Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Jeffrey Steele has been a freelance writer for one-third of a century. Fashion fads come and go, as do popular home design trends.

The story of Guerneville’s famed Pond Farm artist colony starts with an architect, a coffee heiress and a Nazi-escaping potter, and ends with death, fire and, eventually, a renewed significance.

Where bluebird skies and lush meadows meet-- farm fresh style is right at home. Crafty detailing, modern ginghams and folkloric embroidery emerge this season bringing rustic charm with a contemporary ...