. We practice Iyengar yoga, and my body has gotten very strong from doing it, but most interestingly, my mind has become clearer and my heart softer.

R+T: What do you do to relax?

I lie in the bathtub and read the New Yorker magazine. I hang out with Clover and Barry and the boys as much as possible. I see the people I love. I swim in a warm pool. I daydream. I cook. I appreciate nature.

 

Decor

R+T: What is your design philosophy for your home?

Well, my design philosophy for the Malibu house was a calm and neutral palette with pops of color. I had that house for 17 years and it went through many design incarnations, but I always came back to color. Blues and greens and pinks…the colors in the bottom of the sea.

R+T: What are your favorite pieces in your house?

I have so many favorite pieces. A lot of beautiful art and furniture that I grew up with as a child, I still have. My Mom’s music box that my Dad bought for her one year when they were on vacation in Paris. I have a Vertes painting of a ballerina holding a little bear that was a wedding gift to my parents from Jack Warner – it is in this beautiful gilt gold frame. I hung it in Clover’s room in our house in Venice and when we were at the beach, it hung in the living room.

About ten or twelve years ago, I got into buying modern furniture. I have a pretty rad Hans Wegner Rope Chair. It’s so comfortable and beautiful, and Clover loves to climb all over it like a jungle gym.

R+T: What are your favorite home stores?

Hmmm…let’s see. In Venice, I love General Store …I love Jenni’s store on Almont and try and stop by whenever I’m in the neighborhood…I love Heath on Beverly Blvd.

I bought some great furniture from my friends Joanna and Scott Nadeau who used to have the store Ten 10 on Silverlake Blvd. They are actually helping me with some pieces for our new house in Venice. I love their simple, straightforward design and take on furniture. They have my favorite eye, if that makes any sense?

R+T: What is your favorite room in the house?

My favorite room in the beach house was really all of it, because it was so small and the living/dining/den was sort of all one room – listening to the sound of the waves, seeing the dolphins and pelicans dive into the water, cooking dinner and looking out onto the sea… Upstairs, where my bedroom, bathroom, and Clover’s room is was always magical because it felt like an oasis from the elements of the sun and the sea. Sometimes when you live on the water like that, it becomes too intense and you just need a break, so that’s why I made my bedroom in the back and not right on the water.

 

Entertaining

R+T: Do you entertain at home?

A lot.

R+T: What are your tricks for entertaining?

I don’t really have tricks, but my approach has always been to have as much fun as my guests – make them feel as relaxed as possible. Always serve excellent wine and burn beautiful candles. My friend Lena Wald turned me on to Diptyque Feu de Bois years ago, and it is still my favorite scent. Although, there is a candle man at the Larchmont Farmers Market that sells beautiful scents for ten dollars a candle, so that’s like 5 or 6 Diptyques!!!

R+T: How do you set the scene when you have people over?

I try to keep it simple when I set the scene – candles, flowers, good food and wine, and a smile on my face.

R+T: Are there any tips for what to do or what to avoid?

I would say avoid entertaining if you are in a bad mood or overly worried about people making a mess of your house. A relaxed hostess creates a relaxed atmosphere, which creates relaxed guests…and that is when the fun can begin.

R+T: What is your favorite song/playlist when you have people over?

I’m from the mix tape generation, so the idea of making your own play list is music to my ears. Lately, I have been making playlists for Clover – she is so into dancing. Hopefully, if I start her off early enough with good music, she will always have an ear for the great artists. We have some Paul Simon and Harry Nilsson, Vashti Bunyan, Will Oldham, Leonard Cohen and Elvis Costello on her latest play list, and she seems happy as a clam.

R+T: Plated, Buffet, or Family Style for a dinner party?

Plated for a small dinner, buffet for everything else.

R+T: What are your favorite flowers and where do you buy them?

My favorite flowers are garden roses and peonies, sweet peas, nasturtiums, gardenias, lavender and lilac. When I lived in the Hollywood Hills, I had a beautiful garden with so many blooms everywhere. It’s hard to grow stuff at the beach, so I kept it simple there, but I’m excited to start my garden at the new house in Venice. I go to the Mar Vista Farmers Market most Sundays for flowers, fruit, and other delicious things.

 

Fashion

R+T: How would you describe your style?

My style these days is simple and fast! Jeans and Isabel Marant tops or vintage ones, and of course I love my D’Orsay Flats.

R+T: Who are your favorite designers?

I love Isabel and Jenni’s stuff…my friend Stephanie Danan has a beautiful line called Co …of course Celine and Rochas. I also discovered a new line called HOPE at Creatures of Comfort that I am really into.

R+T: What is your newest purchase?

Let’s see…in the last little bit, the pieces I have bought and am loving: leopard Louboutins on sale, Isabel blue suede pumps with stars on sale, a navy silk jumpsuit by Black Crane that I seriously live in, an old Indian gauze top with gold thread from General Store, and a black leather mini skirt from Co.

 

Food

R+T: Is there anything about your diet you would like to share with R+T?

I love food. I love to eat. I eat everything except mushrooms and dill.

R+T: Do you cook?

Yes.

R+T: What is your favorite recipe?

Well, let’s see…I make a very delicious rhubarb crumble. I got the recipe from my stepmom Julia Gregson, and don’t use measurements – I just eyeball. Basically, it’s oats, brown sugar, flour, walnuts and butter. I use my hands and knead it all together. You can put any kind of fruit on the bottom – I’m into raspberry and rhubarb at the moment. Sometimes, I add ginger, cinnamon or a squeeze of lemon or orange and sugar. Just pour the crumble topping over fruit and bake at 350 til bubbly. (20 to 40 min depending on your oven)

Also, I have been super into this Chicken and White Wine Stew with Gremolata from Living and Eating – that’s a crowd pleaser.

R+T: What is your child’s favorite recipe?

Clover loves smoothies, and every morning I make one that we share. Usually, it’s rice or almond milk, sheepsmilk vanilla yoghurt, raw honey, chia seeds, frozen raspberries or whatever frozen fruit I have, a handful of raw spinach leaves, and a quarter of a banana.

 

Family

R + T: How do you balance work and motherhood?

Well, I haven’t worked since Clover was born, so it’s more a question of balancing motherhood, step-motherhood and my relationship with Barry. One thing I know is that Barry and I both really need each other’s time and attention, so we do try to make that a priority. He is my great best friend and my love. We fell for each other over food, so we like to go out to eat, just the two of us…usually around 5, home by 7, asleep by 8:30!

R+T: What is the first thing that you bought together?

Our new house in Venice.

 

Art

R+T: Who are your favorite artists?

There are so many artists that I love and adore. To name just a few: Elizabeth Peyton, Christopher Wool, James Turrrel, Alexander Calder, Rothko…

R+T: What are your favorite pieces of art that you own?

A Giacometti lamp that was my Mother’s and a Braque litho that was given to me by my Father when I was born – it now hangs in Clover’s room next to the Vertes ballerina. I have a Florian Maier-Aichen that says “Faith Failure” that I love as well.

As a child, I spent a lot of time at a hotel in the south of France called La Colombe D’Or. The casual way that they hung their incredible art collection has always inspired me.

 

Kids

R+T: What are your favorite places to shop for kids?

So far, Clover’s favorite toys are not toys at all – she loves buttons, tape measures, remote controls, wooden spoons and Tupperware.

For clothes, I love Makie, Bonpoint, Atsuyo et Akiko and Mabo Kids.

R+T: What is your favorite restaurant to eat at with the whole family?

We have Barry’s boys every other weekend, and a few of our favorite restaurants as a family are Pitfire, Sugarfish and Wharo Korean BBQ. Also, the food trucks on Abbott Kinney on First Fridays.

R+T: What’s your favorite thing to do/place to go on the weekends with your kids?

On the weekends, we ride our bikes around the neighborhood, swim, play hide and seek, watch movies, and play Legos. Clover wants to do whatever her brothers do and be with them as much as possible. It is so sweet to see the three of them interact – I always wanted big brothers.