Custom Details Add Personality To This Ocean-front Spec Home
When designer Michelle Zolando’s client’s vacation home build evolved into a custom spec home project, the typical expectations of a spec didn’t stop her from filling the space with custom, personality-driven details. Located in beautiful Laguna Beach, California, this modern Spanish-style home built in 1992 was a complete gut with a new layout and fresh details to accentuate the properties surrounding ocean views.
Michelle carefully infused warmth and charm into the project, focusing on creating an inviting space that transcends the typical spec home experience. With timeless arches, rich wood accents, and white oak cabinetry, this home showcases a thoughtful blend of organic, modern, and timeless design. Custom features, like exposed wood beams and tongue-and-groove ceilings, add character, while the luxurious plastered powder bath brings dimension. Scroll on for more on this beautiful beachside home.
Design: Zoldano Interiors | Photography: Hugo Landa Garcia | Build: Zalar Homes
A contemporary palette
Michelle kept the palette for the home warm, cozy, and inviting, incorporating lots of dimensional neutrals and textures to create interest. Warm wood tones, layered textiles, and pops of stone throughout tell the story of the space without distracting from the contemporary architecture and beautiful ocean views.
Creating focal points
While the fireplace was originally on the opposite wall, moving it allowed the feature to become a focal point at a better scale for the ceiling height. In the new layout, you walk through the grand entryway and see the stunning stone fireplace, leading your eye to the ocean view.
A calming kitchen
In the kitchen, Sub-Zero Wolf appliances center the white oak cabinetry incorporated in the room. Custom details throughout, including the metal hood above the range, make the space feel more personalized and custom. Hand-formed tile brings an organic, imperfect look to the kitchen’s sharp lines and softens the heart of the home.
Complimenting artworks
If anything can complete a home, it’s artwork, and we love how carefully selected each piece in this home feels. Michelle worked with her friend and local Orange County artist Jordan Nicole of High Desert Studio to curate a few pieces used in bedrooms and bathrooms throughout the spaces. In the primary, Jordan’s “Realms” piece centers the room, setting the tone with depth and interest.
Scroll through the gallery to see more from this project and shop the look below!
BY: ANASTASIA CASEY