Coastal Getaway House First Floor Reveal

We've been talking about this on social media over the last few weeks, but today is the day we can share our final photos from our Getaway House project with the one and only Gray Malin! They found a rental property along the coast that had so much potential to be the epitome of a seaside getaway, and we had fun transforming this house with him to reflect his artwork and create a beautiful backdrop for vacation memories! Scroll through for more of the most Instagrammable house in Montecito :) But first, we must see how it all started... It was already a beautiful property that was also a short term rental for many years, but we knew that a refresh would step it up just that much more! We'll see more of the exterior of the home in later posts, but this gorgeous Benjamin Moore Water's Edge color just puts a smile on my face instantly! It's a bright shade that immediately evokes the blues you see in so much of Gray's work, so it was a perfect choice to accent the exterior and interior elements of the architecture. And who doesn't love a good dog doormat? This project primarily focused on finish updates, changes to paint and furniture, and adding wallpaper at the beginning, and then grew to include the bathrooms and kitchen fully remodeled as well. As you enter the house, you have the mudroom, media room, and secondary bedroom to the left, the stairs directly ahead, and the dining room, kitchen, and living room to the right. We modernized the silhouette of the stair railing and brought in that same Benjamin Moore Water's Edge to tie in those exterior details, plus custom printed Gray Malin surfboards to welcome you in! You'll see in this angle that we used a vibrant blue striped runner all the way up the stairs as well, to replace the existing carpeting and bring more color into the room. You also catch a glimpse of the abundance of artwork we were lucky enough to pull from Gray's portfolio of work - in fact, a lot of inspiration for color palettes throughout the house started with the artwork too, as you'll see through later on. This special light fixture was actually part of our initial concept boards, and it stuck around through multiple design iterations. That seafoam color and its various tones come up in small details throughout the house, and I love knowing that all started with this one piece at the very beginning. Detachable cushions are a must with a rental meant for big families or groups, and the nautical touch with white piping against the bright navy was perfect against the woven texture of the chairs in this dining room. The original fireplace was made with yellow-toned Santa Barbara sandstone, and we originally planned to leave it as is, but both fireplaces here and in the living room started to feel dated next to the other improvements. The mosaic tile is another splash of pattern that is still quiet enough to let the rest of the room shine! The media room was our favorite to transform! The way it was before is perfectly acceptable for a media space for a family, but this was one of our big opportunities to make this the 'most Instagrammable house in Montecito', and we definitely went for it! I don't know how many people would want coral trim and paneling in their home, but it is a great pop and conversation starter for a house that's being rented out for a fun weekend or week away! His Palm Beach Colony Club series of photos were a direct inspiration for this palette, and we love the "dotted stripe" wallpaper that you perceive from a distance as another fun touch. When you get closer, you'll see that the dots are actually a bird's eye view of beach umbrellas - and it's actually one of Gray's signature wallpapers! Our goal for this room was a comfortable, functional, fun, and whimsy space where memories can be made, and we're really happy with how it turned out. This space is a blend of furniture courtesy of Williams-Sonoma and our personal touches, like that fun table lamp, custom pillows, a textured console, and custom patterned ottomans. In the original kitchen, the range hood attracted all of the visual attention, and took away from the brightness of the skylights as well. The kitchen island was unnecessarily massive too. The Water's Edge color of the new cabinets just makes me breathe a little easier, and instantly activates vacation vibes! The skylights operate at full force now, and the kitchen stays light and bright throughout all daylight hours in a beautiful way. We shrank the range hood considerably, and added white oak open shelving on either side as a blank slate to access dinnerware and change the decor when the need arises. There's also plenty of storage and fully decked out cookware and supplies, courtesy of Williams-Sonoma, to give you a worry-free vacation experience. I would take every opportunity to use that gorgeous range and Le Creuset cookware while I was staying here too! This powder bathroom is no stranger to wallpaper, but we thought why not bring the beach inside... The scalloped detail on the vanity is one of my favorite things here! The same Benjamin Moore Water's Edge color comes in through the paneling, and we used one of Gray's beach scene wallpapers for a new whimsical touch. Another make me smile moment! The Santa Barbara sandstone fireplace in the living room was quite the statement of the living room! But we saw the inefficient areas of space on either side, and the opportunity to add more seating for game nights or a big conversation pit. We now have a custom white oak mantle, with a gorgeous Carrera marble hearth and mantle surround, flanked by built in storage drawers and open shelving for another great styling moment. Large furniture pieces were courtesy of Williams-Sonoma as well in this room, and we added in our own ottomans, textured side table, and custom throw pillows. I love the wide striped drapery that echoes the blue stripe in the sofa as well! This house layout is special in that there is also a spacious, full bedroom suite downstairs, and it can be a great option for less mobile members of a family that can't be climbing the stairs all week, or a young family that wants to keep a crying baby away from everyone else. This bedroom also has inefficient use of space, but this time that space is on either side of a closet. We also had dark beams that felt distracting, but we waited until demo to see if they were structural or not. We used the opportunity to create a unique coffered ceiling with those beams that works really well with the striped wallpaper. The stripes evoke a cabana feel, and that came from the Coral Casino photos we used here that Gray has taken in the past! We added a combination of open shelves and closed door storage in here as well, and switched the closet doors from sliding doors to normal hinged doors. The custom printed window treatments and fun bedding, along with the textured headboard and frame, gives this room a lot of character. This is the transition mudroom area between the entry and the media room, where the garage door opens up into the house. It's quite large for a mudroom area, so we thought about how to maximize uses for the space. We mimicked the idea of the built ins and the bench from the original house, and added two working stations for anyone who may need to do some work while they're on vacation (been there!). We also continued the coffered ceiling into this area as a continuation from the bedroom, and took advantage of the opportunity to use another fun patterned wallpaper! We couldn't leave the laundry room either - we didn't have to change the layout, but why not do another fun wallpaper, right? One of Gray's most recognizable beach prints was the perfect choice for the wallpaper here. The touch of yellow in the print inspired the use of the golden yellow striped Roman shade above the window, and we replaced the overhead storage with oak open shelving for easier access to everything their guests would need for a long stay!
If you're in the market for a Montecito beach getaway, feel free to book the house here , and please do tag us so we can see you all enjoying the house! And stay tuned for the next few weeks to see the second floor and the vacation oasis we created outside :)