Now, the family of four is happily settling into their sunny, new surroundings. Life is good and Katy Naghavi can add another satisfied, returning client to her rapidly growing list.
The home’s well-proportioned interior architecture is enhanced with a minimal palette of finishes. The traditionally inspired detailing is modest, and the many tall windows and French doors allow sunlight to flood into the family rooms, creating an almost spa-like sense of calm.
In contrast, the festive colors, oversize textures and playful patterns, which characterize some of the more casual furnishing pieces, add a friendly warmth and informality to the general scheme of things. The result is a series of living spaces, which are wonderfully fresh, airy, vibrant, colorful and cozy, with relaxed comfort being the key element throughout.
Many of the upholstered pieces, lighting and window treatments were designed by Naghavi and custom-fabricated by her vendors of choice. Antiques and accent pieces were found by the designer and her client while shopping in local boutique stores and, close to completion, family heirlooms were retrieved from storage.
Once all the major elements were in place, Naghavi was able to identify the perfect locations for the couple’s up-beat art collection. When it came to the kids’ rooms, the couple’s two little girls were also keen to provide design ideas of their own, which were, of course, included! The overall result is a happy-feeling place to be!
“We wanted to feel like we had upgraded, but not in an overly, serious kind of a way” explains the husband, a busy financial consultant and lifelong, local surfer. “We wanted to be able to enjoy entertaining, but we also like to keep things simple. We were not looking for a model home. We both grew up in California by the beach and in the Summer, we pretty much live outdoors.”
With two kids in and out of the pool all day, plus a couple of dogs, low-maintenance had to be a key factor in the selection process. Naghavi, who has an extensive background in international hotel design, was able to draw on her years of experience in putting together projects, which rank high in the good-looks department, while being surprisingly low-maintenance for the owner.
The only thing that pleases her more than a tricky design challenge is a truly satisfied client. She now has many, and in a town that tends to be characterized by big egos and self-styled “experts”, that’s a pretty major accomplishment.
