This home is located in Pebble Beach, with gorgeous views of the California coastline. Originally built in 1962, it was fully remodeled in 2016, just before a young family called on Laura U Design Collective to bring their unique design perspective to the space. The 2016 remodel modernized the home, giving the designers a blank canvas to work with. The homeowners requested comfort and durability alongside the high-end look and feel, substantial storage solutions, and their personal style conveyed with a “California cool” twist.
We sat down with the design team to chat about this fun project. Read on to learn more, and snag specifics in the slideshow!
Tell us a little more about the clients! How do they describe their lifestyle?
[The homeowners] moved to Pebble Beach from Houston, where we also have designed homes for them. In fact, this is the 6th home we’ve designed for this family! He is a well-respected executive in the energy sector; she is a lover of the arts and an avid traveler. (She enjoyed a month-long journey to Antarctica last year.) Both are active and love the outdoors, which is why Pebble Beach’s lifestyle suits them so well. Their 3 daughters are on competitive dance teams.
When they are not hiking or enjoying the activities of the coast, they are gracious hosts. She loves to showcase local artists at her home, where she boasts an impressive art collection. And both she and her husband are active supporters of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Tell us a bit about your scope of your work on this project.
Our scope of work included a full cosmetic renovation in which we collaborated with Groza Construction. This partnership was essential to successfully accomplish a project of this scale from afar. The scale of renovation ranged from new paint throughout to adding a loft space in one of the girl’s bedrooms. One of the few existing elements that remained untouched was the marble flooring throughout the main level. Our team was solely responsible for all furnishings, finishes and fine art advisory.
The design features a lot of bold color moments. Can you tell us about a few of your favorites?
One of our favorite spaces in the home is modeled after the famously colorful Sugar & Cloth wall in Houston, TX. The rainbow-inspired mural covered a brick façade of the Hotel Alessandra and was the work of Ashley Rose, a local blogger. It was a big photography destination downtown. Now the homeowners have a little bit of Houston with them while in California.
You’ve utilized many colors and patterns, but it feels very cohesive. How did you achieve this synergy?
We feel the cohesiveness of this project is largely owed to the clients existing art collection that allowed us to introduce a wide range of colors and patterns. Every piece was intentionally placed, not only acting as a beautiful, standalone element in its room, but also referencing a room that visitors experienced in another part of the home. For instance, placing their Damien Hirst painting in the family room ties back to the colors found in the rainbow wall in the lower level.
What was a risk you took that ended up looking great?
The master bath as a whole – we really went for it. One of the biggest risks within this space was selecting a dark, large format stone tile. The space overall was very light before, so this selection could have caused the room to feel heavy. Instead, it makes the space sing and ties in with the new matte black plumbing selections and striking black veining in the vanity countertops. This was quite a departure from the original finishes and resulted in a moody en-suite that now exudes a spa like escape for our clients.
How long did the project take and what did the homeowners say when they saw their completed home?
Once our team started, this project took around 14 months to complete. (We started late spring of 2018 and installed in June of 2019.)
Our clients were beyond thrilled with their new space and couldn’t wait to begin hosting. In fact, right after our final reveal they were hosting a birthday party for one of their girls!