This home celebrates the meeting of sea and sand

Step inside Clyde and Melissa Dyrdahl’s coastal California home and you might feel like surfing. Walls, flooring, countertops, lighting, and even curtains echo the shapes and colors of the shore. The house literally makes waves. Clyde, a contractor, built much of it himself.


The ground-floor living area has an open plan. Meandering lines define specific spaces, from the curving blue-green plaster-covered wall that shapes the entry hall to the wavy line in the concrete and hardwood floor that draws the eye into the kitchen and family room.

The kitchen expands on the sea-inspired theme: cabinets are a light and airy blend of maple and rippled glass. The island’s butcher-block top is divided into two sections by an undulating strip of stainless steel.

One side is left untreated as a work surface; the other is covered with a lacquer finish (the kind used for automobiles) to serve as a snack bar.

Undulating details repeat in the lighting and in the curtain rail.

DESIGN:  Lorri Kershner,  L. Kershner Design, Santa Cruz, CA; 831/426-0177)