Lightening the look: Fresh design helps family fall in love with Del Sur home

A large backyard and hefty square footage can go a long way in helping home buyers decide to purchase a house, despite qualms about the interior aesthetics. That was certainly the case for a couple who overcame their reservations about a dark and dated interior when they bought a two-story, 3,800-square-foot home in Del Sur in 2019. What sold the couple, who asked to be anonymous, was the big yard and the spacious rooms of the five-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home, built in 2013.

The couple bought the house and brought in Realm Design to lighten the look in the kitchen, playroom, and primary bath. Now they’re in love. Read about the creative changes made that resulted in a bright, luxuriously playful home for this growing family in my new story for the UT’s Hot Property Estates magazine.

Want Your Kids to Cook? Start With Kid-Safe Kitchen Tools

One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is the life skill of cooking. Get them started early making nutritious dishes and they are more likely to develop lifelong healthy eating habits. But they need to be safe at the kitchen counter with tools that fit their small hands and won’t endanger them. My new story for the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Food section offers plenty of options from eggbeaters and peelers to choppers and even knives. Thank you to Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center for your help!

Mid-Century Modern Makeover in La Jolla Shores

He bought a mid-century modern duplex in the heart of La Jolla Shores as a single man, living in one unit and renting out the other. Then he moved to New York and got married. The couple decided to relocate back to San Diego and renovate his—now their—duplex. The rental unit was updated, but their unit got two new floors and a totally reinvented interior. They’ve got the space—and view—they wanted with a modern, yet warm look. Take a look at what they did in my new Hot Property Estates story.

Serene Spaces in Coronado

Making a move from the Northeast to Southern California can be overwhelming, especially with four children. This family took it slow, renting for a while, before committing to a two-story, 3,840-square-foot home with five bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms in Coronado. It had the perfect location, close to the Village and the beach. The house, however, looked every inch its 40-plus years and was short a child’s bedroom upstairs. The fifth bedroom, downstairs, was fine as a playroom for their youngest, but the parents wanted all the kids — two girls and two boys, who ranged in age from 5 to 14 — to have bedrooms on the same level as theirs. The solution was a top-to-bottom renovation that would lighten up the home and rework the floor plan to accommodate the whole family. My new story for the March issue of the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Hot Property Estates reveals the process and results of this renovation.

Hardwood Floor Options: Beauty Without the Beastly

For all its beauty, hardwood is pretty high maintenance, especially if you have a lot of foot traffic, not to mention small kids and pets, who can scratch it up and leave hard-to-clean messes. But if traditional hardwood is oh-so-20th century, the desire for its warmth and naturalness remains. My new piece for the San Diego Union-Tribune's Home & Garden section explores options including engineered hardwood, laminate, porcelain tiles, luxury vinyl tile, and bamboo for a hardwood look without the cost, maintenance or vulnerabilities of true hardwood floors.

Columbia District Perfect Perch

This 30th-floor condo in San Diego’s downtown Columbia District turned out to be the perfect aerie to hole up in during the worst of the pandemic. But it took some doing by interior designer Mark Stocker to transform an empty new construction space into a modernist dream for the couple who now own it. The dreamy views didn’t hurt either but it’s a delicate balance to create a special interior space that doesn’t overwhelm the stunner beyond the windows. It was a fun story to write and it’s in the February issue of the newly renamed San Diego Union-Tribune magazine, Hot Property Estates.