Inland Lane Residence, Malibu
Architectural and Interior Design: Sophie Goineau
Landscape Architect: Real Natives
Millwork: Agave Designs Inc.
Inland lane, a Malibu cliffside beach house built in 1965, was reimagined by opening it up with soaring ceilings, expansive ocean views, and wide windows framing sunsets. The residential overhaul, commissioned by a young family in Careyes, Mexico, aimed at creating a stylish, modern home that could balance the requirements of the clients' newborn.
Achieving harmony meant opening up walls, redistributing the light that filters in from the ceiling and all angles, and reconfiguring the main entry points. The result maximizes the house focal point— panoramic views along the length of the building to the ocean beyond. In this atypical T-shaped architecture, the living room, kitchen and guest ensuite bedroom open up to the pool, so when the doors and windows are open, it gives the sense of a villa with a separate bungalow, cabana and pool house. A play on space was created through the non-traditional use of millwork and partitions, including the floating storage island in the primary bedroom, which doubles as a headboard and minimizes closed-off spaces.
The main interior feature is the majestic ceiling sequence of “breaking waves” composed of thermally modified ash wood in four layers of juxtaposing angles, which slatting creates a natural sun shield in a house perpetually exposed to the strong West coast elements. Another showpiece feature is found in the living room’s rose gold bar– a riot of reflective surfaces that mirror the sea and sunlight hues in flamingo rose, tangerine pink and shimmering gold.
Every material was chosen with a mind for the home’s Malibu location, using deceptively simple finishes to great effect. Dynamically glazed glass windows and doors provide additional internal temperature stability in a climate of extreme fluctuations. Corresponding with the interior ceiling, outdoor screens of fire retardant wood are enhanced by its antimicrobial, insect repellent, and naturally environmentally-friendly properties. From the main massive pivot teak door that echoes the linear ceiling pattern, expansive white oak floors, clay plaster and micro-cement wall finishes, white oak closets and bathroom millwork, to marine-grade wood in a multifunctional playroom that opens to the outdoors, and a wood foot path that runs the exterior perimeter of the house— every choice is part of an inherently calming, continuous flow, both ambient and visual.
