Cayucos residence
Maximizing Size, Height, and Rooflines
Featured in SLO Life Magazine / January 2023 /
Featured in SLO Life Magazine / January 2023 /
Tom and Marla think big.
Tom was about to retire and loves to surf. Marla was eager to entertain. The goal was a spacious vacation home - easy breezy to maintain - and perfect for friends and family to (comfortably) stay awhile.
Aging in place was also on their minds, so a main floor bedroom was important. Then, in addition to several guest rooms, they needed storage for water toys and boards, as well as a discreet office area.
It’s not at all easy to build on the coast. Everyone wants to be there, and everyone must see the ocean. So, the more desirable the location, the more restrictions and regulations we find. Along with all its tiny little bungalows, charming Cayucos comes with very strict setbacks to the property line.
We needed to make it all work, maximizing every single room, working in the occasional optical illusion to keep the spaces feeling open and breezy. We added a vaulted ceiling upstairs to create volume. We put a giant skylight over a low-ceiling-ed stairway. Mirrors over the vanity and toilet added light and reflection to an otherwise tight bathroom. From the floor plan to interior design concepts, we made four bedrooms and three baths feel magically spacious in just 2200 SF.
The result? A not-so-big house that feels grand, where Marla and Tom can relax and welcome lots and lots of guests. Some might even surf...
“Our new beach house exemplifies Nina’s ability to marry architectural prowess with a strong design aesthetic and keen eye. We bought a teardown, never having done a full rebuild, let alone in a small-scale neighborhood with a myriad of restrictions. Bringing our ideas to fruition entailed a heavy dose of creativity on Nina’s part; it took numerous iterations to figure out how to integrate the features we wanted within the confines of the square footage parameters, and Nina was both helpful and patient during this process.
She was engaged throughout the entirety of the build, was always available for questions, and worked well with our contractor. Our house being the featured home in the December/January 2023 issue of SLO Life Magazine is a further testament to all of Nina’s skill, talent, and hard work.
Working with Nina was a joy and we would be delighted to collaborate with her on another project! We highly recommend her.”