Scaffolding is down and handpainted tile, custom chandeliers and higher ceilings are up at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks.

No one appears happier than 10year Thousand Oaks resident David Piper, vice president of design and planning for mall owner Macerich Co. of Santa Monica.

"I'm very happy with the way it's looking and the great feedback we're getting from the community," Piper said.

As he walks the site, he notices every detail—how the first-story ceiling of the inside mall was raised 2 feet and the stores' square footage was expanded by bringing store walls out 1 foot into the mall; how the second story went from 12-foot to 16-foot ceilings; he notices the limestone floors, woodbeamed ceilings with handpainted stenciling, plaster finished walls that curve softly and decorative hand-painted tiles.

Seating areas have upholstered chairs for all ages—plush chairs that people can sink into next to firm chairs with wooden arms. The furnishings sit on custom-designed wool rugs.

The mall once had two pairs of escalators, two staircases and one glass elevator. Now it has two elevators with wrought-iron cagelike ornamentation around the glass, three wider pairs of escalators, a staircase inside and a grand staircase for the outside expansion, which also has a pair of escalators that will be covered.

The style is Spanish with a Santa Barbara Mission influence. The chandeliers have acrylic lampshades that look like large candles. The color palette is made up of creams, honey and amber.

"When done well, this style fits our heritage and will never go out of fashion," Piper said.

A glass wall separates the indoor mall and the outdoor expansion area, where hundreds of workers are still building an area that will include a 14screen stadium-seating Muvico Theater, center courtyard with fountains and fire pit, restaurants and retailers. The area is expected to be completed in October.

The 138,000-square-foot Nordstrom inside the mall is finished and scheduled to open to the public tomorrow.

Also complete is the food court in the southwest part of the mall. The area is decorated in an Old World style under a woodbeamed ceiling with fabriccovered acoustic material to keep down the sound.

Food court vendors are connected by granite counters. Doors open out to a covered porch, an open patio and living room-style areas with heaters in some places and ceiling fans in others.

There's a fountain with Italian glass tiles and a hand-carved fish face spouting water.

Across the street is the new three-story parking structure with 1,300 spaces. A counter at the vehicle entrance displays how many spaces are still available on each story.

There's a garden between the patio and the street.

Much has been done to protect the 300-year-old oak trees that were originally on the site, and many new oak trees and other landscaping have been added, Piper said.

Inside, near the 650-seat food court, is the children's Jungleland play area and a resort-style restroom area, with three bathrooms that have adultsized toilets next to totsized toilets. There are also two sizes of sinks and a step stool for the little sink. In addition, there's a diaper changing area, which men and women will have access to.

Across the way is a breastfeeding room that has a glider chair with low arms and a small table and chairs with toys for young children. The lighting inside is low, and the door has frosted glass for privacy.

The granite counters and wrought-iron features continue inside the men's and women's restrooms.

There are going to be two restroom facilities on each end of the mall. Both are down large hallways.

A conciergetype of information booth has been added near the Cheesecake Factory entrance.

"The economy has been a challenge everywhere, but they say if you build it they will come, and they have," Piper said.

The spaces at the mall have been rented out, bringing many new stores to the area.

"We had over 30 meetings with the public between 2003 and 2006 asking them what they wanted," said Julia Ladd, senior property manager.

"People said they wanted Nordstrom, better stores, better parking and restaurants," Piper said.

"We gave them what they wanted."

The first significant upgrade for the mall after 30 years began in January 2006.