Just off Highway 101 east of Camarillo sits the rural country community of Somis. Exit the freeway at Lewis Road and in minutes the traffic subsides, farm land appears and a local produce stand beckons. You feel transported to a simpler time and place. Can you picture yourself planting a vegetable garden and raising your kids in an idyllic country setting?

Ken and Shirley Kemke did. Tucked away on a beautiful tree-lined street, their home is a rural haven. You enter the property along a multihued driveway of blocked pavers. At the top sits an inviting spruce green country Cape Cod home with white trim.

The front door is your first introduction to the artistic sensibility of the owners; it features a custom stained glass window of irises created by Ken.

Once inside the immaculate two-story home, you are enveloped in a warm knotty pine entryway. This is the visitor's first introduction to Shirley's love of antiques. They adorn the home and are artfully arranged in various rooms (Read more about Shirley's antiques in the adjacent story).

Off the entryway is a spacious living room, with plantation shuttered windows that overlook the front yard. Almost every window in the home provides an excellent view of the country setting, nestled among mountains and trees.

Beyond the living room the dining area features another of Ken's stained glass creations. A flowering vine is the focus of the room's bay window. The stained glass windows are tastefully scattered thoughout the home, lending an added element of beauty to the interior.

Off the dining area, the newly remodeled kitchen keeps the country flavor with white beadboard cabinets and green quartz countertops. A white backsplash with a green ribbon accent adds a decorative touch.

Above the drop cabinets, where Shirley keeps her blue and white collection of Delft pottery, is another area to display your favorite kitchen collectibles. The white kitchen appliances feature a GE profile range and Whirlpool double ovens.

An ample laundry room with built in cabinets is adjacent to the kitchen.

A built-in hutch with leaded glass doors (also hand-crafted by Ken) leads to the kitchen nook. Outside the kitchen window a 40- foot wisteria vine trails along a fence. The back patio is ablaze with the majestic purple blooms in the spring.

Off the nook is the family room, where the focal point is its wood-burning fireplace. Situated between two sets of French doors leading to the patio, the brick fireplace is framed by an antique mantle that Shirley says "is an antique from the turn of the century, the late 1800s" — and it will stay with the house when they sell.

The downstairs master bedroom has a full bath, accented with colorful Italian tile, a walk-in closet and a bay window with another amazing view.

The architectural design of the home provides nooks and spaces which Shirley has used to artfully display her various collections. The house has knotty pine paneling in many of the rooms, in the hallways and up the stairs. It gives the home a rustic but homey feeling.

There are two bedrooms upstairs (the residence has three bedrooms and two and one-half baths.) An alcove in the second bedroom would be a delightful reading place for a child; the family's daughter had her bed in it at one time and used the rest of the room for a sitting area. The third bedroom is spacious enough to be a second master suite, a game room, or could be easily divided into two bedrooms. A full bath upstairs features Italian ceramic tile similar to that in the master bathroom downstairs.

Located on one and one-half acres the home is surrounded by trees, including an abundantly fruitful apple tree, as well as avocado, grapefruit, lemon, lime and apricot trees. A fenced garden area is ready for growing vegetables and a large grassy area provides a perfect play area for kids. The area is zoned for animals and at one time the Kemkes raised everything from chickens to calves. There is room to put in a pool, tennis court or horse stables.

Both Shirley and Ken are painters and they have built an artist studio and a finished workshop to pursue their hobbies. The two rooms, each with their own entrance, are connected to the two-car detached garage. The rooms could be easily transformed to suit any buyer's interests.

The Kemkes built their 2,500-plus square-foot home in 1975, after building two other homes in the Somis area. They say the best thing about the home is that its "warm and comfortable."

"And it's a wonderful location" says Realtor Mary Lou Woolsey of Coldwell Banker Previews International, who also lives in the area. "It's so beautiful in the morning when you see quail running and the morning doves start cooing."

Just minutes away from the urban center of Camarillo, but miles away in feeling, it's nice to know that the dream of living the simple life is still possible in Southern California.

To view the property call Woolsey at 402-2793 or 484-1061.

EDIT:zAdvertorial:Star Homes:November:1104:SomisHome-a.eps

Photos by Julie Phillips / Special to The Star

This three-bedroom, 2-bath house in Somis sits on 1 acres and was custom built in 1975 by the current owners and features a multi-hued driveway of blocked pavers, left. Above, a built-in hutch with leaded glass doors leads to the kitchen nook.

For sale

$1,195,000

6490 La Cumbre Road, Somis

Mary Lou Woolsey

Coldwell Banker

402-2793 or 484-1061

marylouwoolsey@AOL.com

californiamoves.com/MARYLOU.Woolsey

Two-story Cape Cod-style home in rural Somis on approxiamately 1 acres with three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Yard features fruit trees, room for garden, horses, pool or tennis court. Recently installed multicolored block driveway. Newer roof, artist studio & work shop in two-car garage.

SIDE

Meet antique collector Shirley Kemke

By Julie Phillips

Special to The Star

"If it's old, I usually like it," is how Shirley Kemke explains her passion for collecting antiques. Her grandmother piqued her interest in antiques at an early age and she has been a collector ever since.

From antique samplers, to quilts, purses, clocks and furniture, Kemke's home is a showcase for her diverse collections. One of her favorite things to collect is red and white patterned English Transferware that dates from the 1800s.

Kemke doesn't just keep her antiques to herself. She likes to share her collections with others. As Museum Chairperson for the Camarillo Antique Club, one of her activities includes creating a display for the Camarillo Historical Society case at the Pleasant Valley Historical Society Museum. Four times a year, she and colleagues combine pieces from their various collections and put together a themed display to showcase antiques.

"Every time we do something totally different," said Kemke.

They have created exhibits from antique valentines to their most recent display, "A Rainbow of Glass."

If you would like to visit, the museum is located at 720 Los Posas Road in Camarillo.