Rachel Moriarty Creates A San Diego Beach Beauty
Photographs by Deborah Shields. This is an updated version of an article written by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason in 2020.
Rachel Moriarty is a dazzling interior designer, known as much for her personal style as for her amazing rooms. The CEO and principal designer of her self-named design firm has clients ranging from creative entrepreneurs and single parents to architecture lovers with historic homes. For Susan, a California law firm partner with a love for poodles, Rachel created the perfect beach home. Its crowning attraction - a multilevel outdoor oasis.
Having been in the home for only a-year-and-a-half, Rachel and Susan had to move quickly to get things in the right shape. “It took us one year to complete the renovations,” Rachel begins. “We fully renovated all of the interior and exterior spaces of this home.” One of the design musts was a full exploration of Susan’s love for blue. The color is a strong repeating theme throughout the outdoor space as well as the interior of the home. “We affectionately call this home 50 Shades of Blue,” Rachel explains.
Located in La Jolla, an upscale beach community in San Diego, a great outdoor space was an absolute necessity for this home. In creating the design, Rachel looked to reflect the breathtaking beauty of the surroundings. Per Rachel, “the exterior spaces of this home stand out the most. Not only is the ocean view amazing but we went really bold with the fabric and color selection.”
The lounge is this outdoor space’s first major attraction. Perfect for partying, the expansive seating area can host large groups around the stylish fire pit or let just one person spread out as far as they want. Susan’s love of blue, deployed here to full effect, is a natural reflection of sun and sky while connecting the outdoor design seamlessly to the indoor. As Rachel recalls, “We used Cobalt Sky Vetrazzo for the kitchen passthrough window and for drink drop surfaces throughout the deck and spa area.”
With the color choice firmly in hand, fabric became the main concern for the outdoor lounge. While outdoor spaces in southern California don’t have to face the snow and cold of east coast winters, life by the sea still requires a certain toughness from any outdoor fabrics. “We used twenty different outdoor performance fabrics,” Rachel says about outfitting the lounge space. Pops of orange and white made appearances next to the home’s trademark blue, connecting the lounge space with the dining area seating nearby.
We all know that outdoor spaces are all about the dinner parties. For this beachside oasis, Rachel made sure that Susan would have plenty of room for entertaining. With seats for six, space for two more and a nice-looking grill hiding in the background, it’s sure to be the site for many sunset parties after a day at the beach.
While keeping strong to Susan’s love of blue, Rachel found moments to diversify the color palette while enhancing the intended feel of the space. One of the reasons blue is such an amazing color is that it has so many possible pairings. To keep this feeling like an energetic space as well as a retreat, Rachel opted for a high-energy shade of orange and used it to accent the lounge area, tabletop accessories, and brought in coral bar stools to accent the sparkling blue and white mosaic that tops the bar.
The design of the home’s deck and the beauty that surrounds it are so good; the only way it could be better is if there were more of it. Fortunately, there is. A quick trip down the stairs leads to a whole other level with a big surprise. And, best of all, the walk down the stairs offers a gorgeous view all the way to the ocean to keep visitors entertained on their way down to the lower deck.
On the lower level of the outdoor deck is a wonderful little casita. Complete with its own outdoor seating and a mini fridge it’s an ideal offering either as a guest space or as a beach house, allowing for quick stopovers without having to go all the way upstairs. Quiet and small, it gives a nice change of pace from the upper deck and another option for enjoying the outside.
Fuchsia takes over from orange as the accent color on the lower level. This slight change in color palette lets the two spaces distinguish themselves while remaining connected through the shared use of blue as the dominant color. Just as high in energy as the upstairs orange, the fuchsia accents in the casita add a romantic element to the cozy space, especially in the relationship between the juju hats, roman shades and the generous number of blooms that decorate the door.
Though small in size, the interior of the casita does not disappoint. “It’s my favorite room,” the designer confesses. “It’s like an adult playhouse. It’s tiny but we packed in so many fun elements like a daybed layered with vibrant Moroccan throw pillows, colorful juju hats, custom textured fuchsia roller shades and custom pink jade statement hardware on the built-in desk drawers.”
From ground level, the house appears as a colorful spot against the sandy, brown landscape. With one last seating area for those moments when nature has to be experienced up close, the deck also features a handy storage space for Susan to grab her board when it's time to catch some waves. From the bottom up, this amazing project turned out just as Rachel envisioned. “It’s open and airy and full of color and boldness which is a true reflection of my client’s personality and aesthetic,” she says.
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