California Mediterranean in Los Angeles
Interior designer Darci Goodman
had some wooing to do when it came to this Long Beach, California,
remodel. Her clients, a couple with three kids, were confident in her
work, but the husband needed convincing. "I think he only saw dollar
signs in the beginning," Goodman says. "But after the first set of tiles
in the bathroom was installed, he saw how the space was able to breathe
and get a second life."
The designer transformed what she says was once a "run-down, characterless" house into a traditional home that leans Mediterranean — a style Goodman calls California Mediterranean — and perfectly fits the family's laid-back lifestyle.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: Long Beach, California
Size: 4,500 square feet
Designer's challenge: Getting the husband to realize the value of an interior designer's work
The designer transformed what she says was once a "run-down, characterless" house into a traditional home that leans Mediterranean — a style Goodman calls California Mediterranean — and perfectly fits the family's laid-back lifestyle.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: Long Beach, California
Size: 4,500 square feet
Designer's challenge: Getting the husband to realize the value of an interior designer's work
|
|
|
The sea, sand and clouds inspired
the living room's palette. The traditional, symmetrical furniture
placement gets an update from turquoise accents and coastal tokens: a
collection of coral, seashells and starfish, and Mediterranean floral
throw pillows in varying shades and patterns.
Coffee table: Restoration Hardware; club chairs: Noir Furniture |
Goodman's clients threw a little
foliage into their home's coastal mix in this tablescape arrangement of
branches and cut flowers. The composed symmetry of the candleholders,
framed photographs and cabinet drawers is tousled by the unexpected
curves of the potted branches and flowers, adding organic allure.
Sea grass and abaca chairs, a
custom wood table and brass chandeliers add organic texture to the
dining area; the wood tones bring warmth to the crisp white walls.
Dining chairs: Pottery Barn; dining table: custom, Darci Goodman; chandeliers: Restoration Hardware
Dining chairs: Pottery Barn; dining table: custom, Darci Goodman; chandeliers: Restoration Hardware
The traditional and subdued
gray-green shade of the powder room cabinet and masculine captain's
mirror are softened by the skinny and playful starfish wall display.
Related: 10 Artful Powder Rooms
Related: 10 Artful Powder Rooms
The dressed windows, country-chic
shade pendant and vintage rolled-rim bathtub bring an elegant and
traditional flair to the bathroom; the Mediterranean-inspired hassock
serves as a stool and a flat surface on which to throw clothes and
towels.
Bathtub: vintage, Kohler; pendant: client's
Bathtub: vintage, Kohler; pendant: client's
Photos of the girls and other
family members pepper the home with warmth and memories. An enlarged
image of the girls on top of child-friendly soft-closing drawers leans
against the wall.
Dresser: Ordinal, Anthropologie
Dresser: Ordinal, Anthropologie
Goodman gave this turquoise frame
to her clients when she was asked to help with a party that was being
thrown at their house. She found the frame and thought of the couple;
the quote reflects their "loving nature toward each other," she says.
Goodman adds that she couldn't resist "adding another splash of
turquoise" to the home's interior.
|
|
|
The clients wanted their kids to
have the freedom to play and grow in the house and with the neighborhood
kids who have become their close friends. Goodman describes her
clients' community as one where children still play in the streets and
parents meet outside to catch up on their lives. "It is a throwback to
another era," she says.
|
The girls use their Dutch doors
as game props for "all kinds of make-believe," Goodman says. The doors
give the kids the perfect combination of whimsy and privacy, allowing
them to call out to each other over the open top door.
Meals are eaten at the dining
table, but family and friends can pull up a stool around the kitchen
island for the in-between hours.
Whenever Goodman looks at pictures of the house, she feels a tremendous sense of joy; the wife's vision of a home that was not too traditional, decorated or shabby was achieved and extended throughout the whole house's design. She "didn't want to go overboard with the shabby part, but she did want the laid-back, relaxed feel of a shabby chic home, which I think we achieved," says Goodman.
As for the husband, Goodman says he eventually sang her praises.
Whenever Goodman looks at pictures of the house, she feels a tremendous sense of joy; the wife's vision of a home that was not too traditional, decorated or shabby was achieved and extended throughout the whole house's design. She "didn't want to go overboard with the shabby part, but she did want the laid-back, relaxed feel of a shabby chic home, which I think we achieved," says Goodman.
As for the husband, Goodman says he eventually sang her praises.