Jeff and Camerone Parker cemented their relationship in this house, where he proposed. The purchase hinged on her accepting his proposal.

Photos by James S. Wood / arizona daily star

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If the walls of Camerone and Jeff Parker's home could talk, they'd have plenty of tales to tell.

Like the first time they saw Jeff looking at the house and earnestly discussing with his real estate agent whether his new girlfriend would like it — because the purchase of the 3,000-square-foot house would ride on whether she accepted his marriage proposal.

And then there was the proposal. It was the first time Camerone had seen the house, and the two of them sat in the empty living room on a tiled floor they already knew they wanted to get rid of.

Of course she said yes. And it wasn't long before they set to work making the place their own: pulling up the tile and replacing it with wood laminate throughout much of the house, introducing the walls to some crazy paint colors and turning what was once a plain vanilla house into one of assorted flavors, with mod-pop furniture and belongings that have become their own signature look.

The walls, now bright blue stripes in the living room and blood-red and gold in the master bedroom, would tell of having to share space with the couple's extraordinary collections.

A second living room houses hundreds of trophies, medals and ribbons from Camerone's days as a champion equestrienne. They're housed in a huge glass display case made by Jeff that's a replica of one in her childhood home.

Right next to it is Jeff's cigar collection, held in a 20-locker humidor and, on an open shelf in the hallway there's a display of his mother's Lladró porcelain figurines. In the guest room, there's Camerone's cute collection of shoe ornaments, this time in an antique cabinet.

These walls do talk, in their own way. They carry framed posters of Camerone and Jeff's favorite places, artwork by special friends and signed paintings by favorite artists, each one with its own history.

Camerone, 43, and Jeff, 48, fell in love over a weekend in 2002 and were married less than three months later. His job with mining company BHP Billiton is based in Tucson. Hers, as a model with the Ford agency (she's currently the face and voice of Olay), requires a lot of travel. So it made sense for her to give up her rented digs in Los Angeles to move here. He already owned a house in the Foothills but says "it was important she had something we would build together."

Happily for them (and for those walls), it's been smooth sailing, with Camerone describing their artistic tastes as "dead on."

"Sometimes I'll start saying, 'I was thinking of doing this . . .' and Jeff will finish my sentences. And he's so unbelievably handy with tools," she says.

As well as building the display case, he remodeled Camerone's walk-in closet. He also laid flagstone around the pool, helped her make valances for all the windows and painted the house — just a year old when they moved in — inside and out.

However, when it comes to the holiday decorations, it's all down to Camerone. She spends days decorating; the 10-foot-high pre-lit tree hung heavy with ornaments ("It's a cross between 'Alice In Wonderland' and Dr. Seuss," she says) takes one day alone. A smaller, second tree is more guy-themed with wrapped cigar boxes and wine bottle ornaments. There's a smattering of old family decorations, including an 85-year-old Santa and Camerone's childhood Christmas books displayed on a coffee table.

They've made friends with a sales associate at Copenhagen, one of their favorite furniture stores. And Camerone is a regular at artisan gift shop Bohemia, where she buys fantastical Alice-in-Wonderland-like furniture pieces by Luon St. Pierre.

While they favor contemporary pieces, their guest room has some family heirlooms from Camerone's mother's relatives and an antique dresser Jeff picked up on a work trip to Nevada. They call it The Paris Room for its turn-of-the-century boudoir feel. It's heavy with reds, blacks and girly details like a feather boa-wrapped lamp, shoe accessories and a shoe-themed rug.

The Paris Room also houses Camerone's brimming closet. Turns out Jeff, whom his wife proudly describes as "metrosexual," is as fond of good threads as his wife. So they settled for his-n-hers walk-ins. He has the one in the master bedroom, while Camerone bagged the larger one in the guest room.

There's a reason she's known as The Fashionista on 92.9-FM The Mountain, where she has a morning slot. And it's no coincidence she adores "Sex and the City's" Carrie Bradshaw. The closet is full-to-brimming — and that's with two clothes clear-outs a year. Now if those walls could talk. . . .