The homeowners wanted a retreat that felt inseparable from its setting rather than imposed on it. The brief called for one calm material language, flexible enough to move from a dramatic double-height gathering space to quiet, sheltered bedrooms, while every outdoor threshold stayed as open as the coastline itself.
Architecture that steps with the terrain
Set into a steep site above the Pacific, the residence was conceived as an extension of the land rather than a freestanding object. Existing stonework and mature coastal trees informed the plan, letting the home settle naturally into its slope instead of dominating it.
A curved entry stair and generous under-stair storage turn circulation into a quiet, considered sequence — practical space folded into the architecture rather than added on top of it.
A double-height living core open to the ocean
Full-height glazing draws daylight and long ocean views into the main gathering space, while an open plan lets those qualities continue into adjacent rooms rather than stopping at a single dramatic viewpoint.
A curved staircase introduces a sculptural counterpoint to the home's rectilinear lines, softening circulation between levels without interrupting the openness of the room below.
Dining designed as part of the architecture
Woven oak chairs and a sculptural stone table soften the surrounding stonework, creating an easy place for meals that still reads as part of the home's larger material story.
Quiet corners tucked into thick walls
An arched window carves out a coastal study with its own framed view, while a compact workspace nook fits inside the bedroom floor without competing with it. Both rooms borrow daylight from the same broad openings that define the rest of the home.
A restful bedroom floor above the coastline
The bedroom palette turns warmer and more enveloping. An arched window repeats the study's motif at a larger scale, while the primary suite keeps its material language close to the living areas below, with ceramic details adding a softer, more personal touch.
Outdoor rooms built for changing weather
A timber pergola provides shade and creates a protected transition between the living room and the exposed coastal garden. Terraces are distributed along the slope so outdoor activity can unfold across the site rather than on a single platform, each one offering a different balance of shelter, sunlight, and ocean exposure.
A home shaped as one coordinated whole
Arcaya led this Big Sur residence as a complete architecture and interiors project, aligning siting, custom millwork, material palette, furniture, lighting, and outdoor living into a single coordinated plan. Every room was considered against the others, so the same restraint carries from the double-height living core through to the bedroom floor and out onto the terraces.
By treating architecture, custom elements, and furnishings as one connected system, we shaped a home that feels visually coherent and natural to live in — a clear expression of Arcaya's whole-home approach to design, from first concept to the final styled space.
