Crystal Cove, Newport Beach, California

Crystal Cove was my first project, and I have never stopped being grateful for it. A new construction home in a gated community above the Pacific, taken from the first drawing to the final placed lamp. Beginning a career on a house that did not yet exist taught me the lesson that has governed every project since. The interior has to be decided while the drawings are still on the table, not once the walls are standing.

The wrought iron windows and doors set the character of the house before anything else was chosen, and every material that followed was selected to sit correctly beside that iron. Custom cabinetry ran throughout, including the kitchen and a wine cellar. Lighting was made to our specification. The work continued outside, where landscaping, outdoor lighting and water features formed part of the same scheme. I am doing the same work now for families building on Lake Murray.