Santa Cruz, CA
This Santa Cruz beach condo has been in Allen and Mary’s family since the 1970s, holding decades of summers just steps from the ocean. For their fifth project with us, the brief wasn’t to start over. It was to honor what the home has been while making it work for how they live now.
Coastal, Not Cliché
No seashell overload. The palette is soft blues, warm neutrals, and layered whites, with texture doing the heavy lifting: grasscloth walls, woven lighting, wicker, whitewashed wood, and quiet coral references. The ocean feels present, not themed.
The Library That Became a Bedroom
The biggest change was architectural. A library that opened to the living room through four bypass doors became a true guest bedroom: we closed down the oversized opening, added a proper door, and set high interior windows to pull airflow from the ocean side. Usable, private, and no longer an afterthought.
A Living Room That Hosts
Allen and Mary entertain constantly, so the layout now seats three couples comfortably. Every choice balanced beauty against real life: no wood tabletops to catch drink rings, refined but durable upholstery, and a recliner that blends in instead of announcing itself. Their existing plexi artwork stayed, elevated by what we layered around it.
The Rest of the Story
The already-remodeled kitchen got new pendants and stools for cohesion, the guest room a light refresh, and the primary bedroom a full transformation. Then the personality: whale bookends and blue books that Mary declared “just darling.”
Allen’s verdict: “Looks like a totally different condo.” This was a Turnkey Design project. Read the full story on the blog. Ready for your next chapter? Tell us about your project.
