Feature: The House on the Strand

Joanne Furio

07/01/2007

When searching for a "little surf condo" within walking distance of the beach, Christie Peck was surprised to find herself inspecting a rag-tag, 1930s waterfront house, two blocks from where she grew up, on Southern California’s Long Beach Peninsula. "Never in a million years did I think I’d end up in the same community where I grew up," she says. "I didn’t think too much of the house until I went up to the second floor and looked out at the view. I thought, My God, I’m going to make an offer."

Metal railings bring a touch of the exterior ocean liner aesthetic inside. (Click image to enlarge)

Peck bought the home, but because of the great expense involved in repairing what she calls "about 105 things that needed to be fixed," she decided it was cheaper to tear it down and start anew. A cousin in the construction business referred her to Craig Schultz and Scott Laidlaw, partners in the Corona Del Mar firm Laidlaw Schultz Architects.

During their first meeting, Peck told them about her lifetime affinity for the ocean. Growing up on the Peninsula, she had the kind of barefoot lifestyle that involved sailing, surfing and waterskiing—sports she continues to enjoy today. "I’m happiest without my shoes on," she confesses.

The Peninsula also nurtured her interest in cruise ships, "especially the great old liners" like the Queen Mary, the Art Déco icon permanently docked at Long Beach since 1967.

When Peck told the architects she wanted something along the lines of Le Corbusier’s 1929 Villa Savoye, they were thrilled. They considered the house the perfect inspiration. "I think the early modernists were borrowing from those cruise liners," says Schultz. "All the pipe rails and white-on-white—they were obviously looking at what was going on in the industrial portion of their society at the time."

Inspired by Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, the original design was softened by the facade’s curved windows. (Click image to enlarge) 

A month later, the partners produced a drawing that left Peck, a novice to homebuilding, in awe. "There were all the windows in the front, and bridges and railings," she recalls. "They just executed everything that I said so perfectly." Far from the surf shack she originally envisioned, the resulting 3,600-square-foot house is more like a luxury beach loft.

Because of its location and Peck’s ocean-oriented lifestyle, the design centered around the waterfront and views. The home echoes the white rectangular shape of Villa Savoye and borrows its great expanses of glass in the form of double-height windows. The curve of the windows along a corner of the facade, combined with the occasional railed decks that open up to the ocean, recall the elegance of a Déco ocean liner.

The windows become the defining element of the double-height living room and adjoining upstairs office. The architects’ ingenious use of frosted glass along the bottom of the windows creates privacy, shielding from public view those sitting on the low, plush sofas the architects designed and the Binotti leather chairs, while permitting natural light to enter.
The Villa Savoye’s white concrete exteriors would never hold up in what Schultz describes as a "fairly brutal" oceanfront environment. Nor did the architects want such an austere look for their outdoorsy client. "The materials were a key ingredient to all," Schultz explains. In addition to smooth white concrete, the exterior boasts marine-grade stainless steel and Texas limestone, giving the home its own identity and the benefit of texture. "When we started bringing in stone elements and natural wood, we got away from the machine approach that characterized the ’20s modern movement and gave Christie a house that was a bit warmer than a strictly white-box modern," says Schultz.

Borrowing from later modernists of the mid 20th century, the architects continued the limestone from exterior to interior, where it becomes the foundation for a bi-level Australian walnut bookcase. The bookcase serves many functions, in addition to its most practical use of providing storage and display areas. On the first level, it screens the entrance from the living room, "but still allows peek-a-boo views of ocean," says Schultz. In the living room, the bookcase becomes the main architectural feature and then twists around and serves as the backbone of the office.

Maritime mementos adorn the bedroom. (Click image to enlarge) 

Australian walnut bookcases are also a fixture in the master bedroom, where they line a wall and the edge of a raised platform that elevates the bed, providing a better ocean view and more privacy. In addition to their architectural function, the shelves gave Peck a place to display the ship and surfing memorabilia she collects, from coffee-table books on ocean liners to vintage surfboards.

Throughout, the architects chose low-maintenance, high-end materials in a marine palette of subtle blues, greens and grays. The floors are bamboo, a silver-gray Brazilian slate or concrete. The large pieces of rock in the Jurassic granite on the kitchen countertops is evocative of the beach. Blue-veined lapis lines the countertops in the office and master bedroom. "It’s all really easy to take care of," Peck says, which is even more important when she is visited by her 10 nieces and nephews, who live nearby.

The house is raised, heightening one’s perspective while looking out at the ocean and adding privacy to what would have been a house directly on the beach. The only thing that stands between the home and tide is a five-foot boardwalk. "This house takes such great advantage of this location," Peck says. "When I open all the drapes it’s almost as if I’m outside."

Peck’s everyday view of the Queen Mary is supplemented by the maritime activity of one of Southern California’s busiest ports. "I used to wake up at 5:00 a.m. and drive to watch the cruise ships come in," she says. "Now I can see them from my house."

Because of the home’s prominent beachfront location, it has garnered a lot of attention. "It became the talk of the town," she says. "Everybody was so interested." As a result, Peck, a self-described hermit who is a freelance writer and community volunteer, suddenly found herself thrust into the spotlight. She embraced this by opening the doors of her house for several fundraisers. "The house has made me more of a people person, which is good," she says. "It’s nice that I can help people by loaning out my house."

Laidlaw Schultz Architects
949.645.9982
www.lsarchitects.com