The Gold Coast

Located in the aptly named Gold Parking Zone in the Laguna Beach's exclusive Emerald Bay community is this $32,995,000 masterpiece. This home is one of only 15 homes that are located directly on the sand and have direct access to the private community beach.

The street facade is very quaint and hides the fact that this house is terraced down to the sea. That fact is one of my favorite parts of this house, there is no real pretension, the house exudes a quiet luxury.

The kitchen is very open and airy. I don't know how practical it is to not have any upper cabinets but I'm sure there must be a china closet or something. In a house with this price tag anything is possible.

Just look at the materials!!! They are beyond perfection! GLASS DOOR KNOBS.

This house leaves me pretty speechless, so you guys are in luck because this is a brochure! This 5,800 square foot house is not massive but by no means are the owners slumming it. 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms are spread out on the homes many levels and the only thing I can say is that I hope there is an elevator somewhere in this home. If I moved in tomorrow I wouldn't change one single thing, this home is PERFECT just the way it is already.

Light and Bright

Located in the Dover Shores neighborhood in Newport Beach, this house was made for indoor/outdoor living. The owners made sure to incorporate the yard into the overall scheme and the results are superb.

The entrance to this house is very unique. Two trees flank the front door, which is a very cool and mellow shade of blue. I rather like its laid back effect. Normally I'm drawn to more saturated hues like deep green, dark red, white, or even a good black door.

Though I have never lived in a house with a skylight, this picture makes me want one! Not only does it add light to the space it also adds architectural interest.

This kitchen has my FAVORITE refrigerator in the world. The Sub-Zero PRO 48 refrigerator is sheer perfection. The glass door would make it necessary for your fridge to always be tidy, but beauty has a price.

This is one of the most original fireplaces I have ever seen! I love the uniqueness that these shards of colored glass lend the fireplace. They enable you to always have something nice to look at when there isn't a roaring fire.

This pocket sized backyard has everything you could ever need for a pool party!The pool is not enormous but it does provide plenty of space while not overwhelming the backyard. I'm sure I would spend most of my days out in that cabana. My favorite part about this house is that the calm and collected color palate inside was continued outside and that creates a very cohesive lifestyle.

The Artsy Crowd

Located in North Tustin, this sprawling ranch house embodies that modern beatnik feeling. This house makes me feel like I should be drinking black coffee, playing the bongos, and snapping instead of clapping. There is a unique flow to this home - from any point in the great room you can peer into different areas of the house through strategically places nooks and crannies.

This is the passage way that leads to the master suite. Instead of tearing down the towering pine trees on the property, the owners worked around them in order to create a truly unique space.

These concrete counters are superb! I love how they are eco-friendly and how they provide a visual anchor in such a lively space.

I could just imagine myself utilizing this room to its fullest potential - watching television, reading a book, AND using my laptop all at the same time!

The master bedroom has walls of glass and a beautifully paneled ceiling.

From the exterior, you can see that the master addition was modeled after a Japanese teahouse.

This is an AWESOME house! Outdoor rooms radiate off the back of the house and call you to live outside all year long. Each of the interior and exterior colors seem bold, however, they flow very cohesively and heighten the artsy experience. Over all, even though this house isn't even my exact style, I would move in tomorrow. I love it just as it is.

In Close Proximity

Located in the constantly renovated Harbor View Homes (ironically, not a single house in the community has a view) community in Newport Beach, this home projects an urban farmhouse feeling and I quite enjoy it. The Harbor View Homes tract was originally full of tract homes on about 8,000 square foot lots, however, due to their family friendly location (an elementary school is in the middle of the development), many of the original homes have been either completely renovated or torn down and replaced by new 4,000+ square foot homes.

Be still my heart! I still cannot get over disappearing doors.

This kitchen is a winner! I love how the island is darker and anchors the lofty kitchen. I'm not sure how practical it is to have the refrigerators so far away from the prep space, but I do admire how they are separated by a coffee maker and the microwave, effectively breaking up what could have been a wall of stainless steel.

This has to be one of my top laundry rooms of all time. My favorite part of the composition is how the washer and dryer are actually built-in to the room. Also, I think the use of the black countertop was very daring and it creates a very sophisticated room.

The enormous loggia beckons you to live outside! It is centrally located in the back yard so anyone can easily enjoy the fireplace and the petit pool.

This home, located on a larger 10,775 square foot corner lot, recently sold for $3,950,000. While not gracefully placed on its lot (its neighbor is 5 feet on the other side of the fence), this home is graciously appointed. I am drawn to the many textures that cohesively blanket its white walls, but the fact that these walls are so close to a plethora other walls in the community is a major draw back to me. However, what lies in these walls is truly a special place.

Up at the Villa

Home to architect John O'Neill and currently the market for $4,650,000 this Laguna Beach house is a masterpiece of California Tuscan design. My favorite part of the house is how it seems to erupt from the hillside. It is perfectly aligned so that every terrace, exterior wall, and loggia are at one with the natural slope of the land.

The gate is monumental and I enjoy its rough hewn elements. The wooden beams above the gate add a provincial feeling that I love. I just has a very old world feeling that suits the house.

I have always been drawn to dinning rooms that 1. have a refectory table, their long, slim, simple lines seem very honest and humble, however their sheer size and setting make up for that. 2. The idea of having books in the dinning room seems very casual and still very formal. It reminds me of sitting down to eat at Oxford or some other ancient place of learning.

The provincial theme of the house is carried through in the kitchen beautifully. I like the sequestered feeling it has but I hope it is not too terribly cut off from the rest of the house.

I have yet too see wall mounted fixtures in person but i find them very pleasing. They are a wonderfully unique addition to any bathroom. For more information please visit this post by Things That Inspire.

The medieval qualities of this bed are beautiful. I never understood the need for a full canopy bed here in California, however I get why you would need one in the harsh winters of Europe.

Very Monastic. AWESOME.

I've always wanted to gravel somewhere in my yard. It just seems to add so much more texture and life to a garden.

Couldn't you just imagine seeing this house overlooking Florence? I think it is one of the best examples of true provincial style in the county. There is nothing opulent or extremely luxurious about this house, however, this house displays true craftsmanship and a pride of ownership that translates into understated elegance.

Welcome To Yuppieville

Towering 270 feet above the 55 freeway at MacArthur Boulevard, the two towers of Essex Skyline welcomes its new tenants. Originally envisioned as luxury condos (they will be when the housing market heats back up again), these apartments boast an average rent of $3,000 a month for the 349 units. They are located in the South Coast Metro area, which is the fancy shmancy name given to Santa Ana just north of South Coast Plaza.

I've never really even seen these two buildings from this side. I only see the freeway side as I zoom by. Also, the windows aren't really that blue in real life.

If you look past the buildings you'll see the 55 which is seriously the main freeway of my life.

I find it interesting that both buildings face the same way and don't face away from each other.

Behind the office buildings, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and South Coast Plaza, you can just make out Catalina Island silhouetted in the distance.

This is the floor plan of one of the penthouse units. I'm surprised that they are only selling one and two bedroom condos since the imposing condo towers in Irvine have three bedroom units available.

By now I'm sure that all my friends dread passing these two towers since I have to go into detail about them every time. As a future yuppie (in the young urban professional way, not the snobby way), I would LOVE to live in a tower like this. One of these days I'll make it to the rental center and tour this place. Until then I'll be more than content with browsing the floor plans.