By zestybuzz 
It’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve been ready to share this put up with you for years. In the event you’ve been following for some time, you’ll know that in 2020, we went all in on our huge dream to renovate a seaside home in Malibu. We fell in love with an acre of land overlooking Zuma Seashore, with views of a fantastic horse farm and gardens overflowing with wild roses and olive timber. The breezes carried the scent of jasmine and salt water, and at evening the solar set simply on the level the place the ocean meets the mountains. It was love at first sight.
A few months later, we obtained the keys to the home and our journey started. We employed Doug Burdge, our beloved Malibu-based architect, to reinvent the ground plan and add 1,000 sq. toes. We obtained all our geese in a row and submitted all the pieces to the town. After which started three years of ready as we slogged by the allowing course of with the Metropolis of Malibu. We didn’t know on the time how a lot persistence and uncertainty this dream of ours would require, however all through, we held tightly to our imaginative and prescient and refused to surrender.
In my Substack right this moment, I shared much more about our private journey and what it taught me, and the vary of feelings that come from constructing in a spot that’s so lately been rocked by tragedy. In order for you the complete story (together with why we’re “loopy” sufficient to construct in a high-risk space) head over to the put up. Over right here, we’re kicking off the primary put up in our Renovation Diaries sequence, as a result of now we have formally begun building!
Since I’m going to have rather a lot to share about our Zuma Seashore Home mission within the coming months, this would be the official spot the place you may observe alongside. My hope is that, for these of you who’re as design-obsessed as me, it would turn into a useful resource on your personal renovation journeys, in addition to a spot for inspiration and concepts. We’ll be getting granular on the small print: how we designed the kitchen island, precisely what supplies we’re utilizing in each house, and fixing these tough selections that come up in each renovation mission. And sure, I’ll be asking you to weigh in, too.
It feels proper to start with a birds-eye view: a zoomed-out take a look at how the home will change, what we’re retaining and what we’re altering, and an outline of the design model and references which have impressed us.
First, the “Earlier than”
What to know in regards to the present home:
- 1950’s ranch-style bungalow—though it has some charming parts, this home is de facto all in regards to the property.
- 1,400 sq. toes with two bedrooms and two bogs
- 600-square-foot visitor home above the storage
- The property is slightly below an acre overlooking Zuma Seashore, with towering palm timber and plush citrus and avocado timber.
Points with the present home:
- A big electrical pole. It was smack dab within the middle of our seaside view. After two years of working with the town, we lastly obtained it taken down and had the facility traces buried. It was a significant funding, however so value it to open up the view.
- No clear entrance entrance. Whereas there technically is a entrance door, it’s been utilized by precisely zero folks since we purchased the home. Once you pull into the driveway, the trail leads you down a sidewalk straight to the again door. So, nobody is kind of certain whether or not to circle round to the entrance of the home, or enter straight into the door of our laundry room.
- Lack of house. Apart from the awkward flooring plan, we’re additionally missing house generally. It’s a comfortable match for our household of 4, so when household or associates come to stick with us, we’re bursting on the seams. There’s additionally nowhere for me and Adam to work (which is an issue whenever you each make money working from home), so considered one of us normally finally ends up taking calls from the bed room whereas the opposite sits on the kitchen desk with Air Pods in, praying that the children received’t get right into a combat within the meantime.
- Closed-off rooms. In the event you’ve seen our Austin home, you realize that Adam and I are huge on an open structure. We gravitate towards an ethereal vibe, so a home made up of small rooms which can be separated from one another makes us really feel claustrophobic. We will’t wait to open this house up.
- Low ceilings. For my part, low ceilings are some of the regarding issues a couple of home as a result of they are often actually troublesome to vary—and sometimes, can result in a home feeling darkish and crowded. So, once we first thought-about the acquisition of this home, ensuring that we’d be capable of increase the ceilings was a prerequisite. Extra on that later.
- Tucked-away kitchen. For me, the kitchen is the center and middle of a house, so having a small kitchen awkwardly tucked into the nook of the home (with dated granite and cabinetry) was going to be the very first thing to go in any renovation.
I gave a full tour of the outdated home right here and answered a bunch of FAQs in regards to the property and placement, if you wish to dive deeper.
The Renovation Plan
- The addition: We’ll add a 1,000 sq. foot nice room (a big open kitchen with dwelling house). Our architect Doug brilliantly discovered a approach to hold the unique footprint of the present home, however we’ll rework the non-load-bearing partitions to utterly reimagine the inside flooring plan.
- Create a transparent entrance entrance. As talked about above, the present home lacks a transparent entrance and leaves company confused about the place they need to go. Within the transformed structure, we would like anybody who arrives on the home to know precisely the place to park, with a transparent plan for tips on how to enter. Do you know there’s an precise title for this subject? It’s wayfinding, and contains ideas like creating “well-structured paths” and avoiding “too many navigational selections.” Undecided why I’m obsessive about this subject, however I discover it endlessly fascinating.
- Open flooring plan. For the areas the place we reside, eat, and play collectively as a household, I choose a wide-open house that ideally opens to the outside. In the event you hold studying, you’ll learn the way we’re attaining that with a 1,000-square-foot addition that’s mainly one huge kitchen.
- Vaulted ceilings. Once we thought-about buying this home, I knew that for the funding, we’d want to have the ability to increase the ceilings. Fortunately it wasn’t too sophisticated right here, particularly since we’re retaining it to at least one story. We’ll be vaulting the ceilings, which signifies that we’re extending into the triangular house between the place a ceiling would usually sit and the highest of the roof. This won’t solely assist the rooms really feel bigger than they really are, but it surely’ll additionally let extra pure mild into every house.
- Room for company. Whereas we needed to maintain this a reasonably modest-sized home, we additionally knew that this was a spot we anticipated internet hosting household and associates for years to return. By including a visitor suite and a bunk room, we’d make room for an extra 4 to 5 folks to stick with our household in the principle home.
- Massive kitchen for entertaining. For the reason that kitchen is my completely happy place, I naturally need to have the ability to spend time in it surrounded by household and associates. I would like a kitchen massive sufficient to accommodate cooking tasks, recipe photograph shoots, and many folks, since most dinner events find yourself with everybody gathered across the island. Based mostly on the present tucked-away nook kitchen, I knew this might require a whole reimagining of the house.
- Pure mild. The present home already has nice mild, however we knew that by elevating the ceilings and including extra home windows and doorways to the again of the home, we might create an much more light-filled house.
The Fashion: Japandi Trendy Seashore Home
We’re calling this a Japandi Trendy Seashore Home as a result of it combines the minimalism, clear traces, and pure supplies of Scandinavian design with the heat, tranquility, and give attention to craftsmanship from Japanese design. Our priorities are simplicity, performance, and concord, bringing the indoors and outside collectively in a seamless circulate. We wish this home to really feel like a sanctuary, utilizing pure supplies, impartial tones, and handcrafted particulars.
(Right here’s one other article I wrote about Japandi design and tips on how to create it in your personal house right here.)
The Visualizations: The place We’re Headed
We’ve been working with the crew at YouSee Studio to create reasonable 3D renderings of our plans so we are able to really visualize what we’re creating. I can’t advocate this course of sufficient. Not solely has it allowed us to make spacial selections in regards to the structure, however with the ability to check out totally different supplies and room layouts has already saved us from a number of selections we’d have regretted.
I can’t wait to share these visualizations of every house in the home as we undergo the design course of over the following few months—we’ll be capable of take a look at totally different comparisons and choices collectively as we make all these closing selections to carry the mission to life.
Right here’s the property overview that exhibits the brand new exterior. To the left, you may see the good room addition with the out of doors terrace. The correct aspect is the prevailing home that turns into the bedrooms, bogs, and media room.
Options of our Japandi Trendy Seashore Home:
It’s necessary to Adam and me that each aspect of this mission is an intentional mix of magnificence and performance. Listed here are a number of design selections which can be guiding your entire mission:
Exterior Design:
- Scandinavian-inspired wooden cladding. We’re utilizing stunning redwood from Humboldt Sawmill Firm in Northern California.
- Giant home windows and doorways that blur the traces between indoors and outside.
- Corrugated metallic roofing, including a up to date edge to the minimalist design.
Inside Supplies:
- Pure wooden floors and cabinetry for heat and texture. Our flooring are by Stuga, a direct-to-consumer wooden flooring firm that’s primarily based within the US and works with Scandinavian producers.
- Stone accent partitions that floor the house and replicate the encompassing setting. I can’t wait to indicate you guys the stone that we selected from Eldorado Stone—it’s attractive and might be such an announcement.
- Easy, practical layouts that maximize house and lightweight.
Design Philosophy:
- A give attention to pure parts like olive and citrus timber, agave, and native grasses within the panorama.
- A impartial coloration palette of black, wooden, creamy plaster, concrete, and stone for a chilled vibe.
- An emphasis on craftsmanship and high-quality, long-lasting supplies.
Total Environment:
- A mix of Scandinavian hygge (coziness) with Japanese wabi-sabi (magnificence in imperfection).
- Areas designed for peace, leisure, and connection to nature.
The Workforce