Cardiff Vacation Beach Home
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Encinitas CA
This is a vacation beach home for my client, an avid art collector from the Midwest. Her passion is collecting important American ceramic artists, as well as painters. She is a true environmentalist, and called on my sustainable design practice and wanted everything to reflect her values of environmental responsibility, equity and social justice. Everything designed and placed in this home, from the building materials down to the pillows, were sourced and/or custom designed to stringent criteria, like zero waste, fair trade, locally artisanal-sourced, non-toxic, closed loop recycling, responsible forestry practices, upcycled, etc. This is a retreat for her and her family, designed as a blend of ‘midwest meets southern california’ vibe. I reviewed the art collection during the visioning part of the project, and so the design solution was to create a soothing backdrop for her powerful art collection. The color palette of the furniture and furnishings may be moved around easily, and intermixed depending how many family members are using the indoor/outdoor spaces. The large wall unit, designed to hold her ceramic treasures, was a project unto itself. I designed it in such an innovative way that the art lights are independent of the shelving so that the shelves are movable and secured with large brass dowels. The metal platform boxes are movable as well, designed for displaying smaller pieces, and my favorite are the custom metal sliding bookends for ultimate flexibility.