Modern Family

With soft furnishings, slick accessories, and gallons of white floor paint, designer Maya Williams turned this 1950s house in Pacific Palisades, California, into a hip beach retreat for a family of eight (and growing!).

Maya commissioned the driftwood coffee table base from a Florida artist who gathers natural wood from the beach and sculpts it into custom furniture. The rippled silk Tibetan rug, paired with sea-foam walls, hints at the beach beyond. Beachy pillows don’t have to mean sailor stripes and anchors. The homeowner wanted global references that would reflect her family’s diverse cultural background, so Maya brought in soft blue and green prints to pay tribute to the sea in a surprising way.

Products (March 2010): Pillows, Hollywood at Home. Sofa fabric, Romo. Drapery fabric, Designers Guild. Rug, Aga John. Stool Grace Home Furnishings. Coffee table, Carl Woodland.