It has all the elements of an epic movie: an overlooked genius, a thoughtful hero, a skilled sidekick. Randy Hild stars as a surfer who brought a piece of history to life
For Randy and Debbie Hild, the journey to painstakingly remodel their new home in Laguna Niguel, California took four years. “We sold our [old] house and gave ourselves a 3-mile radius to find a single-story, flat-roof midcentury modern home,” says Randy. They eventually found one that had been designed by George Bissell, a lesser-known contemporary of Joseph Eichler’s.
The couple vowed to honor Bissell’s vision even while making changes to fit their needs. Randy took advantage of transitioning between jobs to devote six months to getting the remodel right. Randy told designer Mason St. Peter, “Don’t treat this like a museum. If it doesn’t make sense, don’t be afraid to make it livable.”
St. Peter saw potential in the existing cathedral ceilings, impressive fireplace, and the number of windows already in place. He left the front of the house, bedrooms, and bathrooms alone, but removed the wall between the living room and kitchen, and extended the newly open room into the backyard, taking the house from 1,700 square feet to 2,000. He also convinced Randy to push the ceilings of the addition up to 13 feet to take advantage of the light from that side of the house.
As construction progressed, the family pored over inspiration photos from the 1960s decorating books they collect, including vintage Sunset titles. They made every design decision together. Randy’s adherence to his source material extended to the exteriors, as well, including the front yard fence and deck out back.
For the outdoor area surrounding those two features, Randy hired landscape architect Ann Christoph, who previously worked with George Bissell’s firm. He asked her to plant the garden she would have planted in the ’60s, but as low-water and native as possible. She filled the yard with structural foliage, bonsai junipers, and a black pine tree. “It’s super-classic midcentury modern,” Randy says of the results.
Design: Mason St. Peter, Los Angeles and San Francisco; masonstpeter.com. Landscape architecture: Ann Christoph, South Laguna, CA; ac-la.com.
Nothing changed in the atrium except the color of the door and new bamboo plantings. Even the classic philodendrons stayed. Randy claimed the third bedroom for his office with a sliding door into the atrium as a private entrance for clients.
With three previous home renovations under his belt, Randy had a clear idea of what he wanted for the kitchen, centering on a large island for Debbie’s work (she runs a boutique toffee company, Haute Toffee). This one is 6 feet by 12 feet and steps away from a built-in desk for her paperwork.
Randy at first wanted all-white cabinetry with no hardware, but St. Peter talked him into plywood for the bottom and the island. “It’s affordable, it’s simple, it smells good, it’s warm,” St. Peter says. “It does a lot of the work for you.” To fit the huge dimensions of the island, they chose poured concrete with white pigment.
“The quality of light that comes in from this side of the property is so beautiful at all times of day,” St. Peter says. He added clerestory windows to mimic the sliding glass doors beneath and let in even more light.
“Randy has a pop sensibility in his arsenal,” St. Peter says of the guts it took to paint the fireplace pink. “It’s great to bounce that off of the natural materials in the kitchen.”
The home used to end about where the kitchen island does now. St. Peter removed a porch to expand the interior, and tore out a wall dividing the kitchen and living room, left. The family furnished their home slowly, making relationships with dealers at stores like Archive in Laguna Hills. Randy also found that Instagram is a great source. “There’s a younger generation of dealers in their 20s and 30s who list there exclusively,” he says.
Surfing was a natural theme for the art wall. Randy collected pieces for years before moving into this house, which had the space to absorb them. The piano is a Steinway built the same year as the house.
In a nod to his passion for surfing, Randy has a wood board shaped by famed surfer Greg Noll. It’s based off a board shape common in Hawaii that was used more than 100 years ago. Furthermore, “I have every issue of every surf magazine published until about 2000,” Randy says. He references them—and his large collection of surfer and beach culture books—for inspiration for his line of surfer clothing, M. Nii.
This room has large sliders that lead to the yard and squeak out a view of the ocean. The full-length curtains block light but also add softness to the spare space.
A redo of the kitchen led to pushing the house about 12 feet into the backyard and adding huge sliding doors. “First thing every morning, that back door opens up,” Randy says. “It’s almost as if you’re in the yard, but you’re protected from the wind.” Randy had this deck built from plans in Sunset’s How to Build Decks for Outdoor Living, published in 1972. Guests tend to migrate to the outdoor cone fireplace after dinner.