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When people jokingly ask how their marriage survived the six years it took to build the house from permitting to completion, the Mooreses share their secret. "I told my wife, 'Honey, I trust you, just do what you want,'" Barry says. In return, Natalie gave Barry free rein to design his passions: the landscaping and gardens, with which he enlisted the help of Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA in Los Angeles. "We just trusted each other and allowed our strengths to shine through," Natalie reflects, "so our home is a reminder of that love and trust." e couple met on a blind lunch date in 2002. "We just knew that our connection was very special and that we'd be together forever," Natalie recalls. ey were engaged three months later. Unbeknownst to Natalie, Barry bought an engagement ring from Rancho Santa Fe jeweler John Matty just a month after the couple met. e Mooreses are raising 14-year-old Allison, who for a recent birthday party asked guests to bring household supplies for Ukrainian refugee families rather than presents for herself. ey also have two grown children, Barry's 28-year-old daughter Avery and 26-year-old Benjamin. eir beloved son, Barry Alexander, then a senior at UC Berkeley, died in a car accident on Christmas Day in 2014. For many years, the family dealt with their grief in private, but more recently have hosted gatherings of family and friends, and fundraisers for Ukrainian causes. Last fall, they opened their home for a TEDx San Diego special event whose goal, according to Natalie, was "to raise awareness about the realities of war in Ukraine and the threat to democracy in the United States and around the world." Co-hosted by Dane and Katherine Chapin, the event featured chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, a Russian dissident and Putin critic, and Bret LEFT The sleek dining table is from Swaim Furniture, and the dining chairs, from Nathan Anthony in Los Angeles, are available through Le Dimora BOTTOM LEFT The living room, designed in soothing neutral shades, includes an oversized sofa from Nathan Anthony, leather-and-fabric swivel chairs by Rene Cazares in Los Angeles, and a custom-made, leather-wrapped cocktail table from Le Dimora. The fireplace and television are set into a quartz surround BELOW In the foyer, a Lalique table holds an Erté bronze with another Erté artwork framed in the background >> @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2023 57