Inside A Yacht-Inspired Oceanfront Home By KAA Design Group And MLK Studio
Homes located on The Strand, Los Angeles’ 22-mile oceanfront path, are mere steps from the sand and surf—and the residences that make the most of every coveted square foot often resemble a layered ship deck, says Grant C. Kirkpatrick. He’d know: The architect and his firm have masterminded nearly three dozen builds on this iconic beach promenade over the past 35 years. “Strand homes are like docked yachts,” Kirkpatrick observes. “They’re slipped into tight spaces, maximize every inch across multiple floors and are all about the views but also about flow and indoor-outdoor relationships.” For this South Bay home designed for an active family of four, he says, “We had a vision of it from the very start as a luxury sailing vessel.”
Home Details
Architecture: Grant C. Kirkpatrick, KAA Design Group
Interior Design: Meg Joannides, MLK Studio
Home Builder: Shawn Nelson, Beachcraft
Styling: Lisa Rowe
Like many on The Strand, the property is grand but compact. It’s just 33 feet wide but three times as deep, and it spans four floors. The main level is primarily one airy great room, encompassing the living, dining and kitchen areas, with an ocean-facing deck that takes design cues from a sailboat’s bow pulpit, Kirkpatrick describes. “The backs of luxury yachts are often called ‘beach clubs’ because that’s where all the socializing and entertainment happen,” he explains. “So this was our notion for this level—a flowing, flexible indoor-outdoor space that connects to the water and view.” Kirkpatrick placed the private spaces upstairs—a floor that seems to “float like the bridge of a ship,” says the architect—while below lies the beach level (which opens directly out to the sand), replete with a casual bar, lounge area and spa-pool. Finally, a subterranean space houses a gym and sauna. And throughout, decks, balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as an atrium with a pocket garden near the stairs, all help connect this long, skinny structure back to nature and light, notes Kirkpatrick. General contractor Shawn Nelson and his team, also well-versed in building on The Strand, created cohesion on each floor through a nautical-inspired, durable palette of panel-formed concrete, metal, plaster and wood.
Designer Meg Joannides was immediately on board (pun intended) with crafting interiors as tidy and tailored as those of high-end yachts. “We built in everything we could, just the way you might on a ship,” she says, pointing out the millwork of the beach-level bar, the custom cabinetry of the kitchen and open shelving in the living area of the main floor. For the latter, the designer opted to carve into the wall and place the shelves into a slightly recessed niche. “Every inch of width counts in these long, narrow rooms, and those shelves have such a lightness to them, with thin brass connectors that make them look like they’re floating,” she comments. The living area shelves are where the well-traveled family can place collectibles; directly opposite, a white wall in the dining area highlights a custom-commissioned art piece. “Both of these elements give the great room character and interest,” Joannides adds.
The wife acted as a partner to the designer throughout the process, even suggesting a visit to artisan Stefan Bishop’s studio to consider the make and finish of a key item: the living area’s sculptural, stacked maple coffee table. “It’s an organic shape that floats off the floor in so many places that, if you squint your eyes, it even feels a bit boat-like,” Joannides remarks of the result. The table’s darker stain, which nods to other deep-hued slatted wood accents in the home, fits right into her idea of an elevated twist on a coastal house. “We steered away from the more typical light woods and white fabrics,” the designer notes. Wire-brushed, roughened and matte surfaces (rather than anything overly sleek or shiny) lend the home a casual elegance that feels beach-weathered.
What ultimately made the project so successful, however, is how easily Joannides, Nelson and Kirkpatrick worked together. “This was such a collaborative effort that many times, I felt like I didn’t know where our team’s work ended and theirs began,” Joannides says. In other words, this crew ran a very tight ship. And it shows in every last inch of the vessel.
