Modern Luxury Interiors: Belle of the Beach

The first time Texans Jana and Mike McGuire visited the luxurious The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in 1987, they were drawn to the area's coastal beauty and ambience, and resolved to someday make a SoCal move. Fast-forward to 2016, and the couple is now spending most of their days watching passing whales and enjoying the private beach club at their newly built contemporary home just down the road from the hotel in Dana Point's prestigious Monarch Bay waterfront community.

"We actually said those words—wouldn't it be nice to live right here—and 30 years later, we're living right here," says Mike. "We love the water, the view and everything. What's not to love?"

About five years ago, while visiting Monterey, Calif., on a business trip, the urge to make the move from Houston to Orange County resurfaced when the McGuires saw some gorgeous waterfront homes while out on a drive. That's when they decided it was time to buy. The pair—he a periodontist; and she, a housewife with a flair for design—settled on the Laguna Beach/Dana Point area. They then hired a local realtor, found the ideal plot of land and set out to create their brand-new California dream home in lieu of the 1960s home that occupied the space.

"When we were looking for a place, we wanted someplace with easy beach access," says Mike. "I like to walk the beach every day, and I didn't want to have to drive a car down; we can walk from here or take our golf cart. Also, one of the unique things about this spot is [that] we have a private beach club we lease to The St. Regis. It's their access to the beach, so we have all the amenities of The St. Regis, including beach butlers."

"Some people want to hire a team and say, 'Build my house and tell me when we're done,'" says Mike. "That's not the way we are. We want to be part of every decision. We want [to offer] a lot of input, and because of that, the house really belongs to us... the limestone on the outside, everything; the design is part of us."

The entire process took about three years from start to finish. The result? A 4,000-plus-square-foot, three-bedroom, 3½-bath, one-story home. Upon arrival, a limestone pathway placed over running water leads visitors past a spa and a sea fossil-filled limestone wall. After passing through an 11-foot-tall pivoting door and walking beneath a "singing" one-of-a-kind capiz shell chandelier (found by their daughter, Meg, who lives nearby in L.A.), an open resort-style home with towering ceilings awaits. Straight ahead, an entire wall of disappearing windows open to prime 270-degree views of the Pacific from Dana Point to Long Beach and a full-length patio filled with plentiful seating, eye-catching water features and fire pits.

"To open and peer through our front door immediately defines our vision for our home," says Jana. "We wanted to bring the view of the Pacific into immediate perspective and invite its calming nature to be the main focus and vision."

To maximize the views out front, the couple also created a sunset terrace and replaced a former pool with a small spa. On both the front and back patios, they worked with Geoscape Decor in Lake Forest for stylish furniture from Dedon, Kenneth Cobonpue, Kannoa and Janus et Cie.

Inside, the couple was inspired by the warm, serene setting of the ocean for their selection of stone, wood, furniture, art and decor—including limestone quarried from Jordan; figured and quartered koa wood from Hawaii; and even art by Fred Gemmell (Matrix Design co-owner and Williams' partner) above the entry console and in the powder room. Most of the larger furniture pieces in the open living area are by Minotti from Smink Inc. in Dallas and mingle with two leather tulip chairs by B&B Italia that took several months to craft and ship from Italy. Other standout pieces: a silver-leafed bed by Emerson in the guest bedroom, flanked by two nightstands refinished in white lacquer gloss and silver-leaf accents found at an antique store in San Francisco.

Frequent travelers, the couple culled many of their smaller pieces of furniture, art and decor while visiting various parts of the world. "That's what makes a house a home—all the little things that represent your life, the memories," says Jana. For example, two sculptures on each side of the main living space's ocean-facing windows were found during a trip to Israel; a brass cloud table for the great room came from Paris; a pair of binoculars from a 1943 Japanese battleship were purchased from an antique dealer in the Netherlands (and are used today for whale and boat watching). They also commissioned artists, enlisting Susan George of Houston for a painting next to their great room fireplace and Shane Pennington of Dallas to design and create the sculptured tree hanging in the entry.

Some of the McGuires' favorite things after all was said and done? For Jana, the gorgeous chef's kitchen—complete with Miele speed, steam and double ovens; a six-burner Wolf range; four-seat granite bar; wine refrigerator; warming drawers and butler's pantry—particularly stands out. Mike especially loves how the outdoors integrate with the home's interior.