A California Dream House

A three-story beach house for a family in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Most of us fantasize about a life of barefoot, beachside living; the KAA Design Group makes those dreams a reality for their clients through the homes they build.

The Los Angeles-based design firm is a 20-year old group of architects, interior designers and landscape architects, who specialize in that California-cool brand of indoor-outdoor living.

While us north easterners suffer through a cold, snowy winter, we can turn to the firm's first monograph, Lifestyles of Southern California: Personal Sanctuaries, for sunny inspiration. The handsome coffee table book features 11 residences that all sit in sunny CA, including this modern domicile at right.









Ready for some California real estate dreaming? Check out the garden and interiors of this fresh space:


A perfect example of KAA's modern, So Cal style is this 4,500 square foot home in Manhattan Beach, where the outdoor spaces are treated like rooms of their own. The house sits a stone's throw from the beach on a small lot with sidewalks and neighboring houses encroaching from all sides (yes, those are public sidewalks surrounding the front patio above). Yet inside the house feels like an airy, private retreat.

Gathering its inspiration from Indonesian design and the homeowners' many travels, both the architecture and the interiors feel like they could be in Bali or some other isle. Beamed ceilings and teak floors give an exotic edge to the design, while the furnishings and art pieces were collected over years of the homeowners' far flung voyages.

In this house's unusual design the public space is on the top floor of the house, while the private spaces (like bedrooms) are on the lower floor. This layout takes advantage of the upper floor's views of the beach -- who wouldn't love that?

All images from Lifestyles of Southern California: Personal Sanctuaries, the KAA Design Group's first monograph.

For more Southern California homes, check out these posts:
- A colorful and family-friendly home.
- A $9.5 million dollar stunner.
- Si, Si: Spanish revival in Hollywood.