15th Street

This home was designed as a response to its coastal setting, shaped by light, air, and the relaxed rhythm of life in Seal Beach. Rather than treating the house as a singular object, the design focuses on how space unfolds, how daylight moves through the interior, and how indoor and outdoor environments remain visually and physically connected.

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The architecture draws from modernist beach principles, emphasizing clarity of form, restrained materials, and an openness that allows the environment to participate in daily life. The massing is composed of simple volumes that sit comfortably within the neighborhood while opening inward toward gardens, terraces, and sky. From the street, the home is intentionally understated. Inside, it expands through carefully framed views and layered spaces.

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Double-height living areas are central to the design. These volumes bring natural light deep into the home and create long interior sightlines that connect spaces vertically and horizontally. Tall glazing captures changing light throughout the day, allowing the house to feel dynamic without relying on ornament. Upper-level walkways overlook shared spaces below, reinforcing visual connection and a sense of openness across floors.

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Material choices support this spatial clarity. Warm wood ceilings and millwork soften the scale of larger volumes and introduce texture, while concrete floors and light-colored walls provide a neutral backdrop for light and shadow. The palette is intentionally restrained, allowing the architecture and landscape to remain the focus.

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Indoor-outdoor flow is fundamental to the way the home functions. Large sliding openings allow living, dining, and kitchen spaces to extend naturally into exterior terraces and landscaped areas. These outdoor spaces are designed as rooms in their own right, not as afterthoughts, creating continuity between interior and exterior living. Even when closed, generous glazing maintains visual connection to the outdoors.

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The kitchen and dining areas act as transitional zones, bridging interior spaces and exterior views. From these spaces, the house opens outward, reinforcing a constant relationship to the surrounding landscape and coastal light. Circulation paths are arranged to maintain this connection, ensuring that movement through the home is always tied to light, air, and view.

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This project reflects a broader design approach focused on openness, proportion, and livability. On a coastal site like Seal Beach, the goal was to create a home that feels generous without excess, grounded in modernist principles and shaped by its environment. The result is a residence defined by light, spatial clarity, and a seamless relationship between indoors and out.