For all its many charms, Carmel-by-the-Sea isn’t known for endless sunny days. Picking up that cool atmosphere of a foggy beach so common in the area, this recently remodeled residence felt moody. So, when their long-time clients purchased the property, designers Eugenia and Emma Jesberg were excited about the challenge of tailoring it to them. “It was missing warmth,” the wife describes. “Our lives are full with jobs and travel, and we wanted a place where we could retreat with our family and guests that would be happy and welcoming.” During the designers’ first visit on a gloomy day, they asked themselves, “How do we make this come alive? How do we un-gray it?”
Home Details
Interior Design: Eugenia Jesberg and Emma Jesberg, EJ Interior Design
The answer, the mother-daughter design duo discovered, leaned heavily on color and pattern. “Our clients had embraced the mindset to some extent in their Bay Area house, but this dwelling is smaller, so the color hits more because of the size,” Eugenia notes. One of the design team’s first suggestions was using yellow, and they directed that the island be painted a sunny shade. The owners loved it so much, the color became a through line in many of the public spaces. Now, a bright saffron on the front door greets visitors. The tweed-like fabric they chose for the dining room chairs “feels like a yellow Chanel suit,” Eugenia describes. It’s accented with a woven wallcovering in similar hues and a rug with cream and gold tones.
In the kitchen, the team inherited a gray-toned backsplash from the prior remodel but employed strategic moves to imbue it with more spirit. On top of painting the island yellow, they replaced the cabinet hardware with ochre-colored pulls and covered the walls with a bold floral paper that includes subtle hints of metallic. The print continues into the adjacent family room, where some walls are simply painted a pale neutral shade to keep the pattern from feeling overpowering. “It makes for a gentler transition,” Eugenia notes.
“Almost every room has a different vibe,” the husband says, noting his appreciation for the variation between spaces. The living room, for instance, departs from bright colors and instead relies more on texture and pattern to give it character. “There are big oaks outside, and it feels like you’re in a tree house, so we brought in more greens and botanical motifs,” Eugenia describes, pointing to the curtains’ large-scale leaf print and the upholstery on the custom sofa, whose pattern resembles twining vines. The space also features an understated reference to the home’s beach location: the chandelier is composed of hundreds of small, layered shells.
The designers continued to bring color forward in the private rooms. Pink reigns in the primary bedroom and bath, from the pale rosy hues of the grass-cloth wallcovering to the bolder raspberry pops on the graphic curtains and headboard. A formerly undistinguished guest room now comes alive with a vibrant wallcovering that also papers the closet panel insets.
For all the home’s exuberant color, it doesn’t read as maximalist. “That’s not our thing,” Eugenia says. “There’s a lot there, but it’s not filled to the brim or overly fussy.” It’s an approach that’s both sophisticated and fun. As Emma observes, “You can’t look at this house and resist smiling.”
In the living room, a Palecek light fixture hangs over an Arteriors coffee table and Christopher Farr Cloth-upholstered sofa. The draperies are crafted with Casamance fabric, and a Woody de Othello print hangs in the background.
Walk Through The Home Below:
Benjamin Moore’s Sun Valley on the front door and a Tracy Glover Studio light fixture hint at the vivid hues inside this Carmel-by-the-Sea home.
In the living room, a Palecek light fixture hangs over an Arteriors coffee table and Christopher Farr Cloth-upholstered sofa. The draperies are crafted with Casamance fabric, and a Woody de Othello print hangs in the background.
Walls in a Svenskt Tenn paper and Benjamin Moore’s Graytint backdrop the family room’s Dellarobbia swivel chairs. The ceiling fixture is by Visual Comfort & Co.
Yellow threads through the dining room’s Omexco wallcovering and Pierre Frey chair fabric. The CB2 table is lit by a Hammerton chandelier.
Benjamin Moore’s Winter Solstice and Sun Valley enliven the kitchen’s perimeter cabinetry and island, respectively. Dutton Brown hardware and a Zephyr hood pick up on the metallic accents in the Svenskt Tenn wallcovering. The counter stools are by Palecek.
Dutton Brown sconces and a Made Goods mirror hang against the primary bathroom’s Phillip Jeffries vinyl wallcovering.
The guest room’s Christopher Farr Cloth wallpaper adds a punch of pattern. Above the Made Goods nightstands are Palecek sconces.
Serena Dugan Studio fabric on the Made Goods bed and drapery continues the pink palette set by the Phillip Jeffries grass-cloth wallcovering in the primary bedroom.