SADDLES AND SURFBOARDS

This dreamy Southern California beach cottage combines the best of European farmhouse style with the warmth and light of oceanside living.

See how this Southern California beach cottage combines the best of European farmhouse style with the warmth and light of seaside living.

What first began as an opportunity to design their family’s dream home from the ground up turned into a career for both mother and daughter. “It became a complete passion, and my daughter got totally involved in it too,” Trisha says. “We went back to school to study the business and skill of interior design and are thrilled to be diving into our practice with Bass Interior Design.”

EUROPEAN-FARMHOUSE BEACH COTTAGE

While this was their first project, as designers they were uncompromising in their vision to combine their love of beach living with their appreciation for country life. It shows in the intricate and custom details of the project that they worked with architect William Belden Guidero and interior designer Kim Woods, who advised the mother-daughter duo. As with most properties near the beach, limited space was a consideration, but Trisha still wanted a formal entrance. “Typically, with beach houses you get a box and you build to the lot size,” says Trisha, “so when working with the architect, we tried to create spaces that felt like a house that you might find and fix up.”

They were uncompromising in their vision to combine their love of beach living with their appreciation for country life.

MATERIAL GIRL. In keeping with the theme of the house, Trisha chose limestone slab countertops and Belgian Zellige backsplash tiles. The cafe curtains on the window over the sink are a sweet finishing touch. Kim counseled Trisha and Lane along the way, giving them helpful advice and insight.

They also love to welcome guests into their home, so the three massive, sliding pocket doors on the ground floor were a must. “The home can handle a ton of people and that is how we like it,” says Trisha. When all three doors are open, it’s difficult to tell where the outside begins and the inside ends, as both the front porch, living areas and an exterior courtyard become one massive, open entertaining space.

MADE IN THE DETAILS

In every detail, Trisha kept the theme and aesthetic in mind. “We fell in love with the warmth and sense of history of European farm homes, but hoped to find a way to strip it back and create something a bit different,” Trisha says. It really helped that Kim has what Trisha called "a love for old crunchy things like we do," she says. "It was a good fit." The details include everything from the warm tones of the vintage ceiling beams to the Belgian Zellige tile backsplash in the kitchen, one of Trisha’s favorite details. “It reminds me a little bit of an oyster shell, so it gave us our beach flair, but it still was consistent,” she says.

When it came to the shiplap that covers the walls of the entire ground floor, Trisha chose a narrow gap between planks and had the woodworkers miter the edges instead of casing it for a cleaner and more finished look. “Because our home is almost entirely painted a warm white, the woodwork adds a little architectural interest and a clean backdrop for the other design layers,”Trisha says.

“We fell in love with the warmth and sense of history of European farm homes, but hoped to find a way to strip it back and create

different.” something a bit

february | march 2020

The warm white paint she chose covers almost the entire interior and exterior of the home, so it took a few tries to get the exact shade. “It's Dunn-Edwards' Birch White, but we cut it by 50 percent. It's a nice and warm white, and it reflects the light down here really well,”Trisha says.

GATHERED FINDS

Before they even built the home, Trisha and Lane took a trip to Round Top, Texas, with friend and fellow designer, Kim Woods, to hunt for everything from lighting fixtures to furnishings. “We brought back pieces, and we actually made rooms around them,”Trisha says. A dough table and two lamps from Round Top grace the living room; a set of vintage chairs finishes their second-floor office space; and a hanging light fixture in the master bedroom with a piece of broken glass still bears the scars of the journey from Round Top.

BUILT LIKE A DREAM. Custom built from the ground up in 2018, this European farmhouse-styled cottage is warm and welcoming from the first glance.

WARMING ELEMENTS. A dreamy living space, the custom limestone fireplace, vintage wood beams and individually planked shiplap capture the true essence of a European farmhouse.

|TOP LEFT| INSIDE OUT. Opening up the home’s three pocket doors transforms the already open living space and allows the family to host and entertain with ease. |TOP RIGHT| MAKE WAY. A formal entry is a rarity in beach houses, but it was one space that Trisha especially wanted to carve out. An opening in the brick wall keeps it from feeling too closed off, while the natural wood-plank ceiling creates a space that is unique compared with the rest of the house. |RIGHT| COASTAL CASUAL. This third-floor living space houses a couch with waterresistant material that Trisha and Lane say is a lifesaver, especially at the beach.

|TOP RIGHT| PERFECT PIECES. It took some time for Trisha and Lane to find this vintage Turkish rug with the right colors for their kitchen. “You don’t want to settle for something, because you know you’ll always have it,” says Lane.

|TOP LEFT| VINTAGE WORKS. An open space on the second floor serves as the working office of Bass Interior Design, where two chairs sourced from Round Top add the antique touch that both Trisha and Lane love.

DARING DINING IDEAS. An opening in the brick wall connects the dining space to the formal entrance, while a Round Top-sourced light fixture completes the space. The choice to have two-textured dining room chairs was part stylistic and part practical, as the faux leather seats are perfect for beach living.

|TOP| GOOD TO THE GRAIN. The floors throughout the home are European white oak with a custom stain. “We love them and we use them in as many projects as will let us,” says Trisha. “We like the grain pattern in the flooring too; it gives it just enough character.” |BOTTOM| AGED TO PERFECTION. Several pieces in the home came from a previous house in Idaho. This antique fits perfectly in this niche and serves as the drop zone for keys, purses and the like. Above it hangs a painting gifted to Bass Interior Design by one of their first clients.

BRITISH BEAUTY. With a dramatic bed frame, vaulted ceiling and purposefully mismatched side tables for a gathered effect, the master bedroom is both stately and warm.

QUEEN’S BATH. Quaint cafe curtains, layers of warm whites and library lighting over the mirrors make this master bathroom a calming oasis. One of Trisha’s favorite details is the unlacquered brass fixtures on the bathtub.

|TOP LEFT| UNEXPECTED STYLE. This second-floor laundry room is unique with an oval-shaped window and a leather-edged laundry cart. |TOP RIGHT| TROPHY ROOM. This room is home to Trisha’s 22year-old son. They selected a cool gray wall color to give it a more masculine aura and incorporated his love for outdoor activities with the hanging antlers. |RIGHT| NEUTRAL NEST. “I didn’t want my room to be masculine or feminine,” says Lane of the space she created for herself. Instead, she focused on making it all white, a peaceful place where she can withdraw and be refreshed.