Field Trip: Monterey Beachfront Remodel
Attention to detail on these floor to ceiling, dramatic ripple fold sheer fold draperies.
It happens quite often - a client, family member or friend will ask if we are willing to travel for a job. As my step brother (a paint contractor), likes to remind me all the time, “if it don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense.” Being born and raised in Long Beach, we appreciate the sentiment of any hip hop inspired business philosophy, and always remain openminded to the idea of travel for interesting and unique opportunities, like leading a remodel for a condo that has been in Mariel’s family since the 80s (and it showed!) in Monterey, while putting the finishing touches on it with new window treatments.
The Concept
Any job we take that lends itself to being anchored by a concept immediately moves up in rank in our book in terms of excitement and inspiration. And to be fair, we try to anchor ALL our jobs in the most basic concept - what is the client’s aesthetic, lifestyle, and vibe - but an oceanfront condo surrounded by the beauty of the Monterey bay and peninsula opened the door to a lot of opportunities.
Inspired by Nature, Built to Appreciate It
In the case of the window treatments, we had plenty of inspiration just out the back door in the form of the sand on the beach, the movement of the ocean waters in the Monterey Bay, and the beauty of the natural vegetation all around the property. Here is a quick look and breakdown of the inspiration for each key window treatment (this inspo carried itself to other parts of the remodel, from paint colors to bathroom tile, too):
Living room draperies - We decided to do all the draperies in a ripple fold style as we felt this perfectly evoked the essence of the ocean just out the back door (we’ve said this before about oceanfront drapery choices). Color-wise, with the walls being white, we wanted something that both gave the room a bit of contrast, but more importantly with the seemingly perpetual cool gray days in that part of the California coast, we wanted a sheer that would also bring warmth to the common area.
Maintaining the oceanfront views was essential, so a sheer was a no brainer, particularly as privacy is of no real concern…the closest real neighbors in that direction being sea otters.
Bedroom draperies - Here we wanted to follow the same ripple fold pattern for the reasons just talked about, but instead of going with a sheer, blackout lining was chosen for obvious reasons where privacy and sleep are important. The fabric we selected had a cool oatmeal color, reminiscent of the sand on the beach just below. The primary bedroom got a nice center-open ripple fold drapery, while the guest bedroom got a one-way-draw, given the respective configurations of each room. We felt the split draw in the primary really framed up the ocean view, too.
A secondary benefit and consideration is the noise dampening effect the slightly heavier fabric combined with the blackout lining provided in the bedrooms. The guest bedroom does face the pool side of the condo, and is not too far from Highway 1, so having a bit of auditory insulation, in addition to total darkness, helps with sleep.
Woven wood roman shades - in the kitchen we selected unlined woven wood roman shade. Again, as privacy is not a concern in that part of the house, and to help keep the space feeling open and breezy, we prioritized opacity here. The color and texture inspiration for these roman shades was the natural shrubbery in the coastal dunes all around the condo The northern (well, central technically) California coast has some beautiful greens, tans, and browns, and we felt that both the texture and color of these roman shades nailed it.
The subtle texture of this ripple fold style blackout drapery was meant to evoke the sandy beach and flowing waves just beyond.
A Family Affair
As you probably know, we are a small, family owned business, and this trip was truly a family affair. From baby Nolan’s first hands-on install (yeah right), to Finn-boy’s critical eye (double yeah right), to the design guidance Mariel provided on the whole remodel, we enjoyed the opportunity to load up the truck, head up the coast, and play our part in finishing this beautiful space.
