Before & After: The Tide Turns for a "Neglected 1970s Box" in Pebble Beach
Feldman Architecture opens up a dark and cramped seaside house with big windows and a healthy dose of wood.
Feldman Architecture opens up a dark and cramped seaside house with big windows and a healthy dose of wood.
For Dani and Grady Hinsche, deciding on a location for their weekend home in coastal California came down to two key factors: surf and turf. "We’ve enjoyed visiting Monterey since we moved to Los Gatos in 2006," says Dani. After Gradi and their son, Graham, started surfing at a state beach in the area, and the couple began exploring the many golf courses in Monterey, they soon realized Pebble Beach checked all their boxes.
The house they decided to purchase, however, was less than perfect. "It had been sitting on the market for nearly a year, dilapidated, overgrown, and suffering from years as a rental," recalls Dani. "But when we walked through it and took in the golf course and bay views, we knew we had found our home." The couple enlisted San Francisco–based Feldman Architecture, who had recently worked with a friend of Grady’s, to take on the renovation.
Before: Living Room & Kitchen
Before: The compact kitchen was closed off from the rest of the house and set in an odd location, just off the entryway.
Courtesy of Feldman Architecture
Before: The double-height living room had large windows, but it needed more direct connections to the outdoor living area.
Courtesy of Feldman Architecture
"Even though the house is in a very traditional neighborhood, it feels like a coastal house because you can hear the ocean and catch views from the second story," says Daniel Holbrook, an associate at Feldman Architecture who served as project architect. Because of the proximity to the ocean and the family’s love of surfing, a key directive was to bring a SoCal surf vibe to the home. "They were really drawn to a warm, modern aesthetic," says Holbrook, who helped transform the main living area from a cramped series of segmented spaces to an open, warm gathering place.
After: Living Room & Kitchen
Feldman Architecture opened up the living room with a smooth white plaster wall for the fireplace, and a new board-formed concrete hearth. The couch is from Design Within Reach, and the coffee table and side chair are custom.
Photo by David Tsay
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: The Tide Turns for a "Neglected 1970s Box" in Pebble Beach
Related stories:
